AI ApocalypsePuzzled Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThis game is so much more than it seems on the surface. It starts out like most "play at home" games, but quickly evolves into an incredibly detailed, tech rich experience. There are so many impressive parts to this game, and after speaking to the creator, I realise there was EVEN MORE that I didn't notice before. The puzzles are quite separated from each other but it works within the theme of the game. The music and ambience of the room is absolutely fantastic, it adds so much suspense and tension to game without distracting you. The use of a players phone is fun and feels like you're part of something larger than the room your in, but I think I would have preferred a way to incorporate the phone part into the room. Perhaps and control module on a wall, something like that. Overall, an incredibly well built game, that feels like nothing I've found so far. Not a typical escape room, but that's a good thing. Also a free snack bar and drinks fridge is always a bonus, we didn't make use of it, but it had good stuff stocked in it. And the bartender is a dashing chap ;)
Astro QuestEscape Rooms CardiffEscape roomIRLFantastic room, possibly my favourite in Escape Rooms Cardiff! The theming and set design is wonderful, some lovely surprises and technical features.
Abandon ShipPuzzled Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLAn absolutely fantastic room. Techy but not in your face, beautifully tactile. Everything felt as if it was meant to be there, which is always lovely to find in escape rooms.
Going UpPuzzled Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLYet again, Puzzled has knocked it out of the park! Going Up is possibly the best escape room I've played in the last year, certainly my favourite UK room. The storyline is wonderfully fun and cheesy, whilst keeping a sense of urgency and seriousness to it, it's light-hearted and enjoyable, and somehow still managed to get our hearts racing and blood pumping. Kevin, the owner of Puzzled and (pretty much) sole creator of this room, has very clearly poured his heart and soul into this room, along with what I can only assume is every single waking hour of the last two years. The amount of 'wow' moments in this hour astounded me, usually it's nice if a room has one cool moment, for example, a secret door opens up, something pops out of nowhere, something personalised to the player happens, but they've made it so that every time you think that moment has had its time to shine, there's another one just around the corner. With no spoilers, things disappear, move, explode, light up, shake, open, get physically interacted with, and so much more, in ways I haven't seen done in rooms before. Don't get me started on the amount of custom assets in the room, I'm incredibly jealous of everyone who managed to snag a DASA patch, because that is a thing of beauty. Inside the room, there are so many lovely, purpose built props, with embossed logos, decals and stunning little details that really helps with the immersion, as if it needed it! I've said it for both other rooms at Puzzled, but the sound design is again a stand-out feature. Seamlessly flowing into the narrative, keeping the vibe as tense or relaxed as is required in the moment. It's not advertised, but it needs to be known that Kevin has built a fully customisable sound board for the rooms, that the GMs can control while your in there to match the pace your game is running at, which is pure genius, and more people need to incorporate. Sound design, for me, is just as, if not more, important than the puzzles themselves. If I feel the immersion isn't holding up to a decent standard, I start to enjoy everything else a bit less, and the team here have nailed every aspect of immersion. Obviously every room has teething issues in its first few months, and I had expected a whole lot more of them than I found, we only had two issues, a buffering video screen right at the end, and an ever so slightly dodgy power connection of an already novel prop. I've gone on far too long, but I could talk about this room for hours, and will, to everyone I see. Thank you Puzzled, this game is amazing, and I'll no doubt play again in a year or so to see how it is going, hopefully 'up' still ;)
Oculus 2 - Harold's HouseEscape Rooms CardiffEscape roomIRLA vast improvement on the original Oculus. Some very clever puzzles and game mechanics. Quite scary at times, very spooky vibes the whole way through.
Space Break: Escape From USS RedemptionHoudini's Escape Room Experience - CardiffEscape roomIRLI feel like this room has potential to be a decent escape game, but in its current form, it's not. The majority of the puzzles were fun, but the signposting to them was near on non existent. The plot felt unnatural and counter intuitive, having to perform actions to only then undo them 5 minutes later. Some of the set dressing was quite nice, but ruined by buttons and switches that had significant narrative purpose, but no physical purpose, they did not work.
