The LadderHatch EscapesEscape roomIRLThis really felt like an RPG videogame with mini games come to life! I was completely immersed from the very start. The tech, the puzzles, the mini games, the overarching score, and some of the uniquely frenetic and overwhelmingly fun elements that I will leave vague to prevent spoilers were amazing - I'll come back to replay it for a different ending for sure 💯.
Prison BreakNerd EscapesEscape roomIRLMy nephews (19, 16, 13) and niece (9) and I enjoyed this room! It was well-themed with prison decor (including a toilet 🪠) with good pacing. The first few puzzles and how they complemented each other was thematically pleasing to me. The last few puzzles required a bit more thought and reason, but were overcome with a few gentle hints! Overall, this was a fun experience and for my family - who have only really done escape rooms locally - one of their best experiences!
Magician's WorkshopEscape Room HerndonEscape roomIRLFrom what I can tell so far, Escape Room Herndon does a great job of starting each room on a strong foot to impress and immerse you. I enjoyed the cumulative storyline, magical theme, and puzzle diversity. There were several that stumped us in a very fair way. Absolutely recommend the room!
8-Bit EscapeEscape Room HerndonEscape roomIRLFrom the very moment I stepped into the room, I felt like I was in that era! I didn't know all the cultural references but there were enough that I was grinning with glee as I solved puzzles related to them. This room was just. plain. fun. While many puzzles were lock and key, there was also a particularly innovative puzzle type that wowed me. It was a bit short, but it was well worth it!
Train RobberyCyber Raccoon Escape RoomEscape roomIRLI found it amusing how the game master was so humble about his 'pretty alright' escape room and 'standard' safety video compared to how much fun I had. I have found that I am growing increasingly fond of the Western themed escape rooms lately and how immaculate the decor and music are and this was no exception. I feel like I ought to have dressed like a cowboy to complete the immersion. Each puzzle was intricate, well-executed, and even plot-relevant (although one near the end was really wordy and stumped us because we over thought it), the mechanism to deliver hints was delightful, and the storyline itself was intriguing. I can't wait to come back to see the next in the series!
WreckedMasterpiece EscapesEscape roomIRLWe travelled down to Charlotte for an escape room marathon at Masterpiece Escapes and did Ghastly Escapes, the Deadwood Saloon, the Coral Kingdom Aquarium, and Breakfast All Day. Wrecked was our joint favorite of all of the escape rooms - it was deeply immersive with music, sound effects, design, and thematic puzzles. We were impressed at the content density of the room and the energy as we played progressively escalated.
Ghastly Escapes - Ch. 1 The Bag ManMasterpiece EscapesEscape roomIRLThe high-level meta theme of this escape room being an escape room really scratched an itch for me thematically and in terms of set design. The puzzles were on the simpler side to accommodate for the fact that the group is under duress. I enjoyed the effort put into world-building the grander narrative for this series. The acting was passionate and immersive and I recommend all to forgo the safety opt-out; it's not too bad. We did all the escape rooms at Masterpiece except for Metro Mayhem and Missing and this was our #3!
The Coral Kingdom AquariumMasterpiece EscapesEscape roomIRL𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 �𓅝𓃄 �𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿 𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 𓂨𓅝𓃄 𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿This review contains spoilers.Unscramble𓀗
The Deadwood SaloonMasterpiece EscapesEscape roomIRLThe introduction, decor, music, and themed puzzles created an engaging Wild West experience that was fun from beat to beat. I just wish I had been provided some cowboy gear to match the theme 🤠. We did every escape room here except Missing and Metro Mayhem and this was second only to Wrecked!
Bustin’ Out of the Eighties - CLOSEDWhole Brain EscapeEscape roomIRLThis was a well-implemented Gen-1 escape room and an enjoyable experience! I personally preferred the Crimson Dragon escape room at this location more, although I can't quite put into words why. It could have been that me and my friend were slightly off our game that day or that our lack of understanding of 80s references led us to be more confused or the puzzles were slightly more challenging or some blend of the above - that led to the puzzle-to-puzzle flow feeling less intuitive generally. That said, this was still an engaging room and I plan to do the rest at this location because the room design and quality is consistent 💪🏻.
