Epsom, Jan 2023
Old Maid Milly was the ghost in Escape From The Room’s very first game, originally built in the upstairs bedroom of a suburban house. That game resolved the ghost’s tragic past and laid her spirit to rest, but here she’s back and has you trapped again.
The setting did feel less authentic than that of the original Old Maid Milly game – because it is less authentic, being a commercial space decorated to look like a bedroom rather than an actual bedroom. In other respects it’s a lot like its predecessor, with similar sorts of puzzles and the same light attempts to make players jump every once in a while. And of course Milly still has her fondness for cats.
It briefly looked like everything might finish very quickly indeed, but of course there was more to it. That was also the point the style of the game shifted somewhat. Both halves of the game have a set of puzzles that can be tackled mostly in parallel, but to start with you have to dig for the room’s secrets, whereas later on there’s a clear set of padlocks waiting to be opened. In that respect it switches to feeling more like the venue’s score-based games, though unlike those you do need to open all of these locks to get out.
Part of the appeal of the games at Escape From The Room is that puzzle mechanisms are usually not electronic, with lots of handmade wooden components and some simple but ingenious construction. That, and the ever excellent puzzle design, makes this a game entirely worth playing. At the same time it grabbed me less than did others by the company, and one reason for that is that I found the story less compelling: Milly is back and has trapped you again, but you’re not uncovering her history in the same way, and there isn’t the same sense of resolution when you finish. If you’re heading to Epsom then i wouldn’t suggest it as the first game to choose here, but if you can play several of their rooms then there’s no reason to leave it out. 