Month: August 2019

NC Escape – Brewery Heist (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Durham, NC (Also available at Green Light Escape Room in Wilmington, NC)

Players: 4-10 (We Recommend 4-6)

Price: $26 per person

Time to Escape: 60 Minutes

OktoberHeist

Theme:

A modern day prohibition has struck, and beer lovers everywhere have been stockpiling as much alcohol away as they can, but a much beloved cache is lost inside an old brewery! You and your boozy friends have stumbled upon that same brewery, and are looking to score the lost beer, but only have an hour to do so. You’ll need a sharp mind if you want to dull it later, so get cracking!

First Impressions:

The Attic was an astounding upgrade for NC Escape, and we were looking forward to our next room almost immediately. Brewery Heist has an original theme and promised to be a larger scale experience based in the same room we had originally completed The Study. This room absolutely blew that one out of the water!

High Points:

I had been in this room before, when it was The Study, a room the previous management had built. Usually when doing a new room in a familiar space, it gives off a palpable sense of deja vu, even with the best makeover, but that was not the case here. NC Escape’s new owners have done such an amazing job transforming the old room into such a beautiful set that I didn’t recognize the room at all. Even after the sneaky twists in The Attic, Brewery Heist proved to be just as, if not more surprising than NC Escape’s other room! A couple of moments during the game, we were astounded by how well the room magically delivered unexpected new treats. In fact, at one point we thought we had to have completed the room when much to our surprise, the room delivered a great “But wait, there’s more!” moment. This room is also one of the few which I can believe would comfortably entertain the maximum ten players via their game flow. With a great run of non-linear puzzling that comes together and branches off several times throughout the game, we remained busily engaged with the room from start to finish. One awesome puzzle had us puzzling over what could possibly be next, and the way we built towards the solution was organic and amazingly satisfying to solve once we finally put all the pieces together.

Though there wasn’t an ongoing storyline beyond exploring the secrets of the old brewery and coming out with the cache of beer, it was an original and entertaining impetus for engaging in the escape. The whole experience is full of mystery, and the final climax of the adventure comes after several very memorable moments. There are a lot of great props to engage with, and the tactile nature of the room really adds to the fun. Each stage of the room builds towards an interesting meta-puzzle, and once each one is completed, it’s a joy to see how the room reacts. The challenge is set upon a really smooth difficulty curve, and the variety of puzzle types really encouraged us to bring our A-game in regards to teamwork! The game flow remains logical and intuitive throughout, and though the room was certainly very challenging, I never felt like we were spinning our wheels or at a loss for what to do.

Low Points:

One small technical failure occurred during our run through the brewery, but it was spotted and taken care of quickly. Some of the puzzles don’t tie as well into the theme as others, popping up as somewhat strange additions. They’re fairly benign, however, and don’t disrupt immersion too terribly. One puzzle type repeats a few times, but each instance was short, causing little frustration.

Verdict:

Brewery Heist is easily one of the best rooms in the area, with an expansive and beautiful set, a great run of non-linear puzzling, and some superb surprises around every corner! Players of all experience levels will find something to enjoy here, and I absolutely recommend trying it out if you’re in the RTP area. The future of NC Escape is very bright under the new owners, and I am extremely excited to see what they come up with next! Book your time searching for the lost beer here!

9/10 (Excellent)

Full disclosure: NC Escape provided comped tickets for our group.

Sleuth Kings – Isaac Case 005 (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Your Home!

Players:  We recommend 1-4

Price: $29.95 per box

Homecoming

Theme:

Sullivan’s investigation into his father has cost a life, and the evidence this person was able to dig up for him disappeared with them. Resolved to make sure they didn’t die in vain, Sullivan calls in a few favors to attempt to figure out where the evidence could have possibly ended up, as well as bring the murderer to justice. In a break no one could have predicted, Sullivan receives a package from the recently departed, promising to lead him to the answers he desperately seeks!

First Impressions:

Isaac Case 005 is the latest in a meta-case that we have been working on for over a year now, and each subsequent case solved tends to leave off on a cliff hanger that we cannot wait to see resolved, so once we’d finished our fourth case following Case 004, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on the next chapter of Sullivan’s investigation into his father’s disappearance!

