Mantis
61 escape rooms
A very fun and well done room with a nice variety of puzzles! This one, too, has a nice polished feel to its set pieces and the flow made sense. There is more non-linearity involved (compared to Timeliner) with a mix of tech and mechanical puzzles that are relevant to what they achieve (more tech based puzzles). It's a decently challenging room, well suited for experienced players who are able to put "2 and 2" together efficiently. I loved the information given in the room - nothing is extraneous or too abstract. There is no unnecessary signaling or red herrings. Like some of their other games (like Timeliner and Playground), you can see a visible checklist of your overall progress and a list of mission objectives you need to accomplish. I will mention one thing - don't celebrate too early if you think you have escaped - make sure you are attentive!
Gameplay
Pretty nice flow. It starts of non-linear, although there is a "section-esque" overall linearity to the game. The visual objective checklist helps keep you informed of what you need to achieve and what has been completed successfully. The mix of parallelism and sequentiality was purposeful.
Atmosphere
Like I have come to expect of their games, their set design has a nice polished feel to them. There is some narrative overlaying and abstraction assisting the immersion as you transit between sections. I felt the Timeliner and Mysterious Market used special effects better to create immersive transitions.
Customer service
Staff was excellent! Our host, Jon Clothier had great customer service. Our GM was very responsive with assistance. We didn't receive nudges - maybe because we were progressing well in general and there is an unlimited hinting system.
Particularly interesting or different
Yes
An expected sequence involved.
Story
Story actually has a reveal at the end. There are updates to the story as you progress, which I appreciate (instead of just an initial premise). All elements were relevant.
Difficulty
Hard
Good challenge for experienced players. For inexperienced players, the non-linearity + tech puzzles would be a greater factor.
Game tech
High tech
A purposeful mix of mechanical and high tech. I'd put it more on the side of tech.
Ideal number of players
4
3 experienced is doable. 4 is generally better for non-linear sections in this game (to split into 2-2). Any more than 5 could feel crowded - it's a submarine afterall!
Scary
Not scary
Was anything broken?
No
Live actors
No
Physically active
Not at all
General moving around.
Easy to find location
Yes
Location visible from street.
Parking
Medium
Navigation will take you straight to the front door - but there is no parking in front of the area. You will need to drive further along the street into the big parking lots (generally, in front of Scheels). During busy hours, you may need to drive around to find a spot as the lot is shared by other Grandscape businesses. Plan to allot 10 additional minutes to your arrival time (finding parking + walking to front door).
Safety
Yes
