Escape Room Herndon – Room 213 (Review)

February 6, 2020February 6, 2020 ~ EscapeAdventurer ~ Leave a comment

Location: Herndon, VA

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

Price: $28 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Rest Uneasy Hotel

Theme:

From the Escape Room Herndon Website:

You’re a team of paranormal investigators who have been requested by a hotel owner to investigate strange happenings inside the mysterious room 213. As soon as you enter the room you can sense that something else is going on. Before you can ask, your host has quickly left the room. As you hear the door lock, you realize you’ve been trapped. Can your team uncover the Mystery of Room 213?

First Impressions:

Escape Room Herndon boasts some of the best rooms in Virginia, and I love a spooky, haunted theme, so Room 213 became more highly anticipated as we adventured through their other rooms! Stepping into the ominously appointed hotel room, I couldn’t wait to see what creepy puzzling was in store for us!

High Points:

As always for a Ravenchase production, the set design of this room is great, encapsulating the theme within its walls perfectly, and oozing spookiness out of every pore. As we delved deeper into the room’s secrets, the set, utilizing the grimily gorgeous design as well as great lighting and sound effects, gradually became even more sinister and ominous. The storyline helps compound this feeling of uneasiness, and the more we discovered, the creepier the experience felt! Several of the larger props hide some real surprises that kept us on our toes until we finally escaped, never sure what was going to pop up next. All of this melded together during the climax, delivering an exciting finish to the room.

The room is very tactile, which I always love, with loads of interesting and theme relevant props to mess around with. Some we initially figured were just set dressing ended up being part of an incredibly creative puzzle that became one of my favorites on the day for its elegant simplicity and intuitiveness. This tactility and streamlined puzzling carries throughout the adventure, and though the room feels somewhat sparser than the other three at this location, it certainly remains an exciting experience to puzzle through! There is just enough technology integrated into the room to give off the spooky vibe via the enigmas within without overdoing it or including technology for technology’s sake, and the few jumps that are included are done expertly. The final bit of tech ties into the story fantastically, and helps cap off things nicely.

Low Points:

Though the room is sometimes non-linear, it felt mostly linear in our experience, leading to a few unfortunate choke points that stop up the action. At the same time, however, there are a couple moments at which groups can accidentally get ahead of themselves by solving certain puzzles before they are meant to, so a mite bit more gatekeeping in areas could help alleviate that problem. The game flow works well for the most part, but at times, there are some small logical leaps in which the connections break down, muddling the logical waters a bit. We enjoyed the story within the room, but at times, it felt as though the “why?” of the room was lost between the cracks, leaving a loose end here and there. Finally, though the room does ramp up the spookiness well, the puzzles overall don’t feel quite as exciting as some of Escape Room Herndon’s other rooms. However, this is still an excellent experience, which just speaks to how amazing the rooms here are!

Verdict:

Room 213 is an exciting haunted romp to adventure through, and although there are a few small bumps in the road here and there, they don’t detract overmuch from the experience. I absolutely recommend this room, as you cannot go wrong with any room at Escape Room Herndon; they’re all so fantastic! Book your time in the haunted hotel room here!

8/10 (Great)

Full Disclosure: Escape Room Herndon provided comped tickets for this room.

Escape Room Herndon – 8-Bit Escape (Review)

January 16, 2020January 16, 2020 ~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Herndon, VA

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

Price: $28 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Totally Tubular!

Theme:

From the Escape Room Herndon Website:

Your friends have come over to play your newest video game; however once you get to the basement you see your mom has locked up all your gaming gear until you finish you homework. You and your friends have 60 minutes to find all your gear and put it back together before your mom kicks them out and they all go over to Wade’s house.

First Impressions:

I have to say, as a child who grew up on the NES, 80’s and 90’s movies, and sitting in front of giant box TVs on grandma’s shag carpet, 8-Bit Escape was absolutely calling my name, as it called most of our team. I try to go in to rooms without big expectations, but the pull of nostalgia from this one was hard to resist, and I was giddy to see what wonders were in store during this escape!

High Points:

There are several pictures in this review that show the amount of detail that has gone into making 8-Bit Escape a truly convincing blast to the past, but these pictures alone cannot describe the absolutely amazing feeling of stepping into the room for the first time. The experience is truly brilliant, with a set design that stays one hundred percent faithful to it’s gloriously creative theme. Sound design was amazing as well, and hearkened back to the NES era of chiptune earwigs that I still cannot get out of my head decades later. The story is simple, but effective, and calls to the kid in us; it does a fantastic job to frame the adventure, but doesn’t need to be overly complex, as the main draw here is the immersion within the old school theme of the room. The first thing most folks will want to do upon entering is get their hands on some of the fantastic, true to life props and just start playing around, and in some cases, there are items within the room that are marked as simply that, games and toys to play around with while you explore the room. this touch is fantastic, and though they may not further the puzzle flow, they do add to the immersion of the room, and allow players to indulge their nostalgia to their heart’s content.

