Escapable: The Great Loudini

Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. 

I have to say that the people of Wakefield are very lucky with their escape room options. I live in Leeds and have an abundance of rooms and companies there to choose from, but none of them have left me on a high like Outatime, Seance or... The Great Loudini! 

Loudini is different to your average escape room, in that it incorporates an added element of magic to the mix. Often something like this, such as live actors in other games means that the puzzles feel a little less important to the narrative, but this room seemlessly blends the two, adding a trick or two only when the time is right, and focusing on the gameplay at other times. The simplest tricks are sometimes the most magical when seen up close, and while some might be a little familiar, it's just lovely to see them performed so beautifully and incorporated into the story. One or two times we were left thinking 'what?? when... how??' 

The puzzles were a mix, some quite easy, others left us scratching our heads a little. The clue system is very cute, and (I think due to the number of puzzles) there is a clear linear structure that points you in the right direction throughout.  At first I thought it was a bit TOO obvious, but as time ticked away I was genuinely grateful. I don't know that we'd have escaped in the 75 minutes otherwise. You don't want to be worrying about the clock in this room, it would take away from the enjoyment of the story and surroundings. 

The introduction is lovely, with the story beginning as soon as you enter the building. I don't know if it's altered for different teams, but we weren't given a run-down of how to use padlocks etc like we'd normally expect. (I did see padlocks on the table so perhaps that's something that is done sometimes if teams make it known that they're not experienced). I was glad not to have to be told how to use a directional lock for the 74th time as it really did keep the immersion to just get on with things. The intro has a lot of story and fun though, so make sure you arrive in good time to be able to enjoy it! 

Just based on this and Outatime, I can only imagine where this company is going to take us next. I can't wait to see.