Odin's TrialGame On Escapes & More - CaryEscape roomIRLThere was a general lack of intuitive flow from puzzle to puzzle, including some puzzles that required rote searching, had faulty buttons, and others that were disjoint. I appreciated the set design and investment into tech, but this room needs some iteration on the flow!
Curse of the Crimson DragonWhole Brain EscapeEscape roomIRLAs a previous review mentioned, prepare for a fast-paced (by necessity) and puzzle-oriented escape room! This is partway between a first and second generation escape room and truly maximizes the value of that experience. We tackled this escape room with two players and took an aggressive pace to solve it. It was exciting and engaging - highly recommend for any puzzle lovers! The owner took some time after we finished to talk shop and share other recommendations in the area which was really appreciated as well.
Alien EscapeNC EscapeEscape roomIRLThis was a solid Gen 2 escape room with one unique puzzle mechanic that I had not seen prior, as well as alright theming production quality for the Raleigh Durham area. I would prefer if the hints were prompted or gave more time for players to troubleshoot rather than arriving in fairly rapid succession, although that may vary based on the GM.
The StorykeeperLocurioEscape roomIRLThis escape room features immersive and intricate set design clever coupled with appropriately themed puzzles that all remain true to the cute and clever story. I had a lot of fun!
The AtticNC EscapeEscape roomIRLThis is one of the better escape rooms in the Triangle - while puzzles lacked some variety since most eventually pointed to a lock, the theme and story were well-embedded into the experience. My sisters accompanied me for this adventure and they had only had negative experiences with escape rooms prior, so this was a nice and enjoyable 'reset' of their expectations. All in all, a fun experience!
The Linc KL- Colle Eastern Hotel: The TouristHauntu Malaysia @ The Linc KlEscape roomIRLI did the Colle Eastern Hotel for Episode 2: The Tourist. This venue changed episodes periodically to tell a cumulative story. If you have ever played a choice-driven videogame or read a choose your own adventure book, then this is an experience that feels exactly like that! There are general rails that your story takes you on with some minor deviation, but the square footage, production quality, passion of the actors, and immersion is incredibly fun.
Activate [Interactive Arcade]Activate CharlotteEscape roomOther We took a road trip down to Charlotte from Raleigh in order to experience Activate for the first time. It was an fun experience - the challenges were well-designed and the sense of progression via the gamification was well-done. I wish they would let less people in at a time, but it was still enjoyable.
City with No SunNerd EscapesEscape roomIRLI enjoyed the novelty of this room and the engagement of each of the remaining senses for the puzzles. It was shorter and smaller than expected. This is a very puzzle, not story, oriented room.
La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLI was able to gather a random smattering of a coworker and two industry peers from a conference to visit this escape room. It has some really challenging puzzles, was an incredible production well worth the hype, and our tour guide did a fantastic job. Fantastic job to the creative team who put it together!
GridDistrict 57Escape roomOther I wouldn't recommend this experience for an enthusiast but if you're local to Charlotte and have never done anything like it before, it can be a fun time! I'm happy the Charlotte area can support this business and hope it continues to grow. It was a bit frustrating to read the instructions, often a slightly unclear paragraph, in very dim lighting, as the timer for the room started. Some of the rooms were repetitive and very few offered a true physical challenge. A few of the rooms were poorly designed to support more than two players. I think if they were to invest in some quality of life improvements, retire unpopular rooms, and increase room quality/diversity - they'd be doing great!
![Activate [Interactive Arcade]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/284475ea-6e0f-42db-a08a-72ca9caddc09.jpg)
![La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/2c2890dd-87b6-4712-8136-8403e436ec72.jpg)
