Mantis
61 escape rooms
I was willing to make do with the subpar set design but what threw us off completely (in a negative way) was the overly complicated puzzle design and poor flow. It took an inordinate amount of time to complete a few puzzles even though we knew we were on the right track because of unnecessarily layered difficulty and drawn out solutions. For instance, there was a certain puzzle whose answer involved a 20-25 sequence of correct inputs. Arriving at that solution felt more contrived than deductive. Moreover, if you mess up even one input, you have to start all over again. Some important information felt intentionally obscured with small font or ambivalent with unclear lighting that made colors harder to discern. And no notebook or means to write down information. That was quite frustrating. Lighting was on the dimmer side but no flashlights are available during the game. I think if they were to redesign some of the puzzles, the game would be much more enjoyable. The immersion was not that great though - cheap special effects and props.
Gameplay
It felt tedious.
Atmosphere
Special effects felt crass and props felt amateurish.
Customer service
Decent GM's. Responsive via phone.
Particularly interesting or different
No
Interesting premise. Execution wasn't good.
Story
Difficulty
Expert
The difficult would be "hard" if the puzzle design was better. But because of lack of clarity and layered solutions, it becomes more difficult than it should. Especially without a pen/paper and dim lighting.
Game tech
Mechanical
Ideal number of players
4
2-3 would have been fine if not for the overly complicated puzzles. Sometimes an extra thinking mind could connect more abstractly and/or compensate for lack of pen-paper.
Scary
Scary
A few jumpscares...but other than that, spooky atmosphere.
Was anything broken?
Yes
Felt one of the lock/keys needed some repeated tries (with the correct input) to get it to open.
Live actors
No
Physically active
Not at all
Basic moving around.
Easy to find location
Yes
On the street, up the stairs.
Parking
Medium
Street parking available. It's Lajpat - during busy hour, may need to park away or look around.
Safety
Yes
