Macclesfield, Jul 2024
Escape Quest’s unusual model presents a challenge for enthusiasts who want to check off all their rooms – since only one is available at a time, the only way to do so is with multiple pilgrimages to Macclesfield, one every few months. We missed out on their newest game when it was running this spring, but finally managed to catch Percy Pendleton as it came round again in the rotation.
This one is set in 1912, and you’re tasked with finding a missing person. As is standard at Escape Quest, the main quest is only part of the game. As long as you solve that, your game counts as a success. However, you then have a bonus objective, which in this case is to find as many golden pineapples as you can. The first half of the game allows solving in parallel; the second half much more so, presenting you with a blizzard of puzzles, many of which unlock boxes that contain further puzzles in turn.
Percy is only the second game I’ve played here since Escape Quest moved to this location and created their Chapelgate rooms. Both times I’ve found the initial impression beautiful and overwhelming – so much to look at! so many items to solve! I suspect the next time I visit I’ll be quicker to home in on the starting point, which was in fact pretty clearly signposted. There’s no time to waste in Escape Quest’s games, and to hit the ground running you’ll want to not get distracted by all the things that aren’t relevant until later.
Most of the puzzles here are based around codes and padlocks, and the game is an effective rebuttal to those who consider that a bad thing. There is absolute rigour in the puzzle design, in the sense that when you’ve solved it there’s no doubt whether the code will work or not, and no question which lock the code goes with.
My impression was that Percy was somewhat easier than Henry Fortune, the previous one we played, though the main reason we did better at it was because this time we had four people not two. A larger team gives you much better odds of solving everything in the room, though of course comes with the downside that you may miss a significant chunk of the content, with each player solving different things in parallel.
If you’ve played other rooms here, it may not have quite as much wow factor, since there’s much that’s shared with the others; though equally, it’s lovely how the different games have a shared continuity, meaning you’re returning to a familiar world to face fresh challenges. Escape Quest have a unique formula, and it clearly works exceptionally well, seeing how their games cluster at the top of this site’s ranking list. Part of that formula is of course the outstanding hosting, always from the company owners themselves. Like their other games, Percy is a puzzle-fest finely tuned to appeal to enthusiasts, and a great reason to visit Macclesfield before it gets swapped out again. 
