Mission X – Mirage (Review)

November 30, 2017November 18, 2017 ~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Durham, NC

Players: 2-8 (We recommend 3-5)

Price: $30 per person

Time to Escape: 45 minutes

I must be dreaming…

Theme:

You’ve fallen into a deep deep sleep, and have ended up in a room that feels familiar, but is all wrong! It’s dark, everything has twisted around, and the only way to wake up is to find a your way back to normalcy! Sort through the dream and figure out how to move through the twisting perspectives and awaken!

First Impressions:

After a good chat with the staff at Mission X, we were quickly briefed and set upon the darkened room, each armed with a flashlight. Though not quite as elaborate in design as Vampire Manor or Butcher Shop, Mirage’s décor delivered an thoughtful take on a more abstract theme, which was an interesting way to begin.

High Points:

Puzzles play with perspective in fun and imaginative ways, building upon the theme of the room while delivering new challenges that require keen observation. The twisting nature of the room is an entertaining approach, delivering original approaches to puzzle design and room flow as well as a floaty, dream-like theme. The room is set in darkness to create effective mood and immersion, but every player is equipped with a flashlight, so it serves it’s purpose without being an unnecessary detriment to the game.

Low Points:

Hints are still the weak point of Mission X, as the gamemaster must enter the room to deliver hints, though it is appreciated that they pause your time to do so. Hints during this trip were less hints than actual walkthroughs of the current puzzle, which was frustrating as it removes a sense of accomplishment. The room itself was a bit sparser than the other two rooms we’d played with Mission X, due to the less elaborate décor, and also because this was an easier room than the others.

Verdict:

Though perhaps a bit too simple for enthusiasts, Mirage is a great introductory game for beginners and families, delivering a light hearted theme along with an easy to follow game flow. I definitely recommend giving it a shot if you’re looking for a good starter room, or an approachable one for friends new to the hobby. If you’re an enthusiast, however, it will be a fun if simple room, but if that isn’t your style, I’d recommend you try out the more challenging Vampire Manor or Butcher Shop instead. Book your time in the dreamlands here!

7/10 (Good)

Conundrum Escapes – Conjurer’s Dungeon (Review)

November 28, 2017November 18, 2017 ~ EscapeAdventurer ~ Leave a comment

Location: Garner, NC

Players: 2-10 (We recommend 4-5)

Price: $27.63 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Welcome to the Dungeon!

Theme:

A foul tyrant has taken over the kingdom, but a mystical sword could break the hold she has over the people. Unfortunately, the creator of that sword, a powerful wizard, was trapped in the dungeon and the weapon has gone missing. It is up to you to break into the dungeons and decipher the clues left behind by the wizard to find the sword and ensure the defeat of the evil queen!

First Impressions:

We had a fun time escaping Conundrum’s previous room, Airship Legacy, and were excited to hear that they had opened a new game. Once we had an opening in our escape schedule we booked and had high hopes for this adventure!

High Points:

The latter half of the game is where Conjurer’s Dungeon really shines. One particular prop gives a sense of direction to the rest of the game, and allows the puzzling to flow quite nicely. Connections in this half are clear and direct, without taking away from the challenge of the room. The room is well decorated, if sparse, due to it’s nature as a dungeon. The general ambiance of the room feels chilly and appropriately lonely. One puzzle in particular I really enjoyed due to it’s engagement of a sense that’s rarely used in escape rooms.

Low Points:

The first half of the game was a slog, as much needed cluing and direction was absent. This led to too much ambiguity and murky logic, as well as a fair amount of wasted time trying to find the path we were meant to be following. A good bit of iteration and the addition of clues to fully flesh out the challenges during the beginning would go a long way towards ensuring the room flows well and feels logically balanced. Especially with one main puzzle being original and well implemented, but obtuse if you don’t already know the solution. The room gets better after the initial unclear puzzles, but the frustration lingers through the rest of the experience. A large amount of unclued scavenging comes across as more of a time sink, and doesn’t provide as entertaining an experience as a few more puzzles might.

