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Mind Trap

Mind Trap

The Great Escape Room - Arlington [prev. Escape Room Arlington]

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TL;DR: It was alright, but the ending was pretty bad. The atmosphere was good. Not quite as good as some of their other rooms but still better than the superhero room. It wasn’t scary like other comments have mentioned, but the design is a little spooky. Gameplay is where I had some ups and downs. The puzzles were pretty alright. Pretty standard stuff for the most part. One puzzle we all agreed was pretty fun even if it was simple. Although I didn’t like how the clues to solve it literally spelled out what to do, it was still a cool trick nonetheless. One puzzle we actually solved by accident, which was funny, but when they said how you were supposed to get the answer I thought it was a little far fetched. Unfortunately the ending is what really brought the experience down for me. It was one of the most anticlimactic endings I’ve had in an escape room, and it didn’t really make sense in context of the whole story of the room. It felt like a cheap trick. It didn’t help that the final step after that didn’t even end up working. Overall we still had a good time. It definitely was not a super hard room overall, though it did have a tough puzzle or two.
2084

2084 - CLOSED

Olde City Escape Games

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TLDR: This escape room I’d say is above average, but some confusing puzzles, and a lacking atmosphere keeps this from truly being an amazing experience. The Good: The puzzle is where this room shine. There were a few Pezold that I thought were fun and unique, and definitely made it fun to play. I also enjoyed the fair amount of cooperative puzzles that forced the room to work together making it a great room for team building. The storyline was actually pretty good. A lot of escape room rooms skip the storyline and just do some puzzles, but I appreciate the effort to make a good story with a twist at the end The bad: Two of the puzzles felt kind of cheap on what the answer was supposed to be, and while a few of the puzzles were pretty cool and unique, there was only one thing that really stood out as a wow factor during this room, but that’s it. The decoration and atmosphere of the room was all right, I’ve definitely seen worse, but I feel like they could’ve done better as some of the props and lighting seemed a little cheap. (But let’s be real, with this in Philly. They probably need to make them cheap with how much people are messing them up)
Cryptid Grove

Cryptid Grove

Escape Room Herndon

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TL:DR - an amazing room with fun puzzles and atmosphere. Inspired by gravity Falls, So if you’ve seen the show, you will get more enjoyment out of it, however, you will still love this room, even if you haven’t seen it. Yet another room that Raven Chase has knocked out of the park. We were excited to try out the new room as we have played all the other rooms at this location, and we all agreed this was either our favorite room or our second favorite room. There was a cute little story to go along, which led to a fun little ending. The atmosphere to go along with it was amazing. I feel like they could’ve added a few more fun gift store props on the floor of the main area, but other than that, it was great! I think when it comes to the puzzles, this room is their strongest. There was a lot of fun, cool, diverse clever puzzles in this one. While one or two stumped us for a little bit, we thought all puzzles were fair. This room is heavily inspired by gravity Falls, so if you’ve seen the show, you will get A LOT of added excitement out of this room, but if you haven’t seen the show, this is still a very solid room. The difficulty in this room was pretty medium, if you’re going with a group of escape room enthusiast, four people is ideal for this room. However, I will say it wouldn’t be bad to have a few more as there are a lot of puzzles to solve. I look forward to your future rooms Raven Chase! -Your number 1 fan
Bonus Fun Time Game Show Challenge

Bonus Fun Time Game Show Challenge

Escape Factor

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Everything in this room to the atmosphere, the puzzles, and the live actor, was pretty average. The thumbs up rating fits very well. I like the theme and the idea of this room, but its execution was meh at best. Some of the gameshow puzzles were cool, but once we finished it felt like we had just solved a bunch of random puzzles you’d find in a puzzle workbook. There was definitely one puzzle that took a while to do that wasn’t even fun. However there was one very fun puzzle and one or two puzzles with clever solutions. This is the first room I’ve ever done with a live actor, and after much thought, I realized I’m pretty much indifferent of it. Yeah it was kind of weird at first, and he has the cheesy lines he probably says every single time, but considering the alternative would’ve been walkie-talkies to a person in another room, I feel like it was all right.
Saddlewood Saloon

