Barcelona, Mar 2022
It’s rare to see an escape room with a truly unique theme, but there’s no question that Tao qualifies. Both the venue frontage and the website (at least, the Spanish and Catalan versions) simulate a massage parlour well enough that they apparently get regular enquiries from people looking for massage not escape games.
At the outset you could indeed be forgiven for wondering exactly what type of entertainment to expect, as you’re invited to change into kimono-style garments. It’s up to the players how much they want to embrace the costume suggestions, though best to bear in mind that this is a rather physically active game and the clothing is not the most secure!
Once you’re launched into the game it involves somewhat less innuendo and more Asian-themed adventure. The set design is all clean lines and harmonious layout, as well as a steady source of surprises. The affectionate tribute to all things Japanese does stray close to unfortunate stereotyping at a couple of points – your mileage may vary in judging whether they’ve succeeded in keeping it in acceptable good humour.
In any case, leave aside the memorably unique setting and the sporadic innuendo, and what you have is a remarkable wealth of puzzle ideas that are wildly creative, smartly designed, and above all fun. This game is designed for teams to laugh and have a good time in, and the greater part of that comes not from anything the host does but from the actual puzzles and tasks. After hundreds of escape rooms it’s rare to come across something that’s entirely fresh and different, let alone something that’s simultaneously original and hilariously entertaining; but Tao has several such.
This is quite a physical game; that is, there’s plenty to do that’s no more physical than most other escape rooms, but most of my favourite moments in it were to some degree physical in nature. It’s also a game that suits messing about and not taking things too seriously – if you play it with cold efficiency aiming for a record time then you might not get as much out of it.
While it’s not exactly an ‘adult’ theme room there’s certainly a none-too-subtle undercurrent of gleeful smut, which I thought it was used in a much more smart and creative way than, say, the sort of Hangover room that gets you to arrange naughty toys in order of size to get a numeric code. However, I note that there’s also a family version available, which presumably provides an entirely innocent experience if preferred.
A while back I wrote something saying that three elements I wanted to see more of in escape rooms were humour, surprise and aesthetic beauty. Tao provides all three, in a game that’s all about having a silly good time. It’s quite a way out of Barcelona centre, but is so very worth the journey. 
