Making a Magician: Tricks of the TradeAdventure Mode Unlocked Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThis room did not disappoint me, which has become quite uncommon. The puzzles made sense while fitting the theme, functioned properly and nothing in the room left us saying "well that was complete nonsensical and a stretch"- while also not being obvious. Overall a very satisfying experience that had us talking about how soon we can make their other room.
The GateEscape Room NoviEscape roomIRLWe found it very satisfying, the first in a LONG time we hadn't escaped, we didn't seem to have enough time as two people. If anyone in your group is hard of hearing, especially single sided deaf or has a sensory difficulty with hearing, there are parts of this room that will be frustrating and parts which they will not know they are missing. Also very low lighting and overhead lights don't work so there wasn't a work around.
Prison BreakMastermind Escape Games Schaumburg - Plaza [prev. Odyssey Escape Games]Escape roomIRLWe did this with our 2 teens. It was a nice 4 person experience, a few puzzles were pretty clever in here.
ChosenEpIQ EscapesEscape roomIRLI think cute is the perfect description. This was a really nice puzzle adventure for a couple. Everything ran smoothly and we coasted through while feeling satisfied.
The VaultMichigan Escape GamesEscape roomIRLThey do this room two ways - break in or break out. We've done both. As others have said, there are a lot of tech issues in this one. It is really cool, immersive, and great but the tech is a pain. The first time we ever went, it was malfunctioning so bad they had us go home and come back because they couldn't fix it. I believe it's getting better with time and it's sad to see the isssues because you can just tell it should feel awesome. If traveling or this is a thing you're doing while passing through, hit some of their other rooms. I would give it a try if you're local and you have time to re-do it as it also has features now where you can beat your scores.
Cabin in the WoodsFenton Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLWe would not recommend this experience unless the owner learns a whole lot about the business they are running. It was to the type of location that makes things non-functional in order to increase difficulty. Such as non-working flashlights, things mounted incorrectly, and instructions that stop you from doing things you needed to do. When we brought this up, the owner said that puzzles are impossible for him anyway, so what's the difference? I'm not sure why this person opened an escape room other than thinking if they charge more than any other local escape rooms, people will just pour money into their lap. Among the awkward issues we ran into were the owner giving us very unusual rules/standards while insisting "this is what every escape room is like" - which obviously begged the question... "How many escape rooms has he done?" In truth he was speaking to people who had each done dozens of not over a hundred and the answer was he had been to ONE before he put this place together. The lack of experience explained a lot about our day. As far as feeling immersive, they also did not offer you an option to even see the storyline, and did not have videos or an explanation of the backstory. They simply walk you into the room and go away. We asked what this room was even about and we were told we should have read it on the website when we booked. We later went to check the website, to see if we missed a better explanation but it was a little blurb with a lot of typos and didn't fully make sense. There's also an awkward glitch on the site that no matter which room you tried to book, it would automatically try to book you for the room about a flood. We had to spend extra time on the site. Just trying to get the room we were trying to book in the first place. In the end they are charging above average for an experience that is definitely not up to the standards of any of the local competition we have seen within a couple hundred miles of here. I am sincerely hoping it improves because we have been watching and waiting years for this place to open.
