Wizard QuestWizard QuestEscape roomOther Rating: 4/5 - Huge, fantastical scavenger hunt game Pros: âHuge, 3 level set with tons of details and different areas to explore, some crawling required. âIncredibly unique and very fun âSet looks fantastic and is very immersive and visually appealing with huge sculptures and life-size statues/figures. âMany hidden passages, it's super satisfying when you discover them. âGood voice-overs, so you don't have to read everything out loud to your group. Though not all the text had voice over. âTablet interfaces mostly worked well and wasn't laggy, it's designed like a video game and has fun artwork. âUseful map provided in the tablet. âThe quests have multiple paths based on decisions you make. Mixed feelings: â/âAlmost everything is search based, anyone can participate and it works well regardless of your group size. However, if you like puzzles, there are basically none. Could be better: âA few doors were left open because the buttons were not working, this spoiled some hidden passages. âIt can get crowded on a Sat evening. It's annoying when there are other groups on the same quest as you looking for the same things, certain areas are a tight fit for groups and we were bumping into people. âNo back button on the tablet interface to re-read prompts. âNo built-in hint system in the tablet interface, you need to go to an employee to ask for help and they are only located in a couple of spots. The employees were not very friendly or enthusiastic. âNo real ending or climax to the game, it just ends when your time is up and you're unlikely to finish every quest within the 2 hours. Your progress is not saved if you want to come back. âThe top floor was too hot, probably 80+ degrees, it did not seem like the air conditioning was working on that floor which made us want to avoid it. You could play this solo or have a bigger group. I'd recommend asking for multiple tablets if you have more than 6. They also only provide 1 UV flashlight per group but you can also bring your own which will make searching go quicker.
Life and Trust [Immersive Experience]EmursiveEscape roomOther Wow, fantastic! The sheer scale of this production is unbelievable. I did some research before going and I already had high expectations but nothing could truly prepare me for this. 100,000 Sq ft of space with 6 floors and 25+ characters and you're just completely free to roam around for 3 hours. Most of the rooms are also incredibly detailed and feel lived-in. The acting/dancing was great with many touching moments, action, beauty, and even raunchiness. This type of immersion cannot be replicated by escape rooms so it's a more unique experience. The only negative is that some of the scenes can get crowded, but you can always leave and find a different scene. There also isn't any interaction like an escape room, you only observe (choose your own adventure), though it's cool how close you are to the actors.
Convergence Station [Immersive Art]Meow WolfEscape roomOther This was my first Meow Wolf and I enjoyed it, but wish it was more interactive. I gave it a heart, just because I was impressed by the size and quality of the place, it's hard to find immersive attractions built to this scale. Some of the art and rooms were very cool, though it felt too random for my tastes. There were also not enough physical interactions, so it mostly felt like a walk-through place. There were a few things that were fun like playing music on a giant organ and a couple mini-games that you can play with a partner, but these were few and far between. I did not do the QPass because I heard mixed things about it, the story seemed convoluted and I didn't want to spend all my time looking at screens.
Time Mission [Immersive Experience]TimeMission - Mount ProspectEscape roomOther Rating: 4/5 - Great challenge arcade with cool sets, I prefer this over Mish Mash or Cube Challenges. Pros: â~25 rooms with a ton of variety between physical and mental challenges âA unique set/theme in each room, they are all visually interesting âLots of tech and mechanical builds âYou get a score so you can try to beat it when you replay the room âThe time travel theme ties everything together, each room has a backstory that you can choose to read or ignore âThere's a short explanation before you go in so that you aren't completely confused at the start âNo tech issues or major wear visible, though the place has only been open a couple months Cons: âSome rooms are hard to understand or just aren't that fun âSome rooms are too short or basic âThe audio feedback is hard to hear at times, due to audio bleed from ajacent rooms and a lot of screaming kids âA couple rooms were closed/unplayable when I visited 90 minutes was plenty of time to play all the rooms with some time to repeat favorites, even on a busy Sat afternoon. I would recommend 2-3 players. Overall, I'd rate this on a similar level as Activate, but both places have a different vibe. Activate is more video game-like and more tech heavy with no immersion or theming. I like Activate's very physical nature, it's like a fun workout. Their games are also more replayable with different levels and rule variations. However, Time Mission has way cooler sets and theming and more variety of games and more puzzle type challenges.
Activate [Interactive Arcade]Activate - LouisvilleEscape roomOther Rating: 4/5 - Fun experience, basically like a real life video game (it's not an escape room). You can play as many games as you want in the time period that you booked. It's very physical with lots of jumping, running, pressing buttons, throwing things, etc.
Gamegrounds [Immersive Experience]GamegroundsEscape roomOther Rating: 4/5 - Very fun challenge arcade with unique games, tech, and interesting artistic style. There were about 12 different games available, most of them had different modes where you could pick between competitive and collaborative play which lasted a couple minutes each. The games were a mix various types of carnival, arcade, and video games with a twist, most had some light physical activity. I thought every game was enjoyable, some were more fun than others, but they all worked with no game-breaking tech issues. We played on a Sat. evening, 9pm (it is 21+ at that time so there weren't any children running around) and it wasn't too busy. The 75 minutes was plenty of time to try all the games and all the modes while repeating our favorites multiple times.
Putt Portal Mystery Golf60 to Escape - SchaumburgEscape roomOther Rating: 3/5 - Fun game if you're already at the mall or there playing escape rooms, but not worth coming there just to play golf. The mini golf itself was not too exciting, the 9 holes were fairly simple but had some fun elements and I like that many of the themes relate to some of their rooms. The puzzles were just OK, they can be completed separately from the golf. Only 1 had tech that was integrated into the hole, every other one was very basic word/decoding puzzles that felt tacked on. You do get a prize for solving all the puzzles which is nice. There is a hint system if you need help, it's a QR code leading to a webpage. If there are a lot of people, it can feel crowded. I played this solo and finished in about 30 minutes, I took my time.
Primetime ShowdownsGame Show Battle Rooms - IndianapolisEscape roomOther Played this on two separate occasions (with friends, then coworkers) and had a lot fun both times. The set looks neat and the hosts are super outgoing and friendly, they did a great job. The first game is basically Family Feud. I'm not sure what the second game is based off of but it's fun finding out how well you know your teammates. The third game is based off skill challenges, but it's team based so you're not just relying on only 1-2 people. It's a good one to end on since it's the most exciting one.
Activate [Interactive Arcade]Activate - FishersEscape roomOther Rating: 4/5 - Super fun, physically active challenge arcade! I'm so glad one of these finally opened in Indy, this is my 2nd time, I played in another city before. The games are high tech with lights, buttons, sensors, lasers, pressure pads, and screens. Be prepared to jump, run, dodge, throw etc., you'll get a cardio workout. There are about 10-12 different rooms/games and each one has various modes with increasing challenge levels so it's very re-playable, I will be coming here regularly for sure.
EmotionAir [Immersive Art]Balloon MuseumEscape roomOther This was better than I thought it was going to be, a lot of very unique things I haven't seen before at other immersive art places. It reminds me a lot of TeamLab in Japan, though maybe not quite as innovative. The exhibits are visually appealing, high tech, and quite large. They make great use of the high, warehouse-like ceilings. Almost every exhibit is tactile, they can be touched, not just your hands, you can get your whole body into it. I recommend it if you're in the area and enjoy immersive art.