8-Bit Escape is a room that’s just enormously fun to be in, but there’s still an escape game to play inside, and it is just as exciting. The game flow is fantastic, with a non-linear run that ensures big groups with have plenty to work on when they aren’t playing around with the Atari or He-Man figures. Every single puzzle within this room is integrated perfectly into the theme, and there are so many superbly creative interactions, some of which we’d never seen before. One early puzzle rewards a bit of outside knowledge without requiring it, and gives a rush of satisfaction to those that can solve it early without breaking the game flow by skipping ahead, which is great. One of my absolute favorite parts of the room involves a full scale arcade cabinet, and an interaction that expanded the room in a way I did not expect. There are further surprises in the late game that are beautifully done, and during this climax, there are some absolute full-scale gems that are just joyous to work through. All in all, this room is a pleasure through and through, and I cannot say enough good things about the experience. It goes without saying that I recommend booking a slot here, no questions asked.

Low Points:

We had to eventually leave. Seriously, though, that was kind of a bummer. We could spend all day in this room if you let us, I’m sure! Honestly, the only problem I personally can think of is that there are a few props that feel a bit worn. Beyond that, I really can’t think of much that I could write here.

Verdict:

Only one other escape business I’ve visited has ever received more than one ten out of ten review from us in three years, but Escape Room Herndon absolutely deserves to be just the second business to receive this honor. 8-Bit Escape is an escape room that is elevated from merely a simple game to an experience that is a pure joy to engage with. The set design, nostalgia, clever puzzling, and great easter eggs come together to deliver a room that absolutely deserves the title of must-play! Book your time in mom’s 80’s basement here!

10/10 (Phenomenal)

Full Disclosure: Escape Room Herndon provided comped tickets for this room.

Escape Room Herndon – Maritime Mutiny (Review)

November 21, 2019November 21, 2019 ~ EscapeAdventurer ~ Leave a comment

Location: Herndon, VA

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

Price: $28 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Here there be py’rates!

Theme:

From the Escape Room Herndon Website:

The pirate captain Ravensbeard has been cheating you and the crew out of your rightful share of plunder! Now that hornswoggling scoundrel has barricaded himself in his quarters. You and your mates must break in to reclaim what be rightfully yours and send that scurvy dog to Davey Jones’ Locker. If you’re crafty enough, mayhaps you’ll even commandeer the whole galleon. All hands on deck!

First Impressions:

Most of the Keyed Up! A-team love a good pirate theme. While they’re fairly ubiquitous, especially over on the east coast, our main stomping grounds, we still have a soft spot in our hearts for them. Knowing Ravenchase rooms’ proclivities for great sets and interestingly engineered puzzles, we were excited to see what sort of high seas mischief we’d be getting into!

High Points:

Maritime Mutiny is housed within yet another beautiful set from Escape Room Herndon, who does an amazing job with their designs. The set reminded me of the astounding Lost Jewel of the James from sister company Escape Room RVA, with a more streamlined and easier to traverse set. Every technical item has been hidden away well, and the room itself has been artistically created to evoke a high level of immersion. Lighting and sound design add to the experience greatly as well, and I always appreciate a good ambient sound track that ensures players feel as though they’re within a living world rather than a converted office space.

The game flow itself works fantastically, with a bevy of well clued puzzles that will cater to an array of puzzlers. Each prop within the room feels important, and the intuitive nature of the enigmas within Ravensbeard’s pirate ship ensure that everyone will be completely engaged with the adventure at all times. The signposting is subtle, and presents an almost invisible road map for players that keeps the game challenging while ensuring that there are no red herrings to drive them off track. This is a very tactile game, and when the set opens up to present its secrets due to an action taken in the room, it’s a very satisfying. Progress is well marked during the game, and it never feels like the game is dragging at any point.

Maritime Mutiny is a special game in that the advertised difficulty is a 5/10, unless players opt for the bonus puzzles, in which the game becomes a 10/10. The decision to take these puzzles on is made after escaping the initial room, so no need to worry about if there’s time (or mental energy,) until the option presents itself. This is an awesome way to ensure folks who tend to fly through easier rooms still get their full 60 minutes with the game. I also love that solving these puzzles grants a better climax to the room, as hinted at in the room description. Our team definitely felt the pressure as these were some devious challenges, but know that the reward for solving these optional puzzles is absolutely worth it!

