Marvo Mysteries: M.A.R.V.O. Induction

We really really enjoyed this beautiful escape room experience in Boscombe, Bournemouth. And it really IS a full experience, right from the moment you receive your pre-game email! The theming and immersion were just incredible, we couldn’t fault the total attention to detail on display here. Even the welcome and waiting area is gorgeous and engaging. Going into the game is themed too, as is coming out - but I’ll come to that. 

We had two wonderful and in-character (for the most part!) hosts in David and Dan, and felt well cared for and motivated from start to finish. No spoilers, but the “pre-show” was not your usual beginning to a room, and the quality even of this little segment, and the way it ramped up the mystery and excitement, was top notch. 

Once into the room proper, we really enjoyed the fantastic theming, the variety of puzzles and the game mechanics. There were some superb moments of theatre - lots of them in fact! - and everything felt perfectly honed, from the lighting, to the effects, to the sound and music. Unlike others who have commented here, I didn’t feel the storyline was confusing; quite the opposite in fact! It’s one of the few escape rooms I have played where I felt like there was a more involved but clear storyline from beginning to end. You really are made to feel a part of it, and, to my mind, everything that transpires makes sense. The attention to detail is wonderful (you’ll need to have good attention to details too…!) and for the true geek and/or genre buff there are so many wee Easter eggs and references, which we enjoyed finding a *little* breathing-space to nerd out over. 

As for gameplay, I thought it worked perfectly as two - there are some good non-linear moments, but there is also a good deal of time working cooperatively, so good communication is key here. It flowed so incredibly well that we very rarely spent more than a handful of moments in a muddle, and the sign-posting - when we remembered to follow it in our excitement - was really well-done. Everything made sense, fitted with the storyline, and followed on well. There was a moment where we completed a puzzle before we received the way-marker for it - but that didn’t feel like it ruined either flow or story at all. 

There are some wonderful props that feel very “real”, and fantastic use of technology and set-pieces. And the exciting ending, which ramped up the tension, was something to behold! The theatre geek in me was over the moon, and my partner definitely had his Sci-fi loving heart fulfilled too. Even the clueing mechanism fitted in perfectly - although my one gripe perhaps is that clues came a bit too readily. We received two clues, and of those two at least one came a little too early and would not have been needed. To be fair though, I would rather this than spending time frustrated, and I think this is a hard balance to strike, especially with teams like ourselves who clearly have a bit of experience, but are rather impatient (me!)… 

All in all this is a wonderful experience from beginning to end, and we were so glad we had cause to be in this neck of the woods in order to find out if MARVO lived up to the hype! We will definitely plan to return when they open their second room, which promises to be along sometime mid to late 2023. Thoroughly recommended.