Eden Escape: Alien Rescue

Alien Rescue is the Eden Project’s first live escape room, in collaboration with none other than Time Run’s Ben Mason and Dean Rodgers. The pop-up room has a one-month run until February 19th and tickets give valid day entry to Eden on the day of the game, except during half-term. What better excuse for a weekend in Cornwall.

On arrival at the Core building, we were briefed by Professor Avery on our mission. An alien has landed at Eden and is in quarantine for an undiagnosed illness. The scientists tasked with treating the alien have all caught a bug and need our help. We must enter the quarantine chamber and try to diagnose the alien’s condition within 45 minutes or the alien will die.

We were pleased to hear during the briefing that the game is non-linear and everybody duly got stuck in. Clues are delivered via walkie-talkie, which worked fine. We played the room as a team of four and it didn’t feel crowded, despite the relatively small space.

The first room was fairly sparse but on theme. The second room was more impressive and contained various bits of equipment and machinery you might expect to see in a scientific lab. All in all, the theme is nicely carried through the entire game.

The puzzles were varied and pleasing, but ultimately didn’t pose too much difficulty for our experienced team. My only minor quibbles were the lack of signposting as to which puzzle went with which lock or keypad and the finale, which could be made slightly more climactic. Team Unofficial Business made it out with 12 minutes left on the clock, thus setting a new record.

This is a fun and friendly room in a unique setting. If you live in the area, don’t miss it. And if you have to travel further, it is well worth the trip combined with a visit to the Eden Project.