Warehouse 13Puzzle Theory - South WindsorEscape roomIRLThere was a lot to like about this room, and overall, I really enjoyed it, but a few changes could've made this truly spectacular. The start felt a little disjointed, and at points it felt like we were just making educated guesses rather than concretely deducing something. Once inside the warehouse, things really ramped up in terms of enjoyment and puzzle quality. The atmosphere had a creepy chilling vibe with some clever jump scares. I thought all the puzzles were great (after getting into the warehouse) EXCEPT one math puzzle that just felt like a colossal waste of time. I wish one of the rooms could've been utilised more because it was such a great set. My last critique would be that the ending lacked spectacle. The execution of the grand finale felt kind of weird, and at the end, I wasn't really sure that the game was over.
The CryptEscape Hour AustinEscape roomIRLTo this day, this is the best utilisation of space I've ever seen in an escape room. The actual square footage wasn't that big, but the room kept going and going. Usually, I like to be involved with every puzzle, but there was no way that was going to be possible with how much there was to do here. Atmosphere and theming were awesome though it was actually pretty cramped a lot of the time. Even if you attempted to do this with only 2 people, there are several sections that cannot accomodate multiple people at a time. The game master interaction system was quite fun. If I had to ding this room on anything, it would be that I didn't feel super engaged with the story/there wasn't really much of a storyline in general.
Red Sled Redemption at the Holly Jolly Holiday Hubcap RepairDoldrick's Escape RoomEscape roomIRLDespite consisting of only one room, this escape room had a lot of things going on and was quite challenging. As the name might suggest, this is a comedic Christmas themed room that definitely does not take itself seriously. There were plenty of references to pop culture (though I surprisingly missed any reference to Red Dead Redemption if there was any). Space was pretty limited here, but they made sure to use every inch of the room at least. I like that the entire time, you feel like you and your team are working towards something and can get an idea of how you're progressing. At the completion of the mission, I did feel a sense of accomplishment knowing that we saved Christmas Day.
Murder In LondonMystique Escape RoomEscape roomIRLI'm a big lover of Sherlock Holmes, and this room did a great job of whisking me away into a murder mystery in London. The atmosphere was very Victorian era, and the plot was well integrated into the puzzles and set. There were lots of delightful interactions with the set pieces and some clever use of space. There was a bit of whiplash at the sudden difficulty increase in the last room, but that didn't mar the great experience I had. It's possible that I like this room more than the average person given the theme just speaks to me so much, but if a murder mystery set in the Victorian era appeals to you, then I implore you to give this room a shot.
The Society of Adventurers: Jingle Through the JungleEdge EscapeEscape roomIRLThe exploration theme isn't very high on my list of favourite themes to play, but this was still pretty enjoyable. There were a lot of puzzles to solve, and all were reasonable to solve and relevant to the theme. I wasn't a fan of the bridge puzzle, but I generally find this type of puzzle (figure out the order through word puzzles) to be very uninteresting and tedious.
Jewel ThiefEdge EscapeEscape roomIRLI know the heist theme is overdone, but I enjoy them, and this was no exception. This was my favourite room at Edge Escape with a large part of it being that it had the best flow and things worked correctly. The set design was very nice for the budget though the second room was a little sparse. I did love the little easter eggs scattered throughout the room. I love that this room has a perfect spot for a team photo - something I wish more rooms thought about in general.
The Dungeon13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape 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 Grand Parlor13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLI don't know how they did it, but somehow 13th Hour managed to outdo themselves on an already extremely impressive repertoire. You can tell they took concepts from all the previous rooms and then built upon them to create an extremely fleshed out game that will challenge even the most seasoned escape room player. This game is HARD. The puzzles are extremely fair, but there is just so much of them that even a group of 4 enthusiasts can struggle. There is no time to play around which is a little unfortunate since this leaves little opportunity to appreciate some of the details put into this room. If you thought The Dungeon was high paced and physically active, this is perhaps doubly so. In true 13th Hour fashion, there was an impressive reveal I was not expecting. Definitely the most challenging room I've played (in a good way as a bad room can be challenging for all the wrong reasons) in almost 200 games. I feel like people will often overstate how crucial communication is in other escape rooms, but that cannot be understated here. What a memorable experience. My only knock would be that there isn't a strong narrative experience, but that has never been the case with the John Hayden series.
The Great Room13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLThis room was just as high quality as everything else from 13th Hour since Cookhouse, but I would say it's the least impressive one for me of the bunch. That's not to discredit how great this room is though. Their other rooms are just that impressive. Given the name, I had expected this to be bigger, but it felt like the smallest room from everything in the John Hayden series since Cookhouse. You can expect thought provoking puzzles at every corner in an eerie atmosphere just like all their other rooms. I just thought the reveals were a little less surprising here than the others and there was one puzzle I found kind of tedious is all. I thought there was a missed opportunity in fully utilising the vertical space, but at the same time, at least it was present. I know it sounds like I'm ragging on this room a lot, but it's still a very worthy entry in the John Hayden series. The bar is just set so high for everything from Trophy Room and onwards.
ITEscape Zone Long IslandEscape roomIRLEscape Zone Long Island managed to provide a scary game, but the room's potential definitely felt hamstrung by how small it was. We played the version with a live actor, and honestly, the live actor didn't contribute as much to the experience as you'd think (though this wasn't at any fault of the actor). There was a set piece I thought could've been utilised more given how nice it was. There was also one aspect that had an audio element to it, but it was extremely difficult to hear given the environment. Finally, I really don't like it when rooms incorporate multiple locks to open just one thing, and this room was extremely guilty of that. Granted, I have never read the book or watched the movies, but I thought there could've been more references to Pennywise. Despite all these complaints, I still had a very good time in this room. The atmosphere was sufficiently chilling for an IT room, and the puzzles all tied back into a murderous theme.
