Location: Durham, NC
Players: 2-6
Price: $25 per person
Time to Escape: 60 minutes
This is Major Tom to Ground Control, I’m stepping through the door…
Theme:
NASA sent an elite team of researchers to a previously unknown planet on a top secret mission, but they’ve gone dark. You’ve been sent to find out what happened to them and report back. After finding the ship’s crash site, you enter to find that major damage has occurred. What’s worse, the door has locked behind you, and the self destruct sequence has engaged! Your team has an hour to solve the mystery and escape before you blow up!
First Impressions:
Upon entering Lunar Lockdown, I was frankly intimidated by the amount of tech on the walls. It really felt like the inner workings of a spaceship, or a Hollywood one, at least. The main centerpiece was well designed, and displayed many tactile inputs to play around with. There was also a good bit of space for puzzling, so even though we were at max capacity for the room, we didn’t feel crammed in. Unfortunately, room to maneuver has become rare, but I commend Bull City for keeping their maximum limit comfortable for players.
High Points:
Right off the bat, there was so much to find and work on. Puzzles instinctively led one to another, and searching around the shuttle was a joy. Most puzzles fit the science-y theme without being unapproachable, and most everything made sense within the context and theme of the room. There were a good few high quality props to manipulate, and mysterious blast doors tempted us with what could lie beyond. Technology was used to great effect, and there were several surprises in store when it was used. The intimidation of the many control panels gave way to excitement once we began to suss out what was important and what was set decoration.
Low Points:
Early and late game puzzling was very strong, but there was a slight dip in quality during the midpoint. A couple of items were hidden in groanworthy ways, but were overall minor blemishes. There were a couple puzzles that seemed a bit off theme, but were otherwise interesting and didn’t take away overmuch from the immersion. One puzzle activated an item in the room that we didn’t realize was activated, due to it’s subtlety, so we were unsure we had the correct answer. Overall, the story didn’t come to a satisfying conclusion once we had escaped.
Verdict:
Lunar Lockdown is a great space room that presents a stimulating series of puzzles. The story is an interesting setup, but seems secondary to the escape, as we didn’t feel it went anywhere. On the whole, however, the room is very competently done, and delivers a solid hour of entertainment. Book your escape from Lunar Lockdown here!
7.5/10 (Good)
Escape Room Adventurer 