JTaurino
12 escape rooms
I have done over a dozen escape rooms. We did not succeed in completing this room and I am sure it has a lot more to do with the cohesiveness of the puzzles. The theme and idea and layout of the room was cool and enticing; however, a lot of the theme props were not interactive to the puzzle solving. There are a lot of cases on tables that are perceived to be containers that may need to be opened. A lot of time was spent figuring out if they were a part of solving a puzzle or just for show. This was a trend in a lot of the room. It was also not very clear which puzzles we were trying to solve and would go with which resolution (i.e., discovering a code and knowing which lock it unlocked). I have completed other missions in this location with a much more positive experience, so this review does not reflect my opinion on this location as a whole.
Gameplay
There were several elements within the clues that were never explained, leaving us unsure of their purpose or relevance. The overall experience lacked a cohesive flow, and it was often difficult to determine which clues corresponded to which puzzle. It took us 15 minutes before we could figure out 1 puzzle, and that was with the assistance of the gamemaster. Additionally, almost every puzzle was number-based, which made the experience feel repetitive. While we enjoy a challenge, there wasn't much variety to keep each puzzle feeling fresh or engaging. We had a group of 9 people, and despite working through the puzzles together, some of the information never seemed to connect or make sense. Unfortunately, this led to more confusion than satisfaction when solving the challenges. There was also a period where we asked our gamemaster for help and they gave us details to a puzzle that was already solved, wasting minutes of time in our clock.
Atmosphere
A lot of props blended well with the theme of the room, but there was overall more props that had zilch to do with the solving puzzles.
Customer service
Staff was respectful but inconsistent in the whole experience. The person who introduced us as our gamemaster was not the same person who ended the experience with us.
Particularly interesting or different
No
Story
Difficulty
Hard
The challenge came more from interpreting the clues than from solving the puzzles themselves. Many details didn't appear to have a clear purpose or connection, which made the experience feel confusing rather than challenging.
Game tech
Mechanical
Ideal number of players
6
Adults only
Scary
Not scary
Room was dark, but not scary at all. Provided us with flashlights.
Minimum age
14
Not a child appropriate room at all. We had kids ranging from age 5 to 13, and this room was not ideal for this age group at all.
Was anything broken?
Yes
There was a knob on the door that was spinning, we thought this was part of a puzzle only to later discover that other knobs around the door resembled bolts. They were all glued except for the one that was spinning, so gluing that back would help from distracting players from true details that need to pay attention to.
Live actors
No
Physically active
Not at all
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible. Hearing is needed to listen for a light buzzing in solving one of the puzzles. Room is pretty dim, so it won't be ideal for someone who cannot see well in darker room.
Easy to find location
Yes
Parking
Easy
Safety
Yes
