scottwhead
343 escape rooms
An ambitious concept for a game, which resulted in both surprising moments and some bumps along the way. The story is completely unique and creatively brought to life in an escape room setting, but certain moments left us scratching our heads a bit. We were rewarded with a large amount of puzzling, one particularly unique and memorable physical challenge, and completely distinct environments within the game, but a few adjustments to the storyline and pacing of the puzzles could make the experience more cohesive.
Gameplay
Each puzzle fit the theme of its environment and ran the gamut from straightforward to complex. There were a good number of puzzles included in the game. They also pulled off a very unique and high-stakes physical challenge in one space. Most of the puzzles felt logical, but one or two puzzles were a bit harder to grasp, including something that was only able to be solved by guessing and checking.
Atmosphere
Although the first space felt a bit bare bones, the subsequent environments only got more impressive as we went, each immersing us in a different world with appropriate styling/lighting/props, but never quite reaching total cohesion across the entire game.
Customer service
We could tell our game master had her eye on us the entire game, immediately jumping in when needed for a nudge or to clarify something. She was willing to help answer a couple of questions about the game after and treated us really well.
Particularly interesting or different
Yes
Have you ever had a dream that you, um, you had, your, you- you could, you’ll do, you- you wants, you, you could do so, you- you’ll do, you could- you, you want, you want them to do you so much you could do anything?
Story
Our objective felt clear after watching the intro video, but seemed to scatter as the game went along. The final puzzle reminded us of that initial mission, but could have felt more significant with more tie-ins to the story along the way.
Difficulty
Hard
Game tech
High tech
A few physical locks throughout, but mostly tech-based puzzles of all sorts.
Ideal number of players
3
The size of some spaces in the game might not benefit a group larger than two or three.
Scary
Not scary
Minimum age
8
Was anything broken?
No
Live actors
No
Physically active
Very
One player must do a rather physical task. Brief crawling and ducking is required more than once, but might be able to be bypassed if discussed with staff.
Accessibility
Intro was given via video. Hints could be given via text on a screen or walkie talkie. Entire space (lobby and game) was flat and level, but includes brief crawling, ducking, and a tight space or two. We noticed (but did not use) doors that might be able to accomodate a bypass of the more physical elements if discussed with staff. One puzzle requires color differentiation.
Easy to find location
Yes
Parking
Medium
Street parking nearby or surface parking lots a short walk away.
