Wild, Wilder West - The Robbery of Vulture Valley60 to Escape - SchaumburgEscape roomIRLWe did this room after completing the villain version of the same room. I really like the concept of two different stories that take place with unique puzzles utilizing the same space, and I thought it was clever how the room and puzzles are utilized to make that possible. I just enjoyed the villains version a lot more. I think this one might have been developed second because it has a lot fewer puzzles, and I found a lot of them very easy to be honest. We escaped this room faster than I think I've escaped any room in the recent past. We were counting the puzzles and comparing the number to the villains version, and I just think that one had more and the ones it did have were more involved. There are some clever ones in this one, especially one at the start, as well. I also just love this company. I wish there was more in this version of the room to really make it comparable, but the nice thing is that you can do the villains version to really get this room at its best.
PlaygroundThe Escape Game - NYC MidtownEscape roomIRLThis is probably the best game I've played at The Escape Game franchise. It's fairly easy, but there is so much happening that it involves a lot of connecting the dots. It doesn't rely heavily on locks and combinations, though it does have a few. There are lots of simultaneous puzzle tracks with a report card that tracks your progress. I love that mechanic, and it works well here. I also enjoyed the humor around the story of the rooms. I do think there are a few puzzles or items that get unlocked as you progress further into the room, and it sometimes feels a bit random to notice something not turned on only to come back to it on because someone did something elsewhere. I think if the room had been fully parallel, it would have been even better. Finally, I will continue to note that this company, despite multiple locations in NYC itself, refuses to do private games. While a room like this is good at developing teamwork among strangers, I think that's a big issue with this franchise that they need to adjust.
Wild, Wilder West - The Midnight Heist60 to Escape - SchaumburgEscape roomIRL60 to Escape is one of the very best escape room companies in the Chicagoland area, and their latest room is a testament to what sets them apart. More than anything else, we just had a ton of fun and left the room feeling like geniuses. Even though there are tons of clever and novel puzzles, everything felt super intuitive. We only had to use a single hint. We sometimes had outlandish ideas, but the room nudged us into the right direction and when everything actually worked, it was so rewarding. There are no combo locks whatsoever in this room, and that design philosophy makes it feel immersive. Everything works smoothly, and I think they use the spaces really well. I haven't done the other version of this room, but we saw puzzles that could be used in that version. If playing as the heroes results in a completely new experience in the same space, then I'll be doubly impressed with the room. This is one of my favorite rooms at this location, and I'm sad that they've used up all their space because this company does such a fantastic job.
Legend of the YetiThe Escape Game - ChicagoEscape roomIRLSolid room from a very commercial company. It's not as worn down as all of the other rooms at this location because it's new. It still uses a ton of number and letter locks and has a few time wasters. We still had fun though, and it's one of the better options in the city and at this location. This company still doesn't do private rooms which is a pretty glaring omission compared to any other rooms, even other national franchises.
Cyber StationCity Limits Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLI wanted to like this room a lot more than I actually did. The staff were super friendly, they had dirty sodas, and the room and overall establishment's decor and atmosphere were well done. The problem was that a lot of the puzzles felt slightly unintuitive, where a missing piece required an assumption or jump in logic without proper guidance. I also felt a few puzzles, specifically the last one, were just there as time wasters more than being actually fun. It was still a solid room, but I didn't feel like any puzzles truly felt unique.
The Forest of FablesCU Adventures in Time and SpaceEscape roomIRLI really enjoyed the first half of this room which has a beautifully built set with engaging and intuitive puzzles and a fantastic production design. The story and background music also really help set the scene. The second half is great as well, but I felt it became slightly more sequential which was fine for our group of 2 but might have larger groups waiting around a bit. The roleplaying and interactive elements are very clever and genuinely surprising. I also thought it was cool how it integrated a lot of classic fairy tales into the room. Overall it's a very good room, but I'm not fully sure I would say it is the second best escape room in the US necessarily. However, I would say it is one of the best ones I've done, and I really enjoyed it and loved how enthusiastic the staff was.
