Tag: Charleston

Charleston Escape Game – The Cannibal Collector (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Charleston, SC

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

Price: $28 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Serial Killers hate them! They escape using this one simple trick!

Theme:

Nineteen people have gone missing in Charleston, and the city is starting to get very nervous. The police have set up several search teams, and you’re one of the best. In fact, you’ve found the killer’s lair! Unfortunately, however, this was all an elaborate trap and you are stuck within the dingy confines of The Collector’s sanctum, with only an hour before he returns! Worse, it looks like the reason you haven’t found any trace of the missing people is because he’s been eating them with some really tasty looking Chinese takeout! Work quickly, or he might use you as his next garnish!

First Impressions:

After finishing Taking Back Charleston, one of the best rooms we’d done on this trip, we were extremely excited to be entering another room at Charleston Escape Room. While the theme isn’t the most original, (I’ve escaped from no less than seventeen serial killers. I counted. They don’t really like us.) I have this soft spot for horror themes that aren’t zombies, so I was still pumped for the experience! Also, this room was purported to be more mature than the usual serial killer thriller, promising a bit more R-rated gore for the discerning horror fan!

High Points:

The Cannibal Collector is a vastly creepy room. Most serial killer rooms just play off the theme with a bit of tongue in cheek jump scares or decorations, but this one ups the ante with really nice props of a more visceral nature. The scares were well implemented as well, and kept my girlfriend and best escape partner running back to me in fright! The game flow works well for the most part, and gives just enough of a clue to keep you working towards the solution without being overly obvious. New surprises abound around every corner, and each room contains several unexpected surprises to enjoy! (or be startled by. Same difference.) Set design is top notch, as we’ve come to expect from these guys, and provides great atmosphere through sound, lighting, and convincing props. The climax is fantastic, and begins with an excellent fake-out moment that kept me guessing at what would come next. Several excellent puzzles and interactions we hadn’t seen before helped tie this experience together as one we won’t soon forget!

Low Points:

One interaction works, and is fairly surprising, but should have some sort of cluing associated with it, as currently, it feels very random and can halt game flow pretty severely. Another puzzle became an unintentional red herring for us, and while thematic, doesn’t quite jive with the logic of the rest of the room, giving off a supernatural vibe in a mostly grounded serial killer adventure. A code during the later game made sense as to which numbers would be needed, but the ordering was foreign to us, meshing poorly with the actual clue.

Verdict:

Charleston Escape Game kicks the serial killer theme up a notch with The Cannibal Collector, delivering an immersive horror experience with a bit more bite than your usual room! While the flow trips up from time to time, there a so many great puzzles packed inside, and I absolutely recommend giving it a shot! You can book your time as a main course here!

8/10 (Great)

Full Disclosure: Charleston Escape Game provided Media Discounted tickets for our game.

Charleston Escape Game – Taking Back Charleston (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Charleston, SC

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

Price: $28 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Tally-ho!

Theme:

The British have Charlestowne under siege, and rebel militia are slowly losing ground against the elite Royal forces! If the Americans are to have any chance at keeping the enemy at bay, they’re going to have to pull off something big. That something big is your mission! As a member of the rag-tag Swamp Fox milita, you’ve been tasked with infiltrating a British General’s tent, gaining entry into their munitions warehouse, and blowing it to smithereens! A hit like this will force the Brits to retreat and end the siege once and for all, but you must complete your mission before the General returns, or it’s over for Charlestowne’s resistance!

First Impressions:

Charleston Escape Game is just one of a network of three sister locations. The other two locations, Elite Escape Games, and Break Out Charleston, are excellent businesses in their own right, boasting some really great rooms, so expectations were high regarding the quality of these games. As always, they did not disappoint!

High Points:

The Revolutionary War theme was something that I’d never seen before, and I thought it was an amazing idea! A historically based game in a city steeped in history has the makings of something great. The set design is phenomenal, per usual, and the General’s tent is set up with lighting and sound effects that make you feel as though you’re outside of a pitched battle, having just infiltrated enemy lines! The game flow moves excellently, and though linear in places, has enough non-linear threads to keep a larger group busy. Movement from the tent to the munitions base is excellent fun, and adds a enjoyable moment to something as simple as moving from room to room. The big interaction in the latter part of the game is enormously satisfying to complete, and adds a fantastic element of incremental progression to the game. There are a few larger set piece puzzles that are mind-blowingly awesome to complete, and incorporate elements of teamwork that we really enjoyed completing. There are several basic locks, but none feel out of place, and the technological elements feel appropriate to the theme while still giving that mysterious feel to the room. In all, the room was just amazingly fun to solve from start to finish! It was one of those rooms in which we broke out quickly, but it didn’t feel as if we’d gone all that fast, we were so thoroughly entertained!

