Survive

The room is a little dim as others have mentioned, but workable. We saved this one for last at this location as I'm not usually a fan of darker rooms. We got 2 flashlights for 3 players, so that was a little frustrating, but we took turns and managed. A major feature of this room wasn't working, so that might have made our experience a little easier, but we still took the whole time and got out with 35 seconds left. The puzzles were fun and we had a great time with this room.

Though small, this room made good use of the space it had. Environment was immersive and puzzles were worked into the environment and on-theme. One unique gameplay mechanic was a fun addition to the room, however it meant that players had less time to grapple with the puzzles than the allotted 45 minutes. Our team of two did not escape and had one puzzle left when the clock ran out, which I think could have been avoided with stronger GMing in the one moment we asked for a hint. Overall, this was an enjoyable room, but not a market standout. EDIT: I noticed that older reviews said the room was too dark. I didn't feel that way at all, it was simply dim lighting to me. I don't know if that's just a difference in opinion or if Red Door changed the lighting after feedback from players, but I thought it worth noting.

Way too dark!

I was very excited to be playing at Red Door after loving their Texas games many years ago. When I heard that they would be more task based, shorter, and one room, I was a little let down, but still wanted to see it for myself. The room is well decorated, even if portions are just black walls. I was unsure about doing Survive because I had heard about one central mechanic that made me wonder how it could have been executed. This, coupled by the darkness, set up a recipe for frustration. The main mechanic is interesting, but was begging to implemented into a longer, more robust game. The darkness made the already frustrating puzzles even more irritating. I enjoy non-linear gameplay, but when so much is available at the start, with several puzzle lines haphazardly intersecting, it feels overly chaotic and convoluted, especially in such a confined space. The light sources are cheap and ultimately difficult to use properly (I opened mine up attempting to turn it on). I would be curious to try the other rooms, but I think there is a deeply ingrained flaw in the entire business model.