La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLThe Forgotten Cathedral is my second favorite room at this location and across every room I've done, behind Magnifico. I can't praise the set design here enough. It is beautiful and larger than life. While the story isn't as present in the room, the room is incredibly cinematic. There is one sequence that felt like I was in a top tier movie. I really don't want to spoil anything, but even just the way this room starts feels completely unique and took us all by surprise. I will highlight that this room involves a lot of traversal, and we did have a lot more guidance than the others at the start because we were struggling a bit with the puzzles. Other than that, I think it is really immersive and has a lot of tricks up its sleeve.
Armoire à Vendre [Wardrobe for Sale]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLWardrobe for Sale might have been my personal least favorite of the 4 we did at this location, but I think it was one of the top rooms for others in my group. The set design is phenomenal with at least one jaw dropping moment. I also think this room had the most focus on the actual puzzles, and I like how there are lots of sections where you need to solve a bunch of things in parallel. My slight issues with this room were twofold. First, there were a few puzzles where we didn't actually know we solved them, or maybe they were broken. Secondly, I think the story in this room, while very important, was maybe not as interesting as some of the others and often interrupted the gameplay due to some slight pacing issues. To be clear, these are all very minor complaints, and these rooms stand above any others I've ever done. I'm just reviewing the rooms relative to the other 3 I did here: Magnifico , Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen, and the Hidden Cathedral
MagnificoEscaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLAfter completing 140 escape rooms, Magnifico is the single greatest escape room I've ever done, and I don't think it is even close. One of the things I've never really seen done well in an escape room is the story. Sometimes the theme is really good, but it never actually feels like a proper story. This one did. It wasn't just visiting a movie set, it was becoming part of a movie, fully immersive with moments that felt incredibly cinematic and almost like living a video game. There were twists, moments that made us laugh, epic sequences that stole our breath away, and one showstopping musical number. It was 2 hours and 30 minutes of transporting magic. Truly the greatest show of all time. Everything ran smoothly, and the immersion level was unbelievable. The actors did such a fantastic job and really took it to another level. And with all of this, the puzzles were actually good as well, with multiple ones that I've never seen before. The most impressive part was that the puzzles felt fully integrated into the story. There were lots of tricks that left us trying to figure out how everything worked. This room demands you to roleplay, and you'll be rewarded with the experience of a lifetime. I traveled to Montreal specifically for this escape room, and it was worth it. I wish more rooms tried to make the experience so immersive with such a focus on the actual screenwriting because while the production of this room is top notch, I think it isn't the part that is burned into my memory. I'll definitely never forget this experience.
L'Île perdue de la Reine Vaudou [The Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLThis was a really fun room. The special effects and production values were really good. I do wish the lighting was slightly better, but other than that, it did a really good job of transporting us into a set from Pirates of the Caribbean. Compared to Magnifico, Wardrobe for Sale, and The Hidden Cathedral, this one felt the lightest in terms of story and roleplaying. However, it felt very balanced in terms of puzzles and production quality. The puzzles were pretty good, but there were a few that had multiple steps where it was easy to miss something. These are just minor complaints because the overall room is fantastic and fun, but if you're looking for stories like their other rooms, this may not be the best fit.
Haunted HouseEscapology - Orland ParkEscape roomIRLThis was maybe my favorite Escapology room that I've played so far. It isn't actually that scary, though it does feel like it could be. It is mostly magic locks, so no need to worry about figuring out the order of combinations. This helps because some of their rooms really struggle with that. Everything felt very intuitive, and there were some clever puzzles that felt novel without being obtuse. I also liked the structure of the room and the atmosphere. It is dark, but it never felt frustrating. Overall, I think this is one of the better chain rooms I've done. I also really like their Scooby Doo one
The Haunted Doll ShopJust Escape RoomEscape roomIRLThis was a fun escape room with a cool atmosphere. It was entertaining, but there were a handful of puzzles that involved counting and ordering things. We would figure out the mechanic of the puzzle but spend a lot of time because we counted wrong or slightly messed up an order. I still enjoyed the room quite a bit, and it was our fault for messing up. It's got some fun elements
The Last Video Store in AmericaEscapade 360Escape roomIRLI loved this room. The GM is always very enthusiastic and loves to talk to us about escape rooms, both other ones as well as how he built his. This was such a cool room for me because I love movies and TV, and there are tons of references throughout. If you don't have a ton of movie knowledge, it might be slightly harder just because you'll maybe need to reference materials instead of just knowing some answers. It also allows for a lot of parallel puzzle solving instead of being very linear. There are some really cool puzzles that are unique and most importantly fun. The GM says he often doesn't have the best production values, but I find the quality of the puzzles and the thought that goes into making it an enjoyable experience the most important thing.
