Deadlocked Escape Rooms Reading: The Reading Witch

Let me start by saying that this is a fantastic room! The theming and attention to detail is superb and this room is on another level completely to their other room 'the time machine'. 

The effort that has gone into putting this room together is very apparent; the room designs, the use of space, and the audio all combine beautifully to create a truly immersive experience. 

If you aren't used to doing multiple rooms in a day then the "2 hours" tag may seem a little daunting but it's perfect for this room. It gives you time to get through the huge variety of puzzles across multiple rooms, whilst still being able to take in the experience unfolding around you. It didn't feel like we had to rush at any point and we even had time to stand around debating over who was going to go and do which scary thing (which is probably what took us the longest to be honest)! Everything was very cleverly signposted to somehow be both clear and discreet as to what you needed to do next, and at no point were we left wondering what to do next. The only issue we had in that regard was right at the end when we had somehow missed a key element - this is where we found out about the lack of hint system, as when we asked for help, we were played a pre-recorded message that didn't answer our question at all. Thankfully, they noticed we were completely perplexed (entirely our own fault for not looking around properly in the first place) and the GM/Actors very cleverly helped us out without breaking any immersion, which was fantastic.

The puzzles all felt very original and where there were more 'classic escape room puzzles' they had been so beautifully blended in with the theming that they felt new and fresh.

Now for the elephant in the room - the actors and the horror element.

I am not a fan of horror actors in rooms - I have high anxiety and am very susceptible to jump scares. That being said, I love horror-themed rooms and am a huge fan of the genre. This is where the review comes down to personal opinion. I cannot speak for every team as everyone reacts differently and every host may do things differently. I found the actor to be way too intense at times. It started off well with some well timed jump scares and cinematic use of the actors, but it progressively got more intense. (After talking to the host at the end we believe that they may have upped the intensity when they realised we weren't reacting much.) The actors in here WILL touch you and you are encouraged to move quickly through very tight spaces which is just going to lead to injuries when everyone is panicking in the dark. I felt extremely on edge the entire time. I was purposely avoiding going near some puzzles for fear of being grabbed from behind and really struggled to focus. With me as an exception, we are not a team that scare easily, so when even the lads were nervous to go into certain areas it shows that this is not a room for the easily scared.

I believe that its a fantastic room, it really is. But taking the "less is more" approach would have worked a lot better in this situation. Subltle sounds and movements in the dark mixed with corner of the eye sightings and suspense would have been much more creepy. But as I say, this is entirely personal opinion and different actors may play the role very differently. 

I highly recommend this room! But do proceed with caution if you have high anxiety, or have a chat with the host to adjust for a less intense interaction if nervous - because the room is well worth a visit if you can handle the scares!

One other small thing we noticed was that one of the lights in the final area wasn't working, which made it tricky to tell if you were completing the puzzle correctly, but is still solvable if you just assume its on when you press it. 

Even if you are not a fan of scary games I would say this is done in such a clever way you still have time to do the puzzles which are good fun and I personally feel this is worth the price as a two hour experience

I’ve wanted to play this game since I’d been told about it. I love immersive games, especially horror and The Reading Witch does not disappoint. 

You can see from the moment you step foot into the room, the attention to detail that has gone into every single thing. The owners have a passion for this, and that is shown in the end product.

The game itself is story driven from the very start, and completely immersive. The scares are terrifying, to a point where I, even though I knew this was a game, did not want to be on my own in a room.

I played this with my wife who is not a horror fan and was apprehensive about doing it to begin with because of that, but at the end she was saying she was glad she had done it. 

This is a premium game, at two hours long you certainly get your moneys worth! 

Very stoked to have an escape room so close to home that offers up multiple actors. Something we have come to love in Europe so pleased to see it influence here. 

The actors were great and interacted well with the room. We love to get stuck in and happy to play along.

What surprised me the most was the number of puzzles. Most of the time it is more of an experience but this still has all the puzzles of an escape room. 

I hope many more of these pop up.