Saddlewood Saloon

Bond's Escape Room - Arlington

  • Escape room
  • IRL
The room as a whole was pretty average. It was a single room with average props, slightly above average puzzles, and a pretty average atmosphere in general. I will say there was at least a bit of a story compared to their other rooms, it wasn’t just a single introductory video at the beginning and nothing else, but again very average. The room is almost entirely linear, except for one part, so small groups are encouraged. If you are all really good, I recommend maybe two or three people.
8-Bit Escape

8-Bit Escape

Escape Room Herndon

  • Escape room
  • IRL
I’ve almost done all the Raven Chase adventure escape rooms both at this location and Herndon, and this room lives up to the standards I have for them. This room is pretty small, so if you’re going with people that love escape rooms, I suggest four people being the absolute max. The puzzles in this room were pretty on par with other escape rooms by this company. There is a few really clever puzzles, and almost all of them fit in with the theme of the room. Lots of cool little Easter eggs in the room. The atmosphere is what really gave this room a heart rather than a thumbs up. While it may be small, I was surprised how much they were able to Jam Pack into this room, and really make it feel like an 80s or 90s arcade you see at a bowling alley, right down to the classic carpet. My only gripe is that they had some awesome classic rock playing, but it was so quiet you couldn’t hear it most of the time.
The Sins of Doctor Faustus

The Sins of Doctor Faustus

Captivating Worlds

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Easily one of the best if not, the best escape room I have done. The gameplay was nothing short of exhilarating. With a nonlinear structure, and a variety of different puzzles that weren’t too easy but weren’t annoyingly hard, our whole group was enthralled the whole time. The atmosphere was truly incredible, with the many unique ways they incorporated technology, sound, and lighting to truly make this room levels above the competition. I always wanted escape rooms to have a more immersive, deep story behind it, and this is the first room that finally delivered. The service was also amazing, we were here on a business trip, and none of the times had worked for us, but I was able to reach out to them and they were able to accommodate us and make a later time so that we could do this room, with no extra charge too!
Maritime Mutiny

Maritime Mutiny

Escape Room Herndon

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Good room all around. Puzzles were good but it’s the atmosphere that made this room memorable Gameplay: the gameplay was very fun, and I was very happy to see a bit of the story, kind of woven into the puzzles. I feel like a lot of rooms today give you a background of a story, and then you just saw a whole bunch of puzzles that don’t really progress the story. While this room did not take great strides in doing that, it was nice to see them try it. Puzzles were fun and diverse as all raven chase rooms are. I will say this is their easiest room (not played cryptic grove) so parties with people who have done a lot of rooms and are good at them, maybe have a max of like four or five. We had six and got out in 35 minutes. Atmosphere is what really brings this room up in value. I’ve done a couple pirate theme rooms, but this one has done the best with the atmosphere with how much they made it feel like you’re on a pirate ship, as well as all the props that are used.
Welcome to the Machine

Welcome to the Machine

Captivating Worlds

  • Escape room
  • IRL
I have written reviews about the other two rooms of this place, and this room is yet again again levels above the competition. The puzzles were harder than other rooms, while still being fair. It was nonlinear, so people could be doing different things, and we didn’t have anyone really standing around doing nothing The atmosphere was cool at first, and it only got better as the game progressed. They do an insanely good job of giving you nudges if you’re falling behind, so you escape at the last minute, but you will always escape. Overall it was an insanely fun time! One of the better escape rooms I’ve been to, definitely top 5!
Arcade Challenge [prev. Retro Replay]

Arcade Challenge [prev. Retro Replay]

The Great Escape Room - Arlington [prev. Escape Room Arlington]

