No Exit: Death Row

Prison escape is probably the single most common escape room theme, and I’ve played dozens of variations on it in a great many different places; and No Exit’s Death Row is quite simply the best prison themed escape room I’ve played anywhere.

While I guess I could leave the review at that, it’s worth knowing in advance that this is a performance game with an actor. This is not a horror room and the actor is not there to scare you, but he is certainly an antagonist; those of a sensitive disposition should brace themselves to be shouted at. You don’t necessarily need to engage with the performance yourself, but if you enjoy interactive theatre then the game will be only be more entertaining if you throw yourselves into things.

We struggled quite a lot to get going, chasing down quite a few false leads. That can indicate design issues with weak signposting, but that wasn’t the case here; it was more that we were making guesses about how it would unfold and getting it wrong, thereby misleading ourselves. It’s to No Exit’s credit that they’ve taken such an overplayed theme and made it unpredictable and fresh, while keeping some of the classic tropes of the setting.

Of the three we played at No Exit, Death Row provided the toughest mental workout, while also managing to be a thoroughly physical game; when you finish you’re pretty much guaranteed to emerge breathless and flustered. You’re also pretty much guaranteed to emerge with a big grin, with the adrenaline of beating a properly satisfying escape room. Whether you find this the best of the No Exit games will depend on your tastes, but even by Athens standards it’s a must play.