Hope EndThe Ministry Of PeculiaritiesEscape roomIRLI’ve done about 50 rooms and this is one of the most immersive. The actors/GMs go above and beyond to tailor the experience specifically to each of the group member’s immersion tolerance. Good mix of novel puzzles requiring teamwork and problem-solving skills. Can’t wait for their next room to complete!
SOSEscape Boats - DublinEscape roomIRLSuper unique escape room — it’s inside a real 100+ year old boat, which already makes the whole experience feel different from a typical room. The setting is really immersive, and the puzzles add a fun amount of pressure without feeling unfair. Also, be prepared that the experience might involve getting a little wet 😉. Overall, super cool and memorable.
Moriarty's ManorMindFox EscapeEscape roomIRLThis escape room is extremely strict with time, it seems you need to arrive 15min early relative to game time for instructions/safety video. Arrived at 5:05 for a 5PM time slot, but by the time the briefings were finished - it was 5:15 with 45min of game time left. Wasted another few minutes performing an “immersive” entrance act that adds no value or continuity with the game. At the end of the game, was asked if we had any questions - but could not answer how to do certain puzzles or even if there was another room left (which was an obvious “no” but I asked anyways to see what she could answer. Overall a different experience than what I am used to in the Bay Area or LA.
Black and White CafeMindFox EscapeEscape roomIRLOne of the cuter/cleanest/well-maintained rooms we’ve done so much so that it triggered my OCD to help the GM clean up after. Puzzles were easy and well sequenced, perfect warm up for their other room.
Haunting at Haruka HighOmescape - SunnyvaleEscape roomIRLI’ve done 50+ escape rooms, and Haunting at Haruka High is easily one of the most memorable ones I've played. We even dressed in school uniform just for it! We went with a group of 6, which ended up being perfect—especially since two people were way too busy being scared to contribute much to the puzzles 😂. I'd rate the difficulty around medium. It wasn't overwhelmingly scary, but there were plenty of well-timed jump scares, live-actor moments, and a genuinely compelling storyline. The theme completely immersed me in the Japanese school horror setting rather than feeling like a bunch of puzzles loosely connected by a story. As always with Omescape, the production value was 10/10. The sets, effects, and overall execution were incredible. At one point, the entire ground started shaking. It feels like an escape room unlike almost anything else. The puzzles were also clever. I don't even remember encountering a single traditional combination lock—it was much more focused on interacting with the environment and figuring out what to do next. My only criticism was that one door was extremely heavy and felt like it was locked when it actually wasn’t. Our group was afraid of forcing them and potentially breaking something, so we lost a decent amount of time before realizing we basically had to ram into the door to open it. That could probably be communicated or adjusted better. The GM was great, though, and overall the experience was fantastic. Definitely recommend Haruka High, especially if you like immersive, high-production escape rooms with some horror mixed in. We went with a group of 6, which ended up being perfect—especially since two people were way too busy being scared to contribute much to the puzzles 😂. I'd rate the difficulty around medium. It wasn't overwhelmingly scary, but there were plenty of well-timed jump scares, live-actor moments, and a genuinely compelling storyline. The theme completely immersed me in the Japanese school horror setting rather than feeling like a bunch of puzzles loosely connected by a story. As always with Omescape, the production value was 10/10. The sets, effects, and overall execution were incredible. At one point, the entire ground started shaking. It feels like an escape room unlike almost anything else. The puzzles were also clever. I don't even remember encountering a single traditional combination lock—it was much more focused on interacting with the environment and figuring out what to do next. My only criticism was that one door was extremely heavy and felt like it was locked when it actually wasn’t. Our group was afraid of forcing them and potentially breaking something, so we lost a decent amount of time before realizing we basically had to ram into the door to open it. That could probably be communicated or adjusted better. The GM was great, though, and overall the experience was fantastic. Definitely recommend Haruka High, especially if you like immersive, high-production escape rooms with some horror mixed in.
Black DragonEscape Room LAEscape roomIRLMight be biased bc I’m from Hong Kong, but one of my favorites of all time. Super unique start and gameplay progression allows for parallel processing. Set design one of the best I’ve seen and a lot of puzzles rooted in true Hong Kong culture, GM really helps tie the experience together.
The Cabin In The WoodsIncognito Escape Room - BridgefootEscape roomIRLWe had a great time! Grace our gamemaster was awesome — we’re stubborn and don’t really ask for hints, but she gave nudges at the perfect time. There’s a live actor so it can be a little scary, but apparently it's not psychological horror scary; we had people who don’t like scary stuff and they can do without the actor it’s honestly not scary. Loved the teamwork at the beginning, and some props are real so be careful. One puzzle was hard without a notepad, but they said they’re updating that. Overall, we liked it!