Verdict:

Conjurer’s Dungeon is an uneven experience that starts weakly, but finishes strong(er), so I’m sure with a bit of finesse and iteration, this room can be great. Currently, however, I can’t recommend it due the lack of connective tissue between many of the puzzles and the frustration that causes. In the meantime, I still recommend trying out Airship Legacy and am confident that with a bit of tweaking, Conjurer’s Dungeon can be a great challenge. You can book your time in the Dungeon here!

5/10 (Mediocre)

Full Disclosure: Conundrum Escapes provided media discounted tickets for our group.

The Final Door – The Sacrifice (Review)

November 23, 2017November 23, 2017 ~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Columbia, SC

Players: 2-8 (We recommend 4-5)

Price: $25 per person (Tues, Wed, Thurs) or $28 per person (Fri, Sat, Sun)

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

The Pact is sealed with blood!

Theme:

You’ve been kidnapped by a fanatical cult, intent on using you as a human sacrifice in their next dark ritual! You and your fellow kidnappees have only one hour to figure out how to get out of the dark holding cell before they come back for you to complete their evil work, summoning forth who knows what vile creatures!

First Impressions:

For The Sacrifice, there are two versions, standard and advanced; we played the advanced version. The offering to increase the difficulty is a nice touch, and fun for enthusiasts looking for a greater challenge! As we were led to another masterfully themed briefing room, we could already smell incense in the air. It was a great touch to get us excited for our 3rd room of the day, and was yet another small detail that helped up the immersion factor of the room. There was a good, if lighter, introduction to this room and afterwards we were left in our cell to rot.

High Points:

As we had come to expect from The Final Door by now, barring one major hiccup, the room’s puzzles connected incredibly well from one to the next, and an evolving story that tied everything to the theme was woven throughout. The progression from the early to mid and late game felt natural, and the set evolved to reflect our progress. Another great out of the ordinary hint system was in place, keeping everything within the universe of the room. Fantastic interactions that rose above and beyond locks and keys, (or even basic technological interactions,) enveloped us in the narrative and made for some amazing storytelling. The penultimate puzzle pulled everyone together to finish the room with a thrilling and appropriate culmination, capping off an amazing run of escapes from The Final Door.

Low Points:

The room stumbled quite a bit at the beginning. Our initial excitement became frustration as we worked out the solution for a puzzle, but were unable physically to complete it, causing us to spend an overly long time uncomfortably attempting over and over to finally get past it (with a wee bit of assistance from our fantastic GM,) and onto the rest of the room. (After our visit, I was told that the game flow has been reworked to alleviate the frustration of this particular puzzle, and though I cannot comment on its effectiveness, I think it is definitely a positive change!) It was, fortunately, all uphill from there. The room itself was very well designed, but felt a bit less complex than Blackout and The Vampyr. That being said, it was still head and shoulders above most other rooms in terms of presentation.

Verdict:

It says a lot that even though it wasn’t my favorite room at The Final Door, The Sacrifice was one of the best I’ve played. The business as a whole is one of the greatest I’ve ever seen, with only one puzzle I didn’t like during the course of three rooms, which speaks volumes about their amazing design! If you are looking for a place that combines all the best elements of escape rooms and elevates game design from craft to art, this is the place to go. I highly recommend anyone check out one or all of the rooms here, The Sacrifice included. Book your time with the cult here!

9/10 (Excellent)

Full Disclosure: The Final Door provided Media discounted tickets to our team.

The Final Door – The Vampyr (Review)

November 21, 2017October 29, 2017 ~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 2 Comments

Location: Columbia, SC

Players: 4-8 (We recommend 4-6)

Price: $25 per person (Tues, Wed, Thurs) or $28 per person (Fri, Sat, Sun)

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Let’s hunt some monsters!

Theme:

A wealthy nobleman has contracted your team of monster hunters to take care of a big problem he has with his newly inherited castle. Unfortunately, it seems he’s unable to move in since an extremely powerful and ancient vampyr has taken up residence inside! It is up to you to break into the castle and find out where the fiend is currently hiding while he sleeps. Once you do, make sure to destroy him before the sun sets, or it’s lights out for you in more ways than one!

