Bear Towne Escape Room – Deadly DIEagnosis (Review)

Location: New Bern, NC

Players: 2-6 (We recommend 3-4)

Price: $22.50 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

A routine checkup at the doctor’s results in surprise organ harvesting!

Theme:

You’ve just arrived at your doctor’s office for a checkup, and are waiting with the other patients when you notice that you’ve been locked in! You must find your way out before the doctor returns to operate.

First Impressions:

The room was well decorated as a waiting room, which sounds boring, but Bear Towne managed to bring an interesting flair to what could otherwise be a plain room. The beginning search of the office turned up interesting props, and potential puzzle threads for us to follow. Everything felt like it belonged in a waiting room, but was stylish enough to bring it all to life. The opening experience set up the coming surprise very well, which, without spoiling anything, brought an entertaining urgency to the story.

High Points:

An extremely well themed room that took an everyday idea and turned it into something modern and fun lent a good bit of immersion to the experience. I could definitely imagine myself as part of the story, even though we were puzzling our way out, which is an all too rare experience. Puzzles overall were solid, flowed well, and were clued in such a way as to gently lead us to where we needed to go, without feeling forced or too artificial. One puzzle gave a playful yuck factor into the game (without actually being gross,) which is always appreciated, and the major surprise of the game was unexpected and exciting.

Low Points:

There was one puzzle that drained a good bit of time and needed to be explained to us, but we were informed that it was new, and were asked for feedback, so I’m confident that the owner is interested in making sure that it is streamlined. Otherwise, we had a blast!

Verdict:

For Escape Room enthusiasts, Serial Killers seem to come up a lot, but Bear Towne has managed to take the theme and forge one of the most immersive and exciting takes I’ve seen for the subgenre. The room is very beginner friendly as well, and would be a fantastic introduction to the hobby. Book your appointment with the Doctor here!

8.5/10 (Great)