Starship: Final Frontier60 to Escape - GurneeEscape roomIRLI really love 60 to Escape as a company, so I was very excited to try out a new room by them. This is a good room. I liked the storyline that leads to an interesting conclusion, and all the technology worked very smoothly. The production and atmosphere felt a bit more bare bones than I am used to with this company, and there wasn't any wow factor. I think the one thing that just prevented it from being a super enjoyable experience was a single puzzle near the end that felt like it relied on a lot of instinct and trial and error instead of being like an actual puzzle. We spent over 10 minutes on it and found it frustrating. Outside of that though, it's a pretty good room, just not at the level of some of this company's absolute best.
cQ OrigenesclueQuestEscape roomIRLThis is a solid escape room. I think the theme is pretty cool with small items portrayed as life size props. The problem is that I didn't love the puzzles. There are a few time waster gameplay moments where you just need to repeat clumsy mechanisms multiple times. We also just didn't find a bunch of stuff as intuitive, and the GM was kind of walking us through most of the room. It wasn't super satisfying because of that.
Salvation ReactorRiddlebox Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThis was a solid room, but some of the puzzles were annoying. I did not enjoy how you had to return to certain things throughout the room, and there were a few puzzles where we dropped something and had to scramble to find it. This made it feel like we lost the room not because of difficulty or a challenge but due to minor things. There were fun parts of the room though, especially the atmosphere.
Jurassic EscapeMind Trap Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLMind Trap always has extremely impressive production design, but the last two rooms I did here left my frustrated due to puzzle designs that were unintuitive and just not fun to do. I feel like their Jurassic room goes back to pairing their extremely strong sets with good puzzles. We only missed one thing, but even the stuff we solved on our own still felt clever. This room isn't as over the top as some of their others, but it has some really cool moments. Overall, I would put this into the same category as their Mafia and Vampire rooms.
Last CallGame Theory EscapesEscape roomIRLThis was a pretty engaging and fun room. The theme is very unique, giving it a lively vibe. There were a few puzzles here that I had not seen before, and even if some of the other puzzles weren't necessarily innovative, they were well integrated into the props in the room in a way that made them feel more interactive and rewarding. The production design here isn't necessarily going to match some of the more exteme rooms, but there is a strong foundation and great polish since everything just works smoothly. Definitely a fun room and worth your time.
Haunted ManorGame Theory EscapesEscape roomIRLI liked the other room at this place better, Last Call. This room's atmosphere is fairly different obviously, but the room feels a lot emptier, making it less engaging. There are some beautiful props, but the puzzles weren't necessarily as creative as their other room. It's still a fun room with polish and a strong foundation, but I just think the more common theme and less innovative puzzles make it not stand out as much.
The Campground13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLThe Wizard of Oz room at this location is really impressive, incredible production values and interesting gameplay. I was very excited about the 90 minute room at this location, but it was overall slightly disappointing. The production values are nowhere close to Wizard of Oz. They are still pretty good, but nothing I would write home about. Also some elements created a smell that caused our group to cough. The real disappointment was the gameplay though. We didn't even realize we accidentally solved a few puzzles, so we kept trying to utilize those clues. There were a lot of puzzles in this room, and we did feel overwhelmed with 3 people. Also, the GM does appear in the room and was resetting the room while we were still in it, causing us to rediscover things we had already solved. It's still a good room, but it feels overrated and a few steps down from The Wizard of Oz one
![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)
![Armoire à Vendre [Wardrobe for Sale]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/02541450-7205-4371-935f-ae98c672dcbb.jpeg)
![L'Île perdue de la Reine Vaudou [The Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/ea8040b8-d20c-48b1-a683-d874c1ae6eb1.jpg)
