Month: December 2017

Elite Escape Games – Derailed (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 2 Comments

Location: Mount Pleasant, SC

Players: 2-8 (We recommend 5-6)

Price: $30 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Going off the rails on a Crazy Train!

Theme:

A typical subway ride has gone completely haywire, as the train is careening completely out of control! You have one hour before you reach the end of the line, and to make matters worse, there is a bomb hidden somewhere on board! Work together with your fellow commuters to defuse the bomb and stop the train or being late for work will be the least of your worries!

First Impressions:

We had been previously shown Derailed as a work in progress room during our last trip to Elite Escape Games, and it was an idea that we were very interested in seeing implemented. The promise of a room that functions like a real train car by using hydraulics and video seemed like an immersive and fun challenge. Upon our return to Charleston, this was the room that we were most excited to try!

High Points:

The promise of immersion that we had been given was delivered upon 100%! From the moment we entered our respective cares and the train started up, the outside world was gone. Hydraulic bumps and turns combined with seeing the outside world fly by from the front of the train, creating a unique escape room experience. Puzzles fit the theme and allowed for a good bit of tactile solving and team based brainstorming, leading to many ah ha moments. Interactions also felt very responsive, with touches here and there to make the room feel even more authentic. The climax delivers a great ending, making the players feel like they’ve saved the train, as well as being appropriate to the story.

Low Points:

The splitting of the teams was an interesting idea, and worked alright, but it was disappointing for those in my car because, as is usually the case, one car had much cooler puzzles than the other initially. There did not seem to be as much for our car to do, and some of my favorite puzzle types were locked away on the other side. Fortunately, we were able to link up soon, and combine our efforts again. There were a couple of small logical leaps, but they weren’t too egregious.

Verdict:

Derailed is another great experience from Elite Escape Games, with a fully immersive set and fantastic puzzle design. The movement of the room, great flow, and excellent technology and interactions make this the perfect choice for beginners and newcomers alike. Book your time on the runaway train here!

Full Disclosure: Epic Escape Games provided Media Discounted tickets for our game.

8.5/10 (Great)

The Exit Games – Nightmare on Front Street (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Wilmington, NC

Players: 2-8 (We recommend 4-6)

Price: $25 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

1-2 Boogey’s coming for you..

Theme:

You wake up, disoriented and cold, standing in a strange, barely lit room facing your friends. With no memory of how or why you are here, you’ll need to search for an exit as well as keep out of the grasp of the mysterious and otherworldly Boogey Man! Figure out what’s going on and wake yourselves up, otherwise you could be trapped in the Nightmare forever!

First Impressions:

The Exit Game’s cozily comfortable lobby was well decorated for Christmas, and felt inviting. The tonal shift from that laid back atmosphere to the appropriately horrific Dreamlands was fantastic. The unnerving creepiness of the room takes hold immediately, and is incredibly well implemented.

High Points:

The Exit Games was very accommodating, as we have a teammate who doesn’t do well with jump scares involving actors, and they had no qualms removing that aspect of the game. The experience itself stood well on its own without this element as well, which is great. Usually in spooky rooms, the theme isn’t really that scary, but we all felt on edge, (in a good way,) for a good portion of the adventure. Puzzles add to the immersion and are well integrated into the theme, leading from point to point in a logical way. One great puzzle made use of the room’s space to deliver a really unexpected solution reveal, and each step of the way helped further the story as we went. The experience was also personally tailored in several spots, which was an excellent and thrilling touch.

Low Points:

There was a point we needed to move everyone through one point that was fairly awkward and felt a bit unwieldly. The later stages of the game weren’t quite as intricately decorated, which was a shame, as the intensity of the room’s décor really sold me on the immersion.

Verdict:

Nightmare on Front Street, though a seasonal room, is above and beyond what we usually come to expect from pop up or temporary rooms. Personally, I think this one deserves year round status, because it is one of the best rooms we did in Wilmington! In the mean time, get out to The Exit Games to experience this one while you can, as it is set to close at the end of the year! You can book your Nightmare here!

9/10 (Excellent)

Downtown Escapes – Decipher (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Goldsboro, NC

Players: 2-7 (We recommend 4-5)

Price: $25 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Oh yay handcuffs!

Theme:

As members of a counter terrorism unit, you’ve tracked a new threat to an abandoned warehouse in Goldsboro, but as it always goes, it isn’t truly abandoned. You’ve mis-stepped somewhere, however since the doors slammed shut and the room filled with gas before you passed out. Unsure how long it has been since then, you awaken in a room, handcuffed and in the dark, with no clue as to how you got there, and no clear way out!

First Impressions:

As an aside, I really like the leaderboards that Downtown Escapes keeps. They’re very nice and include the “movie poster” like pictures for the two rooms. Did I also mention this was the last time we escaped using our old team name, Puzzvengers? I bring this up for no reason.

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High Points:

It has become common for our team to be handcuffed and blindfolded together, but when done correctly (and safely,) it’s still a fun experience. The puzzles throughout the room are excellently put together and provide many fun interactions and puzzle types. Technological interactions are implemented seamlessly, providing ways for the room and the game flow to open up unexpectedly. One prop that has become fairly common and unexciting in rooms is much sleeker and well functioning than we have seen before, and is a welcome improvement. The gradual spatial shifts in the game as certain puzzles are solved is also a fun touch, and a good way to introduce an appropriate level of gating between stages of the game.

