Escobar: Part 1 (The Betrayal)

For better or worse, Escape Revolution (E.R.) definitely has their own style. This is our 2nd room at this location (Prison Break being the other). I didn't have high hopes for this room, and by the end, I still had mixed feelings. While there definitely puzzles that I thought were solid and clever, there are also the issues I have with the two Escape Revolution rooms I've seen so far. tl;dr: flow issues & leaps in logic. 1) The least of the issues is that there is a lot of going back and forth between rooms. This is pretty normal, but you definitely notice it more when the set is on the larger side (add stairs, too). So this part isn't necessarily bad, but it is rough if you're falling behind on time 2) Imperfect flow. There have been times in both rooms we've done at E.R. where we just don't know what we're looking for or trying to do next. I think it was worse in Prison Break for us, but there were some moments of stuck in this one as well. 3) Leaps in logic. In hindsight, you can see how things sort of make sense. In the moment though, sometimes you have to reach a little more than you would in really well-designed rooms. Given 8 sheets of paper filled with a myriad of text, even after figuring out which sheet is important, you're left wondering what you need from that paper. Because you have 2 locks and 2 other physical pieces that take numeric input, and you don't have an idea of which one you need to focus on right now, much less which of the 500 digits you need from the paper. It's really open-ended. There are other small examples of this. After you're done, it might seem to make some logical sense, but in the moment, it wasn't near straightforward enough for progression. We fell behind from the start and ended up asking for clue after clue to keep moving, which I've never had to do and not how I ever want to escape a room. This was most likely the most clues I've ever had to take. Sometimes we were stuck, but as things went on, we really just knew we were running out of time and couldn't waste more time if we wanted to see the whole game. The positive: the set design, puzzles, and storyline were cohesive. Those parts were well-designed. The puzzles and flow themselves were where my issues were. But being in the space and set was very fun and definitely put us in the right atmosphere. Final thoughts: As with any E.R. rooms, the first issue is they start the timer as soon as you walk through the door with your game master. You put away your stuff in lockers. Then the GM gives a speech about the background story and basic rules. Then you might ask questions. By the time you actually get going, you're already 5+ minutes into your 60 minutes. Poor business decision for escape rooms. This room has its perks and fun puzzles and some "A-ha!" moments that people would love. I'd recommend a large group looking to have fun and not expecting the most brilliantly logically designed room. Casual players looking for an immersive set experience will enjoy this. Don't get stuck on one puzzle for too long and don't be afraid to ask for hints because there is a decent amount to do and a lot of back and forth. Most of the objectives take X amount of time to do no matter how good you are so that's another reason you can't waste too much time wandering cluelessly.

First and foremost, the sets in these rooms are phenomenal. In beautiful escape room fashion, the doors are well-hidden and puzzles are crafted where you don’t know what’s gonna open when. There were a few really memorable moments and exemplary ideas for puzzles but overall the puzzles were either okay or made me frustrated because it seemed like our game master had to steer us there because no one ever finds it on their own. However it’s a double edged sword because we were guided in some spaces I knew we could solve but we also wanted to see the whole room, so take that with a grain of salt. A vibrant setting with puzzles that fit the theme, very well done.

At first sight I loved this room, very immersive. But it didn't take long to start losing enthusiasm. We are an experienced group that typically do escape without any hints and in quick times. That was not the case with this room. Many of the puzzles just felt slightly beyond what you'd expect. There were elements that didn't work quite right that slowed things down. Our frustration turned into us asking for more hints than we'd like. When we finished the room we asked how many people co Plate the room without hints and were told we did way better than most! In my opinion, if everyone needs a lot of hints to complete a room, then it's bad game design, not bad players. If you go to this location, do Prison Break it's outstanding, but this particular room was not enjoyable.

Overall, it was a really fun room. The production value was fun and the puzzles were varied. Soph, our game master, was super kind and they didn’t give too many hints

Such a cool set design that transports you to a new city! There were a ton of cool puzzles that you won’t see anywhere else. Very clunky room with flow and I agree with others about the difficulty. It was challenging but doable with 2. Tons of out of box thinking and circling back to previous room. I’d probably recommend this for 3-4 ppl at least for how much detail there is. Loved the end!

This is the second room we’ve tried here, besides the Wrongfully Convicted one, so we already knew this place is very different from typical escape rooms. The puzzles are unique, but they don’t flow very well, and there were several moments when we had no idea what to do next. What really made the experience better was our GM (I forgot to get her name). She was attentive from start to finish and gave helpful hints that guided us along the way. Overall, it’s not a bad room if you’re looking for something a little different.

The puzzles and room didnt flow very well. Diagrams were obscure and certain clues felt a bit lazy and easy to miss. If part 2 is simular to part 1, I will probably skip it.

Probably the most disjointed and confusing check-in and room start experience I've ever had. We were thrown into a room within 15 seconds of meeting our game master with limited instruction, virtually zero story, and zero immersion. Our game master's gentle nudges during the game nudged me closer to crashing out and leaving the room halfway through. Our game master would have rather been anywhere in the WORLD than this place. I'm leaving out their name just in case tonight was a fluke. The room had absolutely no flow, with some aspects ranging from easy to downright impossible without assistance. When a room needs incredibly niche and tiny clues to be able to proceed, you might as well just get a hint as soon as you hit a metaphorical wall because it'll be forever before you can figure it out, if at all. You want to be in their weird leaderboard? Just show up with 2 people and excel simply because the points are weighted based on people/time/clues. Huge L

This was a HUGE escape room, multiple rooms. This escape room is on a more challenging side. Very creative set with different puzzles that I have not seen before.

So fun and immersive! On the more difficult side