Low Points:

One minor puzzle was an underwhelming solve, but is an easy win for new players, so it isn’t much of a complaint, but from the design of the clue, we had expected a slightly more exciting interaction.

Verdict:

Taking Back Charleston is a highly original, enormously entertaining adventure! A great game for beginners and enthusiasts alike, it is a must play the next time you’re in Charleston. I hear that Charleston Escape Game has another original new room theme on the horizon, and cannot wait for our next trip out once it is completed! Try to beat our record while you’re there! Sign up for the Swamp Fox militia and save Charlestowne here!

9.5/10 (Excellent)

Full Disclosure: Charleston Escape Game provided Media Discounted tickets for our game.

Break Out Charleston – Escaping Death Row (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 2 Comments

Location: Charleston, SC

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

Price: $28 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Walk the Mile

Theme:

Pretty simple, your team is behind bars awaiting execution and have only an hour to escape, otherwise all is lost!

First Impressions:

We were invited to come back the next day after escaping Bank Heist, and were excited to do so, as we’ll never turn down another escape, especially at a location we know to be a lot of fun. Entering our prison cell, we were much more impressed with the set than in Bank Heist, as the décor was definitely more on par with their Serial Killer room, and felt highly polished and immersive.

High Points:

As previously stated, the décor is well implemented and immersive, feeling polished in most areas. A few nice set pieces were fun to find and interact with, as are the props and puzzles included, which are mostly tactile. A great range of escape room standbys and original puzzles make this a excellent introductory game for beginners and newbies, and boasts a terrific game flow along with several surprises along the way. Connections to be made within the room are clear and add to the riddle solving as well, keeping the puzzle train going from spot to spot. One optional late game interaction is fairly humorous as well, and gave us a good-natured laugh at my sister’s expense.

Low Points:

Some areas of the room felt worn, breaking the overall immersion, though I imagine the fixes wouldn’t be overly burdensome. One puzzle in particular was pretty underwhelming in its presentation and could’ve been made much more interesting with the inclusion of a tactile prop. Some lock types repeat, requiring a couple points of trial and error entry. With a fairly simple theme and puzzles presented without a deep story, Escaping Death Row is a puzzle room more than anything, but a engaging one, so that isn’t a huge problem.

Verdict:

Break Out Charleston bills Escaping Death Row as their beginner’s room, and it would definitely be a fantastic experience for newcomers to the hobby. Enthusiasts might find themselves breaking out fairly quickly, (we still had 31 minutes left when we busted out,) and though it is still a enjoyable experience, Serial Killer will be a much better challenge for seasoned veterans of escaping. Either way, I certainly recommend trying it out! Book your time in the cell here!

8.5/10 (Great)

Full Disclosure: Breakout Charleston comped our tickets for this game

Break Out Charleston – Bank Heist (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Charleston, SC

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

Price: $28 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

The original get rich quick scheme

Theme:

Working 9 to 5 just isn’t cutting it anymore and you want to make sure you’ll never have to work again, so you and your friends have decided to do what any well adjusted person tired of the daily grind would do and knock over a bank! You’ve broken in, and luckily there are clues littered everywhere on how to open the vault and steal the cash, but be quick, the cops will be at the door in only an hour to end your 9 to 5 days in a much less comfortable way!

First Impressions:

We were excited to see that our Game Master who led us through Serial Killer exactly one year before would be running us through our next adventure with BreakOut Charleston, as he was excellent the previous visit. As our previous game was a fantastic time, we were looking forward to the next room Breakout had to offer.

High Points:

There were a couple of fun interactions we hadn’t yet seen in this room, dealing with perspective as well as understanding of space that were enjoyable to solve. The connections between puzzle clues, solutions, and items were interesting and exciting to solve, and a good mix of searching and riddle solving kept our group of four involved throughout this mostly non-linear room. The final run of puzzles tied the room together well, and provided a fun physical interaction leading towards the end of our successful heist.

Low Points:

One puzzle is based on geography and requires a bit of outside knowledge in order to solve. The room as a whole feels a bit older and more worn than the other offerings at BreakOut Charleston, and the gameplay itself, while still a fun time, is a bit less cohesive than usual. The rooms and props themselves are sparser and less polished on the whole, delivering more of a facsimile of a bank than immersing you in the theme with it’s set. One of the final interactions is capped at two participants, so bigger groups may feel left out of that section. A few puzzles utilized the same colors as each other, muddling up the solving process in a confusing and ultimately frustrating way.

Verdict:

Bank Heist is an exciting, if sometimes flawed game that provides a challenging puzzle room to solve. Enthusiasts may feel a bit underwhelmed by the more old school feel, but this would definitely be a great room for beginners to try out. Book your break-in at Break Out here!

7/10 (Good)

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)