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TLDR: fun room with decent puzzles and a great atmosphere. I was a bit worried when I saw this was a smaller room, but wanted to try it since Raven Chase has yet to put out a bad room, it actually turned out to be very fun with plenty of clues. (For a group of 4, all with escape room experience) Gameplay: the gameplay was very fun. While none of the clues heavily stood out, they were all still fun to solve. The four of us didn’t get caught up too much, and we had about 10 minutes to spare so there was enough to do in the small room and was happy with how dense it was. Other reviews have mentioned this but I will also agree with there being one clue that was very vague on how you were supposed to figure it out. It was an awesome idea, but definitely a small nudge somewhere to help would have been nice. Atmosphere: raven Chase has always thrived in this category. All there rooms (for the most part) make you feel like you’re in whatever theme it’s supposed to be and this is no different. You step in it feels like an arcade you went to as a kid at a bowling alley or movie theater. From the retro carpeting, to all the arcade cabinets, to the music playing in the background, it was definitely a cool room to be in. Also, a big plus that all of the clues revolves around the retro theme, with a very cool ending that we were all talking about afterwards.
Supervillains

Supervillains

The Great Escape Room - Arlington [prev. Escape Room Arlington]

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TLDR: a good room with fun puzzles, but disappointing in atmosphere. Raven Chase has proven themselves to be a giant in the industry here in the local scene for escape rooms. All of their rooms are incredible, and this one, for the most part, lives up to that. Gameplay: the gameplay was great as always. There were some really clever clues I’ve never seen before, and a good mix between cool technology, and some classic lock combination puzzles. It was a bit easy, as we completed most the clues within 30 minutes, which, with the same group, is faster than normal. Atmosphere: this was the part I was a little let down on. Raven Chase is known for their really immersive experiences, whether you really feel like you’re in a classic arcade, a pirate ship, or a killers house. This one, however, fell flat compared to their other rooms. It just felt a bit dull and empty. While this may be my least favorite of all ravenchase rooms (Arlington and Herndon) it’s still a very strong room compared to most you will find in the area.
Deep Underground

Deep Underground

Captivating Worlds

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TLDR: gameplay was good but it’s the atmosphere and effects that made this a truly memorable room and one of the best experiences I’ve had. My group was lucky enough to have the owner and builder of the rooms be our game master for the night. I got to talk to him about why he created this, and he said it was his passion project. After doing this room, I could tell. Gameplay: I did this escape room with a group of five people. It ranged from people who have never done an escape room, to people who have done about 20 escape rooms. It was good to see clues that everyone was able to get. I also have never seen this before, but the first clue scales, depending on how many people are in your group, which was a really cool idea and is executed well. Overall the clues were good. While nothing about the clues really stood out, it’s the atmosphere that makes this truly memorable. Atmosphere: you could tell the game builder spent a lot of time, making sure this was an adventure, rather than just a couple puzzles thrown into a room to solve. From the props, to the special effects, to the immersive story, it was awesome. This was my first escape room, where there was actually a decent story, where you discovered more about the story as you solved the clues. We also appreciated how the clues were realistic and logical to the story.
Elven Forest

Elven Forest

Bond's Escape Room - Arlington

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TLDR: There were not a lot of challenging puzzles. Too many “find this item, touch it against here” types with some not making sense at all. Decent atmosphere but still a bit dull. I did this room with a group of five people, benching from people who have never done an escape room to people have done plenty. And we all agreed. This was a very weak room. Gameplay: it was not a very fun room, when it came to the clues. There were maybe two clues that we thought were actually good and fun to solve, but a lot of the other clues simply revolved around, putting some thing in a location, or touching some thing to a correct place and having a slot open. One of the things made no sense at all, and even the game Master agreed when we talked afterwards. Not a lot of puzzle solving this one. Atmosphere: atmosphere was a bit dull, but it was not bad. It’s a small room, but at least they did a decent job of making it somewhat dense with props and clues.
Western Frontier