High Points:

As the story of this meta-case becomes more twisty and the cast of characters grows over the course of a year, it’s great that Sleuth Kings provides a story so far update for players. In a “Previously on Sleuth Kings…” style, everything up to this point is succinctly summarized so that the story is fresh in player’s minds before beginning the next leg of the adventure. Puzzles are enjoyable, and a couple are highly satisfying perception based challenges that clicked into place as we ruminated on what the clue itself could possibly mean. As usual, it is fun to see some excellent easter eggs dropped into one of the clues, (I see you Pugicorn!) which seems nonsensical at first, but becomes a fun interaction once we determined it’s use within the investigation. The connections between the puzzling and the layers to dig through are excellent, and ensure that this case remains challenging from start to finish. Though we had a good time with the clues, I think the main star of this case is the story developments that come as a consequence of solving the case!

There are a few small story advancements while we solved, and what happened to the person that left this package for us becomes clearer as we put together the pieces, but the story kicks into high gear by the end of the case! What we originally thought would be a milder case that involves looking into some evidence and hopefully catching a killer becomes a huge milestone in the series. I wouldn’t want to spoil what happens, but we definitely did not see that twist coming. (Spoiler Alert: Nick Fury shows up and invites Sullivan to join the Avengers. Really. Not really.) In true Sleuth Kings fashion, a moment in which I’m wondering “How could they possibly follow that revelation up?” is immediately followed up on in a highly satisfying way, and yet again we’re left with a cliff hanger that whets the appetite for another entry into the King family drama!

20190823_1007195306740585689740160.jpg

We found Walter right away, but finding the evidence was a bit more complicated.

Low Points:

There was a typo that threw off the first puzzle for us, but we were able to get in touch with Sleuth Kings and get everything sorted out allowing us to solve the puzzle properly and continue the investigation. Sleuth Kings was very quick to respond to our questions about the first puzzle, and were extremely diligent in ensuring that we could solve the puzzle with as few spoilers as possible. The difficulty curve of this particular box seemed somewhat parabolic, packing a lot of the challenge into a couple bookended puzzles, so the experience ended up feeling somewhat uneven overall. Some familiar codebreaking may be old hat for experienced players, but it is still enjoyable to work through, and delivers the story well.

Verdict:

Though you’ll need to do quite a bit of sleuthing in order to receive this case, it is certainly worth it, especially for the great adventure this ongoing story will take you on! A free case every four cases is, as always, one of the best values added to any subscription box available, and I highly recommend checking out Sleuth Kings! You can purchase previous cases from the Sleuth King’s archives here, and if you’d like to subscribe to upcoming adventures, you can use the promo code ESCAPEADVENTURE to get $5 off your subscription here! You can also read the rest of our Sleuth Kings reviews here!

8/10 (Great)

Full Disclosure: Sleuth Kings provided a complementary box.

NC Escape – The Attic (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Durham, NC

Players: 2-5 (We Recommend 2-3)

Price: $26 per person

Time to Escape: 60 Minutes

Don’t tell Mom the Babysitter’s dead!

Theme:

Poor Claire! Her babysitters always seem to disappear on her before they can really start having fun. Her parents, desperate for a night out, have been seeking yet another replacement babysitter, but too many are reticent to take care of the child alone for some reason. You’ve stepped up, however, and are eager to make some extra cash, but things take a strange turn when you’re led to the spooky attic to find Claire’s stuffed animals. She wants to play within the next hour, and you’ll need all of her toys for this game. If you can’t find them, Claire will be very, very disappointed in you.

First Impressions:

NC Escape, save for their Ex Machina room, was an overall mediocre experience, but luckily, new management has taken over and given the whole place a makeover! Having been to the new owners’ other location, Green Light Escape in Wilmington, I knew this would definitely be a much better experience overall.

High Points:

The Attic is one of those rooms that is saturated with surprises that can keep even the most experienced escape enthusiast on their toes for the entire experience. Though some of these surprises relate to the horror genre, many are surprising reveals and amazing game play moments that we really enjoyed. The new NC Escape is astoundingly good at ensuring their secrets remain secret, and the way they are revealed is really fantastic. The early game sets the standard for a highly tactile, and spooky experience that really nails the creeping horror theme well. It never gets overly scary, but the creepiness level is just right for a possibly haunted attic. The latter half of the game opens into a non-linear run of puzzles that ratcheted up the experience on the whole, adding a sense of urgency through the increasingly sinister happenings and revelations we uncovered. The story was woven well into the tapestry of the game, slowly revealing what really happened in this dusty old attic, and the climax of the game was appropriately exciting. Like all good horror experiences, I feel like just the right amount of the story was left mysterious, perhaps setting up a future sequel?

