p
psarrett
48 escape rooms
This room was outstanding. Stellar set design, build quality, and visual effects. Solid puzzles.. Even the somewhat standard "figure out which buttons to hold down" trope was done in a very cool and creative way that elevates the experience. The puzzles were integrated very well into the storyline and environment. Even accounting for recency bias, this was one of my very top escape room experiences. The production level is astounding and sets a very high bar. My only quibble is with the opening briefing, which takes place in a hallway adjoining (in the open office sense) a fabrication shop where people were working. And while they dressed the hallway to make it thematic, it still felt very work-in-progress and prototype-like, which was a huge contrast with the rest of the game.
Gameplay
Gameplay was generally terrific, with a few truly great mechanics. An early interaction (to open the first door) could benefit from better affordances about what you need to manipulate. One puzzle used a mechanic I haven't ever seen before involving metal detectors (not a spoiler, the game intro discusses them) that was fresh and creative. The puzzles were great collaborative solves-- there wasn't a moment where someone split off and solved something solo.
Atmosphere
The cathedral set is sumptuously atmospheric, and the sculpture work is epic. The are multiple creative uses of water, and the lighting effects are stellar.
Customer service
Story
The story was perhaps the weakest element. Many details got lost (though English wasn't our GM's first language, so that may have contributed). But I didn't miss them-- "the cathedral's possessed, do rituals to exorcise the demon" is really all you need.
Difficulty
Medium
GMs never let you get stuck for long, which I generally dislike but was mostly welcome here, as the GM never told us how to solve something, but rather told us how to accomplish the mechanics when they weren't clear from the environment. That was a common theme across all Escaparium rooms-- affordances ("place the McGuffin HERE") were often missing, and they rely on the GMs to provide them. Unfortunately this often feels like you're getting hinted through the experience, and it would be much better to have those cues be in the environment so players can discover them independently.
Ideal number of players
4
Scary
Spooky
Was anything broken?
No
Live actors
Yes
Physically active
Somewhat
There are some very steep and narrow stairs, but also ample safety railings and handholds.
Accessibility
You need at least 2 players who can climb very steep stairs, and all players need to be able to climb and crawl.
Safety
Yes
![La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_964/f_auto/v1/store/s/2c2890dd-87b6-4712-8136-8403e436ec72.jpg)