Western Frontier - CLOSED

Escape Room Hershey

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TLDR: slightly above average room with good puzzles and a good atmosphere. Gameplay: I did this room with three other people, all the varying experiences with escape rooms. Overall, we had a fun time and we all agreed that clues were pretty fun as well. This room is pretty heavy on combination locks, which a lot of times can be a bad thing, but this room made it work with some pretty fun clues on how to get the numbers. It also had a few fun tech clues as well. Atmosphere: the atmosphere was good as well. They did a good job of making it feel like a western themed room, and enjoyed how the atmosphere/story of the room played into the clues as well. Overall this was a slightly above average room, good if you have a small group and haven’t done many rooms before.
2233: EVIL A.I.

2233: EVIL A.I.

Bond's Escape Room - Fairfax

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TLDR: good challenging room with a disappointing atmosphere Gameplay: the gameplay was pretty solid. Even with a group of six people, with varying levels of experience, we definitely had our work cut out on this one difficulty wise. A good thing about this room, it, even though it’s hard, it’s not unfair. I’ve done rooms before that said they were hard, and they were only hard because the clues were vague and dumb. Luckily this was not the case. Atmosphere: this is where I was very disappointed. All the rooms felt very bare and lifeless. I get this is a hard theme to make a cool environment with, but it felt like they didn’t try too much. I felt like if this room had a good atmosphere, it would’ve gone from good to great.
The Graverobber's Dilemma

The Graverobber's Dilemma

Escape Room Herndon

  • Escape room
  • IRL

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 �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 𓅟𓂿

The Collector

The Collector

Game On Escapes & More - Morehead City

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TLDR: Escape room with too many clues for its linear approach, but good atmosphere. While I did thumbs down it, i still recommend this for any experts looking for a challenge. Just not any casual groups. A group of six of us did this room, all of us with pretty good escape room experience. I had a hard time figuring out if this was a thumbs down or thumbs up as it was by no means a BAD room. Just… not good. Gameplay: the gameplay was pretty frustrating at times. There was one clue where the words were kind of dull and smudged, so you couldn’t even really read the order. There were a LOT of locks, so we wasted so much time in the beginning, figuring out a clue, but then having to try it on 10 different locks. None of the clues were unique or stood out because of that (with one exception). There were also just too many clues for the amount of time you were given. We had solved a bunch of clues, but when the game master came in and showed us what we had missed, we still had about three or four more clues to solve. Now, having a lot of clues is not bad. However, in this room, it was very linear. So for the most part, you couldn’t be working on other clues while someone was trying to figure out another one. So that combined with the amount of clues just made this a challenging room in the fact you had to steamroll through these clues with little time between. (The game master even gave us 5 extra minutes). I will say none of the puzzles themselves were too challenging. They were pretty fair in their difficulty and weren’t super vague for the most part. Atmosphere: I will say the atmosphere was pretty good. They did a good job of making this room resemble a beach house of a person you were stealing from.
Magician's Workshop

Magician's Workshop

Escape Room Herndon

  • Escape room
  • IRL
TLDR: great room with amazing gameplay and a good atmosphere along with having my favorite clue of any escape room of all time. After doing six rooms by Raven Chase, it’s clear that you can never go wrong with any room they create. Gameplay: the gameplay was awesome. There was a lot of fun, diverse clues. Some mechanical, and some with tech. And after doing 20+ escape rooms, this room (the first room specifically) easily has my favorite clue of all time of any escape room I’ve done. The finale was also very fun to watch. A lot of ooos and aahs from our group overall. Gameplay wise, this is in my opinion the best room here at the Herndon location (writing this review without have doing the new room cryptic grove) Atmosphere: I was also surprised about how well the atmosphere was. Well, nothing stood out compared to some other amazing atmosphere rooms I’ve done, I was surprised that they were able to make a pretty good atmosphere with such a basic theme, especially after seeing other places flop on themes that should be very easy to building a room around.