Low Points:

While the bonus puzzles are a great addition for seasoned players, they were more puzzle hunt style than most are used to seeing in an escape room. I personally am not the biggest fan of this style of puzzle, which tend to feel overly vague and logically unsound. However, most of the puzzles presented are well implemented and they are, of course, optional, so it’s a small matter of mostly personal preference as to whether you’ll enjoy the bonus. Overall, we did, but I can certainly see where they would become frustrating. The initial set of puzzles are definitely some of the easier ones, so escape room veterans looking for a challenge will have to wait for the bonus puzzles. Overall, the dichotomy of the room is best for new players who don’t mind missing out on the bonus and better climax, or hardened escape enthusiasts looking for a bigger challenge, but not as much for those in between experience levels.

Verdict:

Maritime Mutiny is an astounding room that accomplishes the impossible task of being a great room for new players and those looking for a mind melting challenge as well. Couple that with the beautiful sound and set design, and you’ve got a game that I can absolutely recommend to everybody! Book your time escaping your Maritime Mutiny here!

9/10 (Excellent)

Full Disclosure: Escape Room Herndon provided comped tickets for this room.

Escape Room Herndon – Magician’s Workshop (Review)

October 24, 2019October 16, 2019 ~ EscapeAdventurer ~ Leave a comment

Editor’s Note: Today’s review comes from my lovely wife, Kara, who was interested in taking on reviewing one of the many rooms we experienced during our 23 room marathon in Northern Virginia. Special thanks to her for taking a little bit of the work off my plate, and for writing such an excellent review of our favorite room of the trip!

Location: Herndon, VA

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

Price: $28 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

…and for my final trick…

Theme:

From the Escape Room Herndon Website:

You’re an apprentice for Carter the Great, the best magician this town has ever seen. Unfortunately for him, he’s been sharing the theater with his biggest rival, The Great Danton. Danton said he will be unveiling his newest trick at tomorrow’s performance. If his trick truly is amazing, it’ll surely put your show out of business. You must sneak into the theater at night and figure out the source of Danton’s new power otherwise Carter will surely be finished!

First Impressions:

After three already amazing rooms, we were raring to start the Magician’s Workshop! To be honest, I definitely had some reservations. We have already escaped a really great magician-themed room (see my husband’s thoughts on the Illusion room) so was curious as to how another room could stack up. But, as already mentioned, we were in high spirits after escaping the 8-Bit Escape room, so my optimism was on full blast.

High Points:

If I was expecting to play with one or two kittens (or puppies! Or bunnies! – Whatever your fancy!), the Magician’s Workshop was like the door opening to a mountain of kittens!!! The room started out deceivingly simple, and it wasn’t long before the room astoundingly expanded to a plethora of amazing puzzles. The transitions between the rooms were exciting from the beginning, and the game flow and connections were so smooth and intuitive. The theme was consistently and expertly woven into all of the puzzles, which were a great mix of non-linear and linear activities that easily kept our whole room busy and entertained.

The child (and adult) in me was excited to see a lot of familiar magician elements and props. I really enjoyed the creativity in how they were implemented, and we were able to interact with them in really satisfying ways. (You may even find yourself performing a trick or two!) There were so many a-ha (or as I like to say – ohhhhh) moments that were had, and – true to the theme – I was constantly amazed at how well multiple clues were made to be both obvious and hidden in plain sight. There were a couple of multi-part puzzles that, though you reached a point where you might realize what would happen, were really exciting to see play out. What I would consider the climactic puzzle revealed a really neat, magical effect and turned our ohhhhh’s to ooooh’s (read: very impressed).

We learned that many of the props were handmade, and it was clear how thoughtful and careful Escape Room Herndon was in building this room. (I can only imagine how one of them in particular was painstaking to create.) The set design and soundtrack were very appropriate, and really immersed you into the Great Danton’s workspace. And, if for some reason you got lost in the magic and wonder of it all and forgot why you were there, the puzzles and clues did a great job of reminding you of the storyline. There was a lot of creativity that went into this room and so many moving parts to manage, but their team’s efforts seemed well worth it because it culminated into a phenomenal room!

Low Points:

I struggled to think of a low point for this room. There was one small red herring that may be distracting/misleading, but I think the game flow was pretty good at keeping you moving with other things. I did expect a little more to happen after one puzzle was triggered (and it did have a really cool effect), but was not disappointed overall.

Verdict:

The Magician’s Workshop was my favorite room of the trip, and my favorite magician-themed room of all time! After playing, we learned that it was their newest room and had only been open for about a week. Considering how many rooms (understandably) tend to improve over time, I was even more impressed with how amazing The Magician’s Workshop already is. Book your time in the Magician’s Workshop here!

10/10 (Phenomenal)

Full Disclosure: Escape Room Herndon provided comped tickets for this room.