Puzzles we encountered during the game were inserted into the game excellently, utilizing the space to it’s fullest, and ensuring that different puzzlers would all find something that caters to their strengths. All of the puzzles also fit the theme of the game well, adding to the story in a natural way, and ensuring that our satisfying moments of revelation were bolstered by breadcrumbs that delivered hints about the overall story. Technology truly enhanced the experience, adding a enigmatic and supernatural feel to the room, allowing for some hauntingly memorable moments. The game flow was seamless, and we were always sure of what we needed to be working on, but the game definitely did not hand feed us the answers. Challenging from start to finish, it definitely was a team effort to escape Claire’s insidious attic with her toys!

Low Points:

There is a very basic puzzle type that comes up a couple times during the game, and though painless, it isn’t the most interesting interaction to run through twice. A couple of the puzzles can be somewhat ambiguous as to the correct orientation when looking at them, but it is simple to try each solution. However, a more concrete clue for these may help remove the guess and check element from the room. During the early stages of the game, the linearity may create some choke points that result in down time for players in groups bigger than three.

Verdict:

The Attic is a fantastic escape room that delivered a spookily entertaining adventure we won’t soon forget! Great for smaller groups and those looking to be trapped in their own interactive horror movie, I highly recommend checking out this room! Approachable for new players but filled with enough surprises to keep veteran escapees engaged, this is definitely one of the top rooms in the RTP region. Book your time in Claire’s Attic at the new and improved NC Escape here!

8.5/10 (Great)

Full disclosure: NC Escape provided comped tickets for our group.

Whole Brain Escape – Seekers of the Mystic Orb (Review)

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Location: Apex, NC

Players: 2-10 (We recommend 4-6)

Price: $29 per person, private pricing available, see website for details

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Ia! Ia!

Theme:

From the Whole Brain Escape website:

On the Isle of Dread, archaeologists have discovered a long-forgotten city. Somewhere in these ruins, you must find the Mystic Orb, an artifact of great power. Find it and flee, or be trapped by an ancient curse! Will you succeed in your quest?

First Impressions:

Back in February, we visited Whole Brain Escape for their fantastic Bustin’ Out of the 80s and Escape the Supervillian’s Lair rooms, and once Seekers of the Mystic Orb opened, we couldn’t wait to return! The owners have a really great grasp on game design, being former video game designers, and their focus on experiences that focus on mechanical and tactile interactions rather than technical ones produces some wonderfully creative puzzles. Needless to say, I was thrilled we were able to come in to see what they had cooked up with this Lovecraft inspired adventure!

High Points:

This non-linear experience is absolutely filled to the brim with puzzles, and ensures that even larger groups will be engaged from start to finish. Teamwork is rewarded heavily, and we found that splitting up to divide and conquer was key to our success. With multiple puzzle threads winding around the room at any given time, it would be easy to get lost between all the enigmas in play, but the connective tissue that is worked into the game flow is excellently implemented, ensuring that everything remains intuitive and there is always a method to ensure you know what solutions go to which locks. All of the puzzles included are developed in house, so there are a lot of really original interactions peppered throughout the experience, many of which provide clever moments of revelation. Progress is easy to gauge during the room, as there is no directionless scavenging, and it is always clear what needs to be done during any given point in the game.

The story is a fun, Lovecraft inspired romp, but remains light hearted and family friendly throughout, ensuring players of all ages and experience levels can have a lot of fun with the room, even if they aren’t fans of the generally more horror oriented Lovecraftian universe. Story items are found through puzzle solving, and are worked into the conundrums themselves, so it doesn’t feel as though the reading is an optional time waster, and stays relevant throughout. The whole game is a mix of some of my favorite puzzle types, including many tactile interactions. The room also makes great use of the space provided, utilizing the layout in brilliant ways, and encouraging players to ensure they take in every detail of the room.

