Tag: Whole Brain Escape

Whole Brain Escape – Mystery of the Mad Scientist (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 2 Comments

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

I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey.

Theme:

From the Whole Brain Escape website:

Dr. Conundrum has broken the laws of space and time, and opened a doorway to the Luniverse. Will you restore order to this world, or be trapped in this psychedelic madhouse?

First Impressions:

Whole Brain Escape is one of our favorite new spots in the Raleigh area, and we were thrilled to hear that their fourth and final, (for now,) room would be opening its doors. The room seemed to have a Dia de los Muertos theme, along with some wild and colorful interactions from the promotional materials, so we could not wait to see what the designers had come up with this time!

mystery-1

High Points:

In the past, we’ve enjoyed how Whole Brain puts together their sets, but have noted that sometimes they didn’t quite feel as immersive as they could. Each previous room in which we noted this has seen an upgrade, and we think that’s an excellent sign. In Mystery of the Mad Scientist, however, this was not a problem. The set is fully decked out as a whimsical and subtly sinister place to puzzle, and this theming keeps up throughout the experience. There’s also a great point in the story which triggers a moment that changes the whole set, allowing for whole new clues to pervade the room, and adding a great surprise to the adventure that I thought was an amazing touch. By my estimation, this room is easily Whole Brain Escape’s most atmospherically complete and exciting set, bolstered by a fun soundtrack and simple touches that evoke some fantastic world building. The props, puzzles, and side items all remain in theme, and honestly, I’d love to see more of the Luniverse universe that has been created here.

The storyline of Mystery of the Mad Scientist is simple, but highly effective, peppered with the great humorous touches that we’ve come to expect within a Whole Brain room. The whole journey is a weird, abstract romp through a loony world, and I loved every strange minute of it. As a result, the theme is wholly original; a mad scientist room that doesn’t take place within a boring lab or converted office. Everything ties up into an appropriately mysterious climax that left us wanting more in the best possible way, tying up the room’s mission while leaving us with some entertaining questions to ponder. Puzzle wise, the game flow is astoundingly good, with multiple paths of linearity that come together and branch out multiple times, allowing for no choke points and ensuring that we remained fully engaged with the game for a good while. In fact, it has become common for our team to break out of rooms fairly quickly, but the density of interactions within this one kept us puzzling well beyond our average time, which is always great.

The enigmas we faced were varied and clever, and no puzzle type was repeated within the room. Every step of the adventure felt fresh, and the system used to tie solutions to locks was subtle and intuitive, removing any need for trial and error at any point. There’s truly so many great puzzles in this room that it’d be impossible to discuss them all, but one favorite engaged us all with a bit of tech that ensured we’d have to work together in a hilarious way, and another run of puzzles engaged us during the most surprising point of the experience, playing with perception in fantastic ways.

mystery-2

Low Points:

There are a few points that include seeming red herrings, parts of clues that hint towards puzzles, but really aren’t. While it is overall pretty easy to spot that which is important and that which isn’t, these could trip up and frustrate some players, especially those who are easily led down rabbit trails. For enthusiasts, this may be on the easier side, and those looking for six figure set designs might be disappointed, but our group still enjoyed the challenge it presented and thought the set was more than appropriate.

Verdict:

Presenting a truly immersive experience filled to the brim with puzzles, Mystery of the Mad Scientist is absolutely my favorite room at Whole Brain Escape. The addition of a little bit of technology coupled with continued light hearted game design, I think this room is a perfect recommendation for escape room die hards and new players alike. Book your time in the Luniverse here!

8.5/10 (Great)

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

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.

Whole Brain Escape – Escape the Supervillain’s Lair (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 1 Comment

Location: Apex, NC

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

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

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Riddle me this!

Theme:

It’s 1963, the Darkest Timeline. Supervillians have taken over the world, and you are one of the few superheroes fighting back against their tyrannical reign! Unfortunately, you’ve fallen for a trap, and The Quizzler has stripped you of your super powers and trapped you within her lair. Always one for games, she’s devised a series of puzzles to prove she’s more clever than you once and for all! She’s given you one hour to solve her riddles or face destruction!

First Impressions:

Strangely, we’ve seen precious few Superhero based escape rooms, and that’s honestly quite puzzling to me. I feel like it’s an amazing theme, full of potential, so I was very excited to see what Whole Brain Escape could do with it! The theme, on the flip side, is one that could fall victim to lazy design via Intellectual Property theft, but I’m glad to say that is not the case with this room!

High Points:

The Quizzler’s lair is decorated with the colorful flair of a 1960’s superhero show, and boasts more than a few superhero props from the many titans she’s slain! It’s also a rather large room, one that can absolutely hold the maximum eight players comfortably. The décor is appropriately zany, with homages to superheroes we know and love, without being a ripoff of copyrighted materials. While exploring the room, the myriad props provide a highly tactile experience, and add to the game fantastically. The superheroes, villains, and team-ups that Whole Brain has come up with are wonderfully imaginative, and lend an air of believability to their comic book world. In fact, it’d be awesome to see these expanded on further in future rooms!

