dmccullough
17 escape rooms
It’s a shame because I really really want to like this room, and there is in fact a lot to like about it. I really did enjoy the introduction, story, and setup that leads to the next major, main section of the experience. Unfortunately, it becomes apparent rather fast that it also hasn’t gone through any rigorous or thorough play testing. What you “do” once entering the main room becomes overwhelmingly unintuitive very quickly. As of this review, the only major remedy to the confusion Escape Thrill seems to have come up was to label most everything of interest with a label maker. It’s clear people have been getting very confused with this one. We found out afterward it also has the lowest completion rate out of any of their rooms. People have said this room is difficult, but I’d say it’s not so much “difficult” as it was not well play-tested. With that said, it’s a fun and creative theme, and the puzzles that do work are very cool and relatively unique. However some puzzles were just such leaps in logic that you couldn’t possibly figure them out without assistance. Certain things outright weren’t working which wasn’t immediately obvious until the GM intervened. We were given extra time on multiple occasions as a result of this, and they did a great job of keeping us entertained and happy. The ending was also a fun little unexpected surprise and I’m glad we got to see it. I wouldn’t recommend this room until it’s gone through some more tweaks to find the sweet spot that ensures a smooth experience for all players, whatever your skill level is. It’s ALMOST there, but just not yet.
Gameplay
Frustrating and not very intuitive. It was trying to be too many things at once which made changing gears taxing and unnecessarily confusing.
Atmosphere
Customer service
GM was great and facilitated all problems and issues we had with the room.
Story
Difficulty
Not so much “difficult” as it was not well play-tested. Some puzzles were just such leaps in logic you couldn’t possibly figure them out without assistance. Certain things outright weren’t working which wasn’t immediately obvious. Making you uncertain if what you did worked or not until the GM intervened
Game tech
High tech
Ideal number of players
3
Relatively small space. 3 is ideal, 4 is pushing it.
Scary
Not scary
Minimum age
15
A kid would enjoy the atmosphere at first, but become frustrated very quickly with how difficult and confusing the gameplay is.
Was anything broken?
Yes
Certain parts of the experience did not function as they should, which caused the GM to activate events anyway as a remedy to bypass the issues.
Live actors
No
Physically active
Not at all
Easy to find location
Yes
Parking
Easy
