Ghastly Escapes - Ch. 1 The Bag Man

8.9/10

Amazing Escape Room! I would recommend this Escape Room to anyone, whether you’ve done 100 Escape Rooms or two. It is incredibly fun!!!

The actors were awesome, and I may have been spoiled by other games..., but this just isn't up to the same level of chase-horror you can find elsewhere (e.g., anywhere in Europe, Cornstalkers in Orlando, or Ripper at Nocturne). It is not particularly scary, the set feels empty, and the puzzles are basic. That said, it's a fun concept and I'm looking forward to the next chapter once they move locations. If they could add a few more puzzles in and improve the overall vibe/polish, this could be a blast! Wrecked remains the must-do here.

My second ever “experience” escape room! I love the competitiveness of classic escape rooms but this was a good treat!

This game was absolutely one of my favorites! This room combined interesting puzzles with a scary atmosphere for a very immersive and fun experience. There were no jump scares and at no point did we feel truly unsafe, even though only two of us played. The story was extremely well done (and connects to the incoming games) and all elements were extremely well executed. We will be back to play more of these rooms!

Wow What a fantastic room and location Let’s talk room first; this was a perfect scary room. If you like scary it will hit all your notes. If you avoid scary and shy away from live actors, this will show you a very controlled space that provides a great balance of controlled scares (scary on training wheels if you choose so but still fantastic immersion and scares) The flow and connection of puzzles to narrative was excellent. Such a great room concept, story and some world-building thrown in and cannot wait to see where the story goes for future rooms Let’s talk people - Rebecca and Beans were amazing! Great example of how live actors can truly enhance an experience with out awkwardness One of the highlights of the trip as we did a tour of about 14 rooms over the weekend and this was a special room and experience Tidbits: Easy parking Amazing staff Lots of rooms and all were wonderful

A really great actor-centric horror game with some flaws. It’s far from the strongest I’ve played of this genre, but it’s still very much worth playing. (Setting) The first thing that stands out about this game is the premise. I have been waiting for a meta Escape Room set inside of an Escape Room company, and while some of the game only loosely delivers on that, there was one area of the game that didn’t disappoint on the meta-ness of it. The set is also huge, and is going to be even huger as it’s expanded in the game’s planned sequels. But its decoration is pretty sparse (partially because the theme of the game is a lower-budget escape room company, but even then it felt so weakly decorated that I forgot that’s where we were supposed to be for some of the game). (The Scares) While the theme and the massive set is cool, what you’re here for is the Bagman. The set is built in a way that makes him an omni-present threat that can appear from anywhere. He is really imposing. However, the scare scenes with him, while intense, never (at least for us) got even close to stepping over boundaries. IMPORTANT NOTE TO THOSE ON THE FENCE ABOUT PLAYING THIS GAME BECAUSE OF HORROR: While he can touch you, it’s never forceful in any way (I remember it being really light) and always just to guide you. There’s also a very clear way that his scare scenes play out and instructions the game gives you that would make it near impossible for you to injure yourself trying to get away or something. You can also opt-out of being touched, but unless you’re very sensitive to touch or have very severe claustrophobia, I would recommend just playing the game normally because being chosen adds a lot of the game’s memorableness and they’re not too terrifying. There are two major downsides to these scare scenes that I felt took away from the horror (the rest of this paragraph has minor spoilers). The first is that because of how specific these scenes have to play out, a character has to stay with you throughout the game to make sure they play out that way. Otherwise, it feels really unnecessary and even confusing that they’re there, in fact for me it breaks the isolation and lowered the game's impact for me. The second is that while these scare scenes being formulaic make it so you’re very safe, it also means they get very predictable and therefore less scary as the game goes on. By the end the Bagman feels more like a minor inconvenience than an actual threat. (The Story) What I most liked about the game was how it builds up its universe, because while the threat of Bagman becomes less intense as the game continues, the story becomes much more intense. It is a lot of reading, which is normally a big turn-off, but it worked for me here. You’re only reading periodically and only a couple sentences at a time. These lore drops are also timed really well so that you’re always really invested and wanting to read more, never feeling like it’s taking away from everything else. It’s a simple story, but it’s a neat concept, and with a really well-timed post-game reveal, it sets up even stronger sequels to the game. (Gameplay) I will also mention that the puzzles here are pretty good. They’re definitely the game’s lowest priority, as with any experience-based horror room, but the tolerable intensity of the scare scenes mean that the game can focus a lot more on gameplay. There’s nothing that stands out, but they’re definitely not filler either as they are in many other horror games. This game does have way worse signposting (making it clear what puzzles go with what locks) than the rest of the company, which is only notable because of how good this company is at that otherwise (maybe it’s part of the “low-budget Escape Room company” theme). (Overall) This game is a lot more than the sum of its parts. While I am pointing out a lot of holes in the experience afterwards, the experience in the moment feels perfect. If you love experience-based rooms (especially horror) and don’t mind reading out a small amount of lore, I recommend this game to all slightly-experienced players (because the meta-theme barely works if you’re new). Even if you’re newer to horror, this game never felt too scary to me and would be decent as a starting point. And this game will only become more essential to play as this universe hopefully gets built upon in its sequels. From what I’ve heard this game is just an introduction to the universe and the future chapters will fully take advantage of it. 1. Bagman 2. Wrecked 3. Coral Kingdom 4. Deadwood Saloon 5. Metro Mayhem 6. Missing 7. Breakfast All Day

What a delightfully frightening time! I was utterly terrified, hands literally shaking, and so immersed in the experience and my own terror I took ages to calm down afterwards, but all in the best way! The puzzles were simple but rewarding and we were expertly and deftly navigated through the experience by our game master. The Bagman had a great physicality, and had a very intimidating presence, and was very well performed: absolutely terrifying. This is a must do for anyone who loves horror and if you don’t I encourage you to work up your courage to give it a try, you can really trust that you’re in good hangs here. I can’t wait to play the next chapters of the experience!

I’m a sucker for all things horror, so when a game comes along and actually scares me, I know it’s something special. Ghastly Escapes took the meta element of the premise and used it to make the game even more immersive than the average horror game. Between both performers, the game played with the distinction between escape room, haunted house, and immersive theater perfectly. The gameplay was mostly toned down to allow for the scares, but the puzzles were not simply filler - they were well designed and extremely fun in their own right. What made the game stand out was how unpredictable it was. It was genuinely terrifying to not know what was lying in the next scene, or even in the current scene. The ending was a perfect capstone to the entire experience - an appropriately tense sequence plus a great hook for future games. Plus, our hosts were incredible and made the whole experience pop in a great way. I am so glad I was able to work with Masterpiece Escapes to fit in these two games - both Wrecked and Ghastly Escapes are great examples of the power of passionate owners and incredible customer service!