Asterialy
49 escape rooms
Hope End is absolutely one of my ALL TIME favorite escape games, especially in SoCal! I will start off by saying it’s slightly scary. Probably not so great for children, unless they’re super brave! There is a live actor, but they’re not…too scary. There’s no chasing, not really there to scare you except unsettle you a bit… They’re there to make the experience unforgettable! 😁 There’s only a few moments that’s a bit scary but it was more from the sudden appearance than anything scary scary, otherwise this game isn’t designed to scare you, rather just unsettle you. 4 people is the absolute minimum. I don’t think they can really fudge that limit to accommodate lesser number of players. Slight spoiler, you do get separated momentarily in the beginning, hence the minimum number of players. From even before you enter the door, they are all already in character! They only break character at the really end when you’ve finished and my they were absolutely AMAZING. The puzzles weren’t too difficult, but you can tell this room was designed as an EXPERIENCE, and less so trying to make it so difficult that the pass rate is low. They WANT you to finish the game, so you can experience it in its entirety ❤️. For our group, we went in as a group of 4, and I think the difficulty was just right! Lots to see, do, find, and explore! Some dexterity involved haha. 🤣 The story is PHENOMENAL. Most escape games you can go through and forget about the story. Not this one. You are engaged and stay engaged to the story throughout. The puzzles make sense and adhere to the main storyline. There were a few locks, but all of them were to theme, no combination locks at all. They make you believe (down to the smell lol), that you’re in a different time period. The set was absolutely on point! They did very well to bring the manor and story to life with the lights, sounds, set designs, live acting, etc! I would absolutely absolutely recommend Hope End to anyone hoping for an unforgettable experience!
Gameplay
An absolute EXPERIENCE!
Atmosphere
The set design was on point! Every part of the experience designed towards immersion, down to the smells haha 🤣 From before you even step foot into the store, they’re already in character and dragging you into the story. They’re all in!
Customer service
The GMs were AMAZING! The live actor was absolutely phenomenal! As I said before, the experience starts even before you step foot into the store. They were very committed to their roles!
Particularly interesting or different
Yes
Very unique! Most escape rooms seem like a test of intelligence, can you find the patterns, notice the differences, find the combo, etc. Hope End is a highly curated and intentional experience and they do everything to make the immersion as seamless as possible! You aren’t there for an escape game. You’re there to help with an investigation on a haunted house. The live actor isn’t there to scare you. They’re there to guide you, to interact with you, because you’re in her house and she is the creepy host.
Story
Oh I will definitely be remembering this story for awhile to come! And this is coming from someone who usually forgets the story for escape rooms 😅 I love this one!
Difficulty
Medium
I think the difficulty was perfect! They’re not designing it to make them unsolvable. They give just enough guided hints that the puzzles are solvable albeit with a bit of discovery (snooping) and brain power! They want you to solve the investigation, they want you to experience the entire game!
Game tech
High tech
No combination locks. All locks were old fashioned and fit the time period!
Ideal number of players
4
4 is minimum. I think 4 is also optimal! Though, if you have someone who is scared of the dark or being alone, then probably a bit more for company!
Scary
Spooky
The live actor isn’t there to scare you. BUT, she does end up being a bit scary, especially at the beginning and once when she appears out of nowhere 🤣 Not too bad! I also think they broke up our group quite intentionally, though this was just our guess in hindsight. She guessed which in our group is the bravest, which would best be not left alone, etc and positioned us in a way that would be most optimal to NOT scare us. At least that’s just how it ended up for our group!
Minimum age
12
Definitely older to enjoy it!
Was anything broken?
No
Live actors
Yes
Not there to scare you, but she is scary. She’s phenomenal!
Physically active
Not at all
Did not need to climb, jump, crawl (except one area and I think they’d just put you in the other room if you might have difficulties with crawling).
Accessibility
Pretty accessible! Didn’t need to crawl or climb. It is dark in one place though and hearing is absolutely necessary for a few puzzles.
Easy to find location
Yes
Yes, BUT… there is no sign 🤣 They’re in the corner. That’s all I’ll say haha.
Parking
Easy
Safety
Yes
