Many games based on popular anime series tend to be very similar. If the game isn’t a JRPG, then it typically is a simple fighting game—while that may excite many fans, we have gotten a bit bored with the never-ending method of delivering us game adaptations of our favorite shounen series. That’s why we here at Honey’s Anime got extremely excited when we heard that one of our favorite anime of 2020 was being made into a game that didn’t need a controller and was very involved.

Jujutsu Kaisen Online Puzzle Game – Escape from The Cursed Spirit of The Abandoned School brings us back to when we were kids as we grab our pens, sheets of paper, and scissors to play a game with our favorite cast of Jujutsu sorcerers! Folks, if you’re like us and tired of the mindless clone games for shounen series, then you may want to continue reading this review!

Rather than booting up your PS4, Xbox One, and/or Nintendo Switch, Jujutsu Kaisen Online Puzzle Game – Escape from The Cursed Spirit of The Abandoned School is played with paper, a mobile device, or PC, and scissors. Players will join cast favorites like Yuuji Itadori, Satoru Gojo, Nobara Kugisaki, and Megumi Fushiguro to assist them on a special mission that might be too tough for the team to handle alone.

While the environments are all nicely detailed, the visuals feel ripped from Jujutsu Kaisen’s world as the static characters and pictures feel a bit lackluster. What’s worse is that SCRAP clearly went all-in by even getting the Japanese cast to reprise their roles for this game but couldn’t bother making some more static images? It’s a very minor annoyance, but one that did bother us consistently while playing.

As a student of Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School, you should be considered a special warrior in the battle against evil spirits. However, your power is what dooms you to a life stuck at home. Able to converse from a far distance, you can’t leave and are unable to enjoy the luxuries of being a true student. Lamenting your inability to assist in cases, Gojo sends you a special letter asking you to join a team in solving an abandoned school’s mysterious disappearances. Are you up to the task and prove that your cursed power is capable of great things?

First, we want to say we will be avoiding spoilers while doing this review as half the fun is dealing with the random encounters and events in the game.

Players must buy the kit and, when it arrives, you scan the QR Code on one of the sheets to get a link to a video! From here, the game commences but be sure to free up at least 1-2 hours as this game is meant to be really played in one session for maximum enjoyment.

When you begin, the game seems simple enough. Gojo talks to the other students and informs them of the mission—and why he can’t conveniently be there physically for them—and then it’s up to the player(s) to start it. After several brief and static screens with full voice acting, you will enter the school and start investigating.

Like a real escape room, players will need to solve puzzles using their Jujutsu Kaisen Online Puzzle Game kits and the contents within. The prime example of this is the first puzzle, which has Megumi’s shadow dog go through several rooms in the school while you discern what room has changed dramatically compared to the images you have in your booklet. Don’t worry, if you struggle—which we did at times—the game is pretty forgiving, giving you the answer literally after several presses of the hint button.

Jujutsu Kaisen Online Puzzle Game – Escape from The Cursed Spirit of The Abandoned School goes further once you start using your paper doll. In your kit, you will have two pages, and one of them is for your doll specifically. Here you fold the doll to match the contours of the puzzle you need to solve. It can be a bit confusing at first, but after some trial and error, you’ll understand how to make the doll spell out a word for you to move on further. This is why we think having multiple players while playing Jujutsu Kaisen Online Puzzle Game – Escape from The Cursed Spirit of The Abandoned School is helpful. One mind can solve these puzzles, but two or more will make the challenge significantly easier.

Now, we’re going to stop talking about the gameplay any further to avoid spoilers—seriously this game makes it clear that spoilers are a big no—but we can talk about the elements we liked and the things we didn’t like.

The great thing about Jujutsu Kaisen Online Puzzle Game – Escape from The Cursed Spirit of The Abandoned School is that one kit can work for an entire group! There isn’t a need to buy different variants or have a group each buy separate games—though it does help for solving some of the escape room’s tougher, later puzzles—and reminds us of the concept of the old school board games. Many games need multiple copies to be played with everyone but here, one will do and that is very surprising for a modern game!

Lastly, let’s talk about the paper doll elements. Honestly, this was the hardest part for us to figure out, as making the doll took us a lot of time scratching our heads and wondering how it worked. In the end, we had to make a lot of guesses and ended up really just trying different words till we got the solution. It’s a neat idea—once we actually did it for real—but it could have maybe been a bit less convoluted.

Jujutsu Kaisen Online Puzzle Game – Escape from The Cursed Spirit of The Abandoned School is a truly unique game. Not only is it feel like a portable escape room but the engaging elements give an immersive feeling as we join our favorite trio in solving a case that seems taken straight from the manga/anime series!

Overall, we would no doubt pick up a few more Jujutsu Kaisen Online Puzzle Games—if they make more like this one—in the future as we think this fun puzzle game shows just how creative the gameplay formation can go in this medium!

Jujutsu Kaisen Online Puzzle Game – Escape from The Cursed Spirit of The Abandoned School should be a shining example of taking a beloved franchise and going just a bit further with it. We love the feeling of being engaged while playing this kind of tough escape room, and equally love we could gather our friends—who are also Jujutsu Kaisen fans—to solve the puzzle with us! We do feel there are a few missed opportunities here—such as more engaging images and character portraits—but for the low price tag and the fun to be had, this is a rather solid escape room that can be played anywhere you have reception!

Have you picked up Jujutsu Kaisen Online Puzzle Game – Escape from The Cursed Spirit of The Abandoned School and played it? Let us know in the comments below and tell us what part stumped you the most!