The game flow is, similar to Bustin’ Out of the Eighties, extremely intuitive and satisfying to engage with. The puzzles follow a reasonable, if challenging logic, and they line up with the locks they are meant to open in clear ways. There is a lot of variety in the clever challenges that make up The Quizzler’s lair, and the non-linear threads absolutely kept our group fully involved with the room from start to finish. Multiple puzzles were brand new to our seasoned group, and provided many satisfying ah ha moments when we made major breakthroughs. One puzzle in particular dealt with perspective, and are implemented in such deviously brilliant ways that we couldn’t help but appreciate. Another great puzzle took a fairly basic escape room trope, and through a small amount of tweaking, made it so much more exciting to engage with. The final goal of the room is climactic, and provides a fun objective based ending to the story.

Low Points:

Though there is a variety of puzzles within the room, there was one genre of puzzle type that felt as though it showed up a bit more than others. Being a fairly basic puzzle as well, they slightly repetitive. Like Bustin’ Out of the Eighties, this room is much more lock, key, and code based than some more tech heavy rooms, and while it fits the theme, a small technical surprise would’ve been a great addition to the Quizzler’s arsenal of enigmas. One puzzle involves what could be construed as a red herring, and though the reasoning behind it’s inclusion is sound, it still caused us a small amount of confusion after we’d completed our objective.

Verdict:

Whole Brain Escape does an superb job of creating physical escape experiences that utilize mechanical props and puzzles in creative new ways! Escape the Supervillain’s Lair is no exception, as the whole adventure was an exciting romp full of highly satisfying puzzling. The immersive comic book world they’ve created is ripe for further exploration, and I’d love to see a sequel down the line! In the mean time, I’m extremely excited to see what comes next from these guys! Book your time matching wits with The Quizzler here!

8.5/10 (Great)

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

Whole Brain Escape – Bustin’ Out of the 80’s (Review)

~ EscapeAdventurer ~ 2 Comments

Location: Apex, NC

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

Price: $29 per person, Private Experience available, see website for details

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Bustin’ Makes Me Feel Good!

Theme:

As a rouge gang of time travelling bandits, you’ve marked your next target, a priceless Betamax cassette! You’ll need to travel back in time to the 1980’s to steal it away from The Collector, a mysterious keeper of esoteric artifacts. He’ll be away for about an hour, it seems, so you’ll need to be quick if you’re to find the cassette that time forgot and return to the future with your spoils!

First Impressions:

We have done one other Eighties room during our career as escapists, and suffice to say, we were unimpressed. We were cautiously optimistic, however, as Whole Brain Escape seemed to have a much better grasp on theming and design due to their credentials in video game design. Stepping into the room itself was an interesting experience, as we were transported to a room that boasted a retro soundtrack, colorful walls, and the feeling deep in our souls that somewhere out there, hair metal still lives. I could instantly tell that this room would absolutely be the nostalgic eighties room we were looking for!

High Points:

Bustin’ Out of the Eighties was truly a delight to play through. The non-linear game flow worked excellently, and allowed us to form two ever shifting teams, (some of us, myself included, like to wander over whenever a new shiny object is presented,) and stay engaged with the puzzling from start to finish. The props included are hugely authentic, and one of our team members gasped audibly upon being greeted with the many nerdy relics of yore several times during the experience. Nostalgia is utilized heavily in this room, and though you don’t need to be a child of the eighties to enjoy it, it definitely enhances the experience! Though nostalgic props and aesthetics are included within the room, nothing feels old or junky. In fact, the whole room feels like it could’ve been lifted straight from 1989, as the props we found were all in excellent condition.

Speaking of props, they were implemented in so many interesting ways. Several tactile puzzles were sprinkled throughout the experience, and the way we interacted with them was both elegant in their simplicity, but mind blowing all the same. The room is completely mechanical, which makes sense within the theme, and a variety of locks are used in order to keep the experience fresh. Though some lock types repeat, everything is clued excellently, ensuring that there were no instances of guess and check frustration. In fact, there was never a moment of obtuse ambiguity within the room. The enigmas presented were enjoyable and challenging solves, full of ah ha moments and intuitive links that made the game itself flow amazingly well. This room was so well designed that though some groups may want to use a hint or two, it can absolutely be solved without them, which is a triumph of game design if the average room is any indication.

Low Points:

While we did enjoy the set design of this room, it is fairly basic, but it was very minor for us, especially when the whole thing is filled to the brim with awesome props. Bustin’ Out of the Eighties is also an easier game, which isn’t to say it’s not a lot of fun, but if you’re the sort of enthusiast that wants to break out with seconds to spare, you’ll want to bring a smaller group. The story works for this room, but it doesn’t evolve much over the course of the experience, and I would’ve loved to find out more about The Collector during our game. For example, why is his lair in the 80’s? Does he have multiple themed lairs in other decades? Does he truly look like Benicio del Toro, or was that artistic license on Marvel’s part? Inquiring minds want to know!

Verdict:

Bustin’ Out of the Eighties is a great room full of wonderfully clever puzzles that we really enjoyed. If you’re looking for a pure puzzle focused experience peppered with a generous helping of nostalgia, I absolutely recommend checking it out. This room would be a perfect introductory room for beginners, but I think enthusiasts, especially those who were eighties kids, will love this one as well. Book your time Bustin’ Out here!

8.5/10 (Great)

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