Overwhelmingly positive (101 ratings)
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Permanently Closed - Alchemy. Astronomy. White Magic. The Order of the Three Keys is the most powerful organization you’ve never heard of- until now. Join their ranks, and investigate the heretical experiments of Edmond Cavanaugh- a man whose actions reverberate though time itself. Your choices will determine what you encounter as you dig deeper into his manor. Powerful elixirs, long-forgotten demons, experiments with the nature of life itself: you may encounter all of these, or something else entirely. But be warned- the Order’s Proctors will oversee your progress. Convince them of your intentions, and they will come to your aid. But stray from the Order’s tenets, and your story may take a different path. The choices, as always, are yours.
All (101)
Overwhelmingly positive
Gameplay
Very positive
Atmosphere
Very positive
Customer service
Very positive
36 escape rooms
So the most interesting thing I can say about this was that my party was pretty evenly split between “immersive theater” fans, and “escape room” fans and both groups had a great time. There’s also some fun to be had with the branching nature of the narrative that’s good for comparing notes with other players.
215 escape rooms
Heresy was a ton of fun and is, I think, as yet, still under appreciated. It is, first and foremost, an extraordinarily ambitious concept, but beyond that it’s also just a great escape room with fun puzzles, great scenery, and an uncommon approach to acting, roleplaying, and game mastering. Without a doubt, my favorite part of Heresy (and of Doors of Divergence generally) is the concept. As you play the escape room, you make decisions which affect the story and the progression of the escape room. Sometimes you know that you’re making a critical decision, other times you don’t even realize it. All of these decisions combine to make 4 different possible endings for Heresy. And not only that, but the specific ending you experience affects the start of their second room (Madness), which has *even more* possible endings. Wild. In fact, based on a choice you make early on, you only see about 1/2 of the puzzles, rooms, and content. I want to play it again to see the other half. I want to play their other rooms. Multiple times. They reward you afterwards by showing you a flow chart of roads taken (or I would say, taunt you with roads _not_ taken). I think I might have the same problem with Doors of Divergence that I have with, say, an Assassin’s Creed game - there’s too much content and I _have_ to see it all! When you arrive at Doors of Divergence, you first check in and leave your bags/coats at the front. Then you go into the Paradox Lounge, where an actor gives you a drink and a rules briefing. While the bag/coat check attendants are out of character, the bartender is in character. It’s an effective way to acclimate you to the mild roleplaying of the game in a low-stakes situation and move you into the magic circle of Doors of Divergence’s world. The game itself was really enjoyable. The sets are extremely immersive, in a sort of theatrical way (the sets have no ceilings, and there’s no attempt to hide the theater-style lights and lighting rails above), and all of the props felt high quality. The puzzles were fun and unique - I felt like they were a little harder than average but certainly not impossible. And while the rooms clearly used a lot of technology, you didn’t notice wires or switches; everything felt diegetic. Heresy has an in-character combo actor/gamemaster who starts the game in the room with you and comes and goes throughout. Throughout the game they both attempt to pull you into roleplay with them but also heighten the tension of the story. My group was…frankly a little weak on the roleplay, so we struggled to match the intensity that our “proctor” brought with them, but by the middle of the game they established a sort of so-serious-it’s-a-little-silly vibe that I enjoyed. I sort of accidentally ended up with a full team of 8 people. While we had a great time, it was frankly too many people. Heresy is probably best with 3-5, maybe 6. But overall, this is definitely an experience worth having at least once. Maybe twice. And I can’t wait to see their second and third game.
18 escape rooms
Truly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had at an escape room! Immersive, gorgeously designed, fully integrated puzzles, and replayable - the dream! 😊
143 escape rooms
There were lots of tech/design issues when we played, but lots of interesting ideas as well. There was a need for better signposting of certain puzzles. Also gating particular puzzles might be a good idea. On the flip side the actor in the room was terrific and added on a unique layer to our experience. The set design was also quite immaculate. Overall, I’d recommend this to enthusiasts with some reservations.