Low Points:

There were several moments in this room where having a tall person became a necessity. Fortunately, we have one such teammate, but this could create some problems for shorter teams, as I could barely reach some items and puzzles at 5’7’’. An unintentional red herring that confused us greatly could be eliminated with the addition of some slight gating to the puzzle flow.

Verdict:

Providing another non-linear experience and fantastic set design, Decipher is another room worthy of escaping! Definitely a more challenging experience than The Heist, enthusiasts will very much enjoy the game within, as well as some new takes on a couple favorite puzzle types. Try it out and attempt to beat our record here!

9/10 (Excellent)

Full Disclosure: Downtown Escapes comped our tickets for this room.

Downtown Escapes – The Heist (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Goldsboro, NC

Players: 2-8 (We recommend 4-6)

Price: $25 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Ocean’s 2-8 Players

Theme:

The art collection of Juan-Carlos is without equal, and a new acquisition is rumored to be the most exquisite, and expensive, addition yet! Therefore, your team has decided to steal it. Posing as a janitorial crew, you’ve been given an hour inside the gallery, but you’ll still need to disable the security protecting the most valuable collections and find the prize! Make sure you’re out within an hour, though, as Juan-Carlos didn’t get to be as rich as he is without being ruthless towards his enemies.

First Impressions:

Downtown Escapes has a cozy location in downtown (obviously,) Goldsboro. We got started soon after we arrived, and were given a story rundown before being left outside of the room, waiting for our contact to get in touch. Once we were cleared to enter the art gallery by the mysterious voice, we broke in ready to get our hands on some priceless art!

High Points:

The room’s reveal was excellent, as it was extremely well designed and flawlessly sold the theme of Art Gallery. The gorgeous set design also allowed for many tactile interactions as well as myriad places for surprises to be hidden. Props fit the theme well, and allowed for some really engaging design. A good mix of puzzle types and a non-linear structure ensured that our entire team was engaged from start to finish and the props and set pieces were a joy to interact with. Game flow was well planned, and it was always clear what was next, though not too clear as to be simplistic. The climax of the heist was appropriately exciting, ending the room on a high note.

Low Points:

One puzzle that gave us some serious issues felt somewhat burdensome due to it’s unwieldly nature, but was otherwise interesting. Another late game one made sense once we’d figured out the solution, but would benefit from slightly more direct cluing.

Verdict:

The Heist is an amazing first effort for Downtown Escapes, and is a great introductory room for beginners, as well as an enjoyable enthusiast romp. An immersive and beautiful experience, I definitely recommend trying it out, especially since it is rare for escape rooms to allow you to be thieves or other “bad guys.” Stage your art heist here!

8/10 (Great)

Full Disclosure: Downtown Escapes comped our tickets for this room.

Escape Plan Columbia – Floor 23 (Review)

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Location: Columbia, SC

Players: 2-5 (We recommend 3)

Price: $28 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Beautiful, but flawed

Theme:

Floor 23 of the Jefferson Hotel is rumored to be a hotbed of supernatural activity, and you are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Unfortunately, you have no idea what to expect during your investigation, as all previous expeditions have disappeared after taking the elevator up! You’ll need to unravel the enigma before whatever happened to them, happens to you!

escape-plan-columbia-floor-23-1

First Impressions:

Having been told that Floor 23 is Escape Plan Columbia’s newest game, we were excited, as The Wizard was definitely head and shoulders above Missing and Espionage, the older games. Also, I’m always excited to try out a new room themed after supernatural horror, as it isn’t done nearly as often as the less spooky serial killers and traps themes.

High Points:

Once you make your way to the main part of the experience, the décor, lighting, and theatrical sound sell the environment and bring a great sense of immersion into the experience. The story itself is also very captivating, and should be the main draw of this room, as well paced and detailed stories are an unfortunately rare feature of many escape rooms.

Low Points:

The main problem with Floor 23 lies with the core experience. The bells and whistles of the game are all there, but the main event, the game and puzzles themselves, do not flow well at all. The room is a linear affair, but there really isn’t much to guide you through the puzzles, making most of them feel like guessing games of varying degrees, a major disappointment when compared to the beautiful set and creepy story. The early game, for us, started off frustrating, as the simple interaction to begin was made overly difficult to overcome due to the need to apply way more force than we were instructed would be necessary. One particular technical failure saw us attempting a solution that did not work before wandering aimlessly and taking a hint, which told us to do the thing that failed to trigger, leading to further frustration. Another late-game puzzle was not only completely nonsensical in it’s solving, but was an unsatisfying end to an otherwise well thought out storyline. Too much obscurity takes what could be a tense and satisfying story based adventure, and bogs it down into a wholly frustrating slog.

Verdict:

The thing that disappointed me most about Floor 23 was that it shows a lot of promise through it’s secondary elements, but fails to deliver through it’s core experience. This could definitely be one of the top rooms in the area with a good bit of tweaking to the game itself, adding connective tissue between puzzles, ensuring technical interactions are clear and working well, and making sure that each part of the game feels purposeful, rather than random. At the moment, however, the excellent set design and story are brought down by a below average game. Escape Plan Columbia are definitely on to something with this one, though, and I hope that they are able to turn this one around. You can investigate the mystery of Floor 23 here.

5/10 (Mediocre)

Full Disclosure: Escape Plan Columbia comped our tickets for this room.