
Mantis
45 escape rooms
What drew me to this room was its 3-player maximum. I found that quite intriguing; ideal for a party of 2. A Sherlock premise sounded promising. What surprised us the most was the physical size of the playing space. It made sense why the room is designed for not more than 3 players - any more would get claustrophobic. When it dawned on us that there wasn't going to be any additional "surprise" space, we tempered our expectations slightly. But then, we ended up enjoying the experience because the use of space was quite efficient and the variety of puzzles kept us engaged. This room can catch you off-guard. You may get a false sense of "I think this is an easy room", only to realize that a quarter of an hour has passed and you've just gotten started. Moreover, you are exposed to several puzzles/locks at once which makes the room seem non-linear. However, the gameplay is predominantly linear in the sense that you can only solve one puzzle at a time (although parts of another puzzle may become accessible at times). Observation is essential for this room. Our gamemaster was friendly and responsive over walkie-talkie during our game. One of the essential tools in the game wasn't working as expected. We appreciated that he paused our game time when he needed to come in to fix it. There was one puzzle that can feel a tad tedious to complete once you figure out what needs to be done (because of lot of visual noise). But overall, it was a fun room that's ideal for a group of 2!
Gameplay
Knowing where to start can be a challenge. Appearance of non-linearity but predominantly linear gameplay. It was fun finding well-hidden things in a limited space!
Atmosphere
Efficiently designed space.
Customer service
Welcoming staff, responsive & attentive GM.
Particularly interesting or different
Yes
The use of space was quite good (and the limitedness was something I hadn't dealt with before). 3 player max is also rare to find.
Story
There is not as much of a "story" that develops through the game as much as there is a "premise".
Difficulty
Hard
It's "medium-hard". The solutions to the puzzles aren't too complicated if you're experienced, but identifying what needs to be solved and working through some of the puzzles can be time consuming.
Game tech
Mechanical
Ideal number of players
2
Max 3 allowed. 2 is ideal.
Scary
Not scary
Was anything broken?
Yes
One tool required for progressing mid-game had low battery. Credit to GM for pausing game time and addressing it promptly.
Live actors
No
Physically active
Not at all
Easy to find location
Yes
Parking
Easy



