MagnificoEscaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLIt's hard to express how amazing this game is, but I'll try. Pretty much every element of the game was the best I've seen so far in an escape room. This doesn't feel like an incremental improvement over other games, but rather an entire leap forward. The set was detailed, very immersive, and interesting to be in. They did a great job evoking their intended spaces, and frequently had nooks and crannies where unexpected content would appear. There's a ton of effort put into even minor details, which helps sell the whole thing - a certain late game prop comes to mind as a living, breathing embodiment of this. The actors were essential to the game, and a significant portion of the experience revolved around interacting with them, from comedic to dramatic. Escaparium has previously flirted with a character driven narrative in Wardrobe for Sale, but Magnifico really runs with it. I wasn't the only team member crying at the end of the game. In most escape rooms, puzzles are tangentially related to the set or plot, but are pretty clearly where the designer thought "What do I associate with X, and how do I turn it into a puzzle?". While there's still some of that here, I think Magnifico does a better job than most of naturally integrating puzzles into what's going on. In particular, there's a sequence midgame where it's pretty clear what you want to do, but have to figure out how to use the environment and your inventory to accomplish the goal - it's more like a (sensible) real-life point-and-click adventure game than the standard escape room "here are 4 icons, a lookup table, and a 4-digit lock". I'm not saying Magnifico is perfect - I might have preferred some different creative choices about some aspects of the plot or character development. At the same time, I think it's saying a lot that this reaction is much more like how I'd think about a movie or book than a traditional escape room. I love that this is a place we're at now, and look forward not only to Escaparium's future games but also how the industry keeps up.
Pins & Needles Tattoo ParlorThe Exit Games FLEscape 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
La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLThe set is obviously the star of the show, and it's quite impressive. Puzzles fit into the world pretty well, and the opening sequence quickly draws players into the story in a memorable fashion while establishing the stakes. Having said that, I had a big problem with the game's audio. Like in Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen, I frequently had a hard time clearly making out what the off-set characters were saying, which made it harder to follow the plot and broke me out of immersion. Also, the set, while astonishing, didn't quite click in a way I can't put my finger on. Maybe it was in a weird space between being a very good imitation of a cathedral while still clearly being an imitation of a cathedral - it was good enough to mostly make me suspend disbelief, but not quite good enough to finish the job.
Le Jour du Jugement [Judgement Day]EliviascapeEscape roomIRLJudgement Day aims for a more cinematic/story driven experience than most escape rooms, and I think it delivers on the promise. The set is surprisingly large, puzzles are memorable and fit into (and are inspired by) the story, and the finale is worth the buildup. Well done! This is easily my favorite of the four games I played at Eliviascape (Legend of the Mayan Warrior, The Longest Night, Abstraction, and Judgement Day). It's not perfect - one midgame cutscene in particular was hard to make out (and I actually didn't understand what was supposed to be going on until the GM explained after the game). Also, it's possible (and maybe even likely) to get into a state where that cutscene is inadvertently blocked from view.
De Wraak Van Han [Han’s Revenge]De Gouden KooiEscape roomIRLI love the goofy premise of Han's Revenge. The set was the highlight for me - it was well built and expansive, which felt very immersive and led to a sense of adventure. Puzzles were good, with a variety of interesting interactions.
The Starlight MotelEscape Artist Greenville - DowntownEscape roomIRLWow, just wow. This was easily the best standalone game on our Columbia/Greenville trip (though Help Wanted edges it out overall since it caps off a three game series), and almost certainly makes my personal top 10% ever. If you're anywhere near Greenville, you need to give this a play. Our GM was a fantastic character, fun to improv with (at times we stopped puzzling just to get to know her character), had in-world ways to convey nudges (great for immersion), and had a good acting range. The set was convincing, and the story beats on point. Puzzles were fair, made sense in universe, and played into the plot well at several points. It's incredible they managed to fit this much story and experience into a 60 minute game, I would have sworn it was longer. Note that this is more of an immersive experience than most escape rooms, so more theatrics, interaction, and heavier emphasis on plot.
Dark LullabyEscape Artist Greenville - Hampton StationEscape roomIRLThis game has a very nice set and memorable actor interactions/banter. Puzzles made sense and were fair. This applies to all the Chimera Corp games, but it's great (and unusual) how much of the experience begins even before entering the actual escape room. The lobby being themed, the in-universe newspapers lying around, and the in universe orientation briefing make things super immersive. Personally, though I'm not a fan of horror, so this game didn't speak to me and was my least favorite of the three Chimera Corp games (though I still enjoyed it and thought it was well done). It did help build up the universe for Help Wanted.
The DomeMama BazookaEscape roomIRLWow, what did I just play?! The Dome was a unique, frenetic dash through a variety of environments. We were warned ahead of time that even though we were an experienced group, we should still play really hard. This was 100% accurate, and I'm glad we did - we barely had time left. The set was fantastic, one of the best I've ever seen. Puzzles fit in really well and were quite memorable. Story... OK, I guess? It's unique but not meaningful, and I felt like some things weren't explained well in game (or after) at all. It's fine, I'm not here for the story, I'm here for the gameplay, and The Dome delivered.
Molly's GameUntold Stories Experiences [prev. Down the Hatch]Escape roomIRLAmazing set with several wow moments. Puzzles make sense and many are integrated with the story, though truthfully I think some of them are a bit of a stretch (in the sense of I don't think it's reasonable for a player to pick up on the significance during the game, though it's neat to hear the relation afterwards). This game is one of the more ambitious games about telling a story, and I think they do a good job.
RobotopiaOmescape - SunnyvaleEscape roomIRLI think Robotopia is Omescape Sunnyvale's strongest room. Great set, fun puzzle interactions, and a tense finale add up to a win. It did look like there were some ghost puzzles (i.e. places where there used to be puzzles, but for some reason they got removed without getting rid of all traces of them) in the room.
![La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/2c2890dd-87b6-4712-8136-8403e436ec72.jpg)
![Le Jour du Jugement [Judgement Day]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/14e56440-d719-49bc-8107-d895a27a6b47.jpg)
![De Wraak Van Han [Han’s Revenge]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/1f17bc43-1374-4099-b326-445fc764f021.png)