First Impressions:

The lobby at The Final Door is well appointed, containing a bar as well as a nice selection of party games and puzzles to enjoy with your team while you wait. Staff is very friendly and are escape room enthusiasts as well, so trading war stories with them was great fun. Our experience started even before we entered the briefing room, which was a fantastic and mysterious way to begin the introduction. After our briefing, we were led to the castle and began our hunt!

High Points:

What a room! It combined two of my favorite little things for escape rooms to do, the first being a well decorated entry door, and the second I can’t reveal so as not to spoil the surprise! As with other rooms at The Final Door, puzzle flow was marvelous, there were no points at which we felt the tasks were too ambiguous or we were flailing about to determine what we needed to do. Set design was convincingly done, and fully immersed us into the story of the room. Some rarely used senses came into play for a fun and, for our team, hilarious puzzle, and the hint system was interestingly integrated into the theme as well. The taks presented involved our entire team throughout, and rewarded communication and cooperation. The climax of the room was extraordinarily satisfying, delivering a great interaction and end to the story. This is, without a doubt, the best room I have done in South Carolina.

Low Points:

None. This is an amazingly crafted experience and we had no problems with it at all, it was truly great from start to finish!

Verdict:

Another astounding experience from The Final Door, The Vampyr excels at weaving together challenging gameplay, smooth flow, and immersive production values. As satisfying to puzzle through as it is to experience the set design, this room keeps the surprises coming throughout! This is definitely the most challenging room available at The Final Door, so beginners may want to try out an easier room or two, (such as the equally fantastic Blackout,) before taking it on. Enthusiasts and more seasoned players, however, will love the fantastic adventure that The Vampyr offers! Book your time in the castle here!

10/10 (Sublime)

The Final Door – Blackout (Review)

November 16, 2017November 23, 2017 ~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 2 Comments

Location: Columbia, SC

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

Price: $28 per person (Tues, Wed, Thurs) or $33 per person (Fri, Sat, Sun)

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

It’s weird that getting kidnapped by a serial killer has become a normal Sunday morning

Theme:

The Columbia Killer wants to play a game, and has taken you and your friends hostage in his basement making you unwitting players! A huge storm is sweeping across the area, and to make matters worse, it has caused a blackout. With only the lightning to guide you, you’ve no choice but to play along with the killer’s twisted machinations, or be yet another missing person in tomorrow’s news!

First Impressions:

We could already tell that we were in for something very special when we were briefed in a specially tailored room that fit the theme perfectly! After the quick rules run down, we were very surprised by the beginning of the experience, which I won’t spoil here. Once complete, we doffed our blindfolds and got to the task of escaping the dank, dark basement we’d found ourselves in!

High Points:

I want to preface this by saying that there is so much I enjoyed about this room that may not translate into words (or would be too big a spoiler,) and that you should absolutely go and have your mind blown like we did. The experience weaves immersive theatre and personal touches throughout in order to remove you from the outside world and truly set you inside a psycho’s basement. Special effects and set design are impeccable; providing a convincing environment without being so Hollywood that it still feels artificial. Puzzle flow is flawless, and each step is logical and challenging, but fair and direct enough to remove any possibility of frustration. Puzzles themselves are highly satisfying across the board, and deliver excellent feedback when they’ve been solved. Delivering surprises again and again, I can confidently say that Blackout is easily one of my favorite experiences to date.

Low Points:

The introduction set the scene well, but it got a little too scream-y for our tastes, which took it a little further over the top than we reasonably wanted to go. Everything else was spectacular!

Verdict:

There is no doubt that Blackout is one of the finest escape adventures I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing! If you are anywhere near Columbia, I highly recommend planning a trip out, as this room is like no other! This is a finely tuned, fully immersive escape room adventure that delivers an intense, well thought out spectacle that is sure to entertain beginners and enthusiasts alike. Book your kidnapping here!

10/10 (Sublime)

Full Disclosure: The Final Door provided Media discounted tickets for our team