Low Points:

One particular puzzle type is repeated across two separate puzzle threads, causing us a bit of deja vu when we came across another version of a puzzle we’d seen before. The set for the latter part of the game feels a bit less immersive than the initial stages, we would’ve liked the more foreboding feel of our initial entrance to carry over. I generally was more sure of the location in story of the initial stages than where we were intended to be during the latter part of the game, in terms of immersion.

Verdict:

Seekers of the Mystic Orb is another excellent entry into Whole Brain Escape’s repertoire! Absolutely dense with puzzles, this game will keep even the largest groups engaged throughout, and is a great challenge for newcomers and enthusiasts alike. I really enjoy the back to basics game design that Whole Brain excels at, and cannot wait to return for their upcoming room, The Curse of Dr. Conundrum! Book your time seeking the Mystic Orb here!

8.5/10 (Great)

Full Disclosure: Whole Brain Escapes provided comped tickets for this room.

Unlock! Exotic Adventures – Expedition: Challenger (Review)

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Location: Your Home!

Players:  We recommend 1-3

Price: $14.99

Everybody do the dinosaur!

Theme:

From the Space Cowboys website:

A young woman knocks at the door of your PI agency. “My name is Gladys Ungerton. My friend, Ned Malone, has gone missing. You probably heard about him: he is one of the members of Prof. Challenger’s expedition! They recently returned from the Lost Valley full of strange creatures. I just received this notebook and this odd message. I don’t understand a word of any of it. Can you please go to the offices of Prof. Challenger? If you are true to your reputation, you will bring Ned back to me!”

First Impressions:

Unlock’s Exotic Adventures has, so far, been pretty disappointing compared to the previous sets, but generally, the final entries of each Unlock set have been the most exciting, with the best mechanics overall, so I was hopeful that this game would deliver! I mean how can you mess up dinosaurs?

High Points:

Expedition: Challenger has some overall good ideas, inserting an interesting twist on the timer once a particular stage of the game is reached, and though it comes along with some strange arbitrariness, with a little iteration, this method of keeping time could be very entertaining. There are a few really great puzzles involved during the solving of this box, some of which implement flawed ideas from Scheherazade’s Last Tale in a much smoother way, one of which really wowed us when we figured it out. Most of the puzzles are fun, if basic, and when the box works, it tends to work pretty well. A somewhat non-linear approach to the game is a good step forward, but unfortunately, the set up doesn’t allow for the game flow to take full advantage of the non-linearity.

Low Points:

Expedition Challenger frequently feels as though it is part of a beta test. Connections between multiple parts of the game flow are weak, and are in major need of better cluing in order to remove the leaps of logic required. One particular “machine” card in the app requires aimless searching that forces the flow of the game into a screeching halt, as the clue meant to assist with this interaction is ultimately useless. An early game puzzle requires outside knowledge, which has never been required for an Unlock game. The storyline is strong at the start, but the execution leaves much to be desired during the course of the game. The ending is completely anticlimactic, ending with little to no fanfare, and although we had completed everything the game had to offer, we were left wondering if there was something we had missed. One of the main goals of the game is saving all the characters who were lost on the expedition, and a key member of the expedition remains mysteriously lost, which may be an attempt at leaving the game open for a sequel, but as this glaring omission is never explained, it ends the story on a bewildering note.

Though some puzzles are well implemented and clever, much like the story many had us scratching our heads long after they had been completed. One of the main puzzles can be easily hacked using guess and check, and seems to encourage this, but is part of a clever puzzle that we missed out on due to the weird presentation of this interaction. The new map mechanic is full of some extremely arbitrary movement rules, contributing to a lot of confusion when the game instills a fair amount of learned helplessness in players. Overall, Expedition: Challenger would be a great first draft, but as a finished product for sale, it disappoints on multiple levels.

Verdict:

Expedition: Challenger tries it’s best, but ultimately, the clever puzzles are overshadowed by illogical interactions and a poor game flow. These issues are exacerbated by strangely arbitrary choices in the game design that serve only to punish the player, an ongoing frustration of the Exotic Adventures set. Give this one a skip, as it feels much too rushed to be a final product. Earlier sets are definitely worth a try, however, so if you’re looking to try an Unlock game, I’d suggest one of these! We buy ours at the ever excellent Atomic Empire in Durham, NC, check out their online store here!

5.5/10 (Mediocre)