Mantis
61 escape rooms
My rating is "mixed". There are things I liked about it. There are things I did not like about it. Overall, the room is exciting. If they can improve on some of the puzzle and ensure everything triggers properly, this room has the potential to be a top one. The lighting, special effects, and variety of puzzles were well done. What I liked: The set design and immersion, surprise elements, thematic puzzles, use of space, the premise, and the GM. What I disliked: There are 2-3 tedious puzzles that can be a time drain. You get past the feeling of enjoyment and enter the realm of frustration. Along with a few technical glitches that didn't trigger properly. The game is a mix of mechanical and tech puzzles relying on logic, keen observation, and thorough physical exploration of the spaces. A group of 4 with some experience is well suited for this room to tackle the non-linearity. Also, any more would get crowded and it will be difficult for everyone to participate. The difficulty would be "hard" - especially because of the tedious puzzles. What I mean by tedious is that, for example, if you're deciphering or correlating many cryptic or unique symbols, the length of the input should be small enough to compensate for the hieroglyphics. It's understandable if the input is lengthy when the input is made of familiar characters (like alphanumeric). Then it becomes smoother to work as a team. But, one of the puzzles had around 10-12 unique symbols, and you had to input them 20-25 times. You mess up at any point, you start from the beginning.
Gameplay
The game starts off linear but becomes non-linear at times. The sections were well done and exciting. What broke the flow were a couple of puzzles that can be a time drain even after you figure out what needs to be done. It's not good when frustration creeps into your experience - that's when the "fun" gets disrupted.
Atmosphere
Set design and lighting were well done! They made good use of game space - narrow spaces but immersive. Lighting is on the dimmer side but you have a lantern and effects lighting that make it easier to see around.
Customer service
Easy check in, friendly and helpful GM.
Particularly interesting or different
Yes
Theme of Atlantis was decently well done. Just wish some puzzles were executed better.
Story
Elements well integrated. Plot doesn't move much beyond the premise but it is kept exciting.
Difficulty
Hard
Game tech
Mechanical
It's a mix of tech and mechanical.
Ideal number of players
4
4 is a good number to tackle the non-linear portions (to divide the puzzles). But any more gets crowded in the physically limited spaces - not everyone may be able to participate effectively.
Scary
Not scary
Was anything broken?
Yes
There was a puzzle that didn't trigger properly.
Live actors
No
Physically active
Somewhat
One person may need to crouch at some point and one person may need to reach slightly high at another point (different puzzles). Other than that, basic moving around.
Easy to find location
Yes
It's part of the Gatlinburg area, seated slightly higher than the street-level shops.
Parking
Limited
No direct parking. You will need to either park in one of the garages or lots (ranging from $2 per hour to $20 flat rate) or find street parking further away from the main street. Budget 10-15 mins for finding parking and walking to the entrance. Or plan to do it while you will already be in the area.
Safety
Yes
