Scotus0

Keys! We’ll go somewhere where there’s keys!

As a huge Wallace and Gromit fan, I made a stop-off in MK to play this one before heading on to London!

Story

Help Wallace remember the code to his workshop using the Memory-O-Matic helmet before the village science fete begins.

Puzzles

Mostly fun and good at incorporating aspects of the films. However, I’ve played +100 rooms yet have never experienced a more nonsensical puzzle than one of the initial ones in here. Despite us all being stumped, no clue came. Thankfully, though, my friend cracked it on a complete whim.

Mise en scene

Several detailed and immersive W&G environments containing plenty of pleasing references- cracking!

Final Comments

Our escape took around 50 minutes. A group of 5 was a good-sized team for this one.

*SQUAWK*

I got a Groupon for the pirate-themed room, bringing down the price by a fair bit.

Story

Escape the brig and break the curse- with the help of a cannon.

Puzzles

Thematically sound and engaging…just lacking! This room was definitely two or three puzzles short (hence the clock still having about half the time left after we escaped).

Mise en scene

Big ticks for the convincing ship-like setting: the oaky wood-covered spaces were filled to the brim with barrels, swords, maps, skeletons and more.

Final Comments

Our host put plenty of comedy into the hint-giving parrot: this really added to the fun.

Hazardous Hotel

Crimson Lake Motel is billed as a sequel to Vacancy. I really enjoyed that one (back in 2017!) and so looked forward to attempting the next chapter.

Story

The luxury hotel you’ve won a weekend getaway at isn’t all that it seems.

Puzzles

This is one of Breakout’s most difficult rooms, and the puzzles reflected that. While we cracked a lot of them, there were occasions where we tried to figure something out without yet having all the necessary items. This lost us a lot of time at the start. I think a simple “You have to solve something else first” hint would not have gone amiss.

Mise en scene

Run-down hotel with the odd surprise- check. I much preferred Vacancy’s theming, though. Towards the end, a space with some sort of air freshener was taking us out of it- and catching our breaths!

Final Comments

Our team of 5 didn’t manage to get out in time! We were only a couple of puzzles away and so got to complete the room, at least. Make sure there are experienced players and lateral thinkers in your group!

Train Troubles

While my last visit involved lots of fun in Space Evader, I/my team didn’t get close to the same level of enjoyment from Derailed.

Story

The story made little sense- we were first collecting jewellery at a station, then later…finding a murder weapon on the train?

Puzzles

The first half’s challenges were fairly varied but failed to provide much of an enthralling assortment. We didn’t get the impression that our host was paying much attention to our game. At one point in the second half, we were practically begging for help because one of the puzzles involved hopelessly ambiguous equipment.

Mise en scene

The train’s set came across was well-presented compared to the platform/whatever the first bit was supposed to be.

Final Comments

My team of 4 got out with seconds to spare- take a full house if you want a shot at solving everything in the collection stage. We left feeling deflated.

Cluedunnit?

Unsolved is heavily inspired by Cluedo, so ideal for gentle murder mystery fans.

Story

Work out who murdered Dr Black.

Puzzles

Pretty standard. Classic escape room fare.

Mise en scene

It had an elementary (oh yes) detective’s office kind of feel. Later, you’re introduced to a peculiar environment that doesn’t really correlate to the story.

Final Comments

A room well-suited to beginners.

An Eye for an Eye

For my birthday, I did an escape room marathon (5 rooms in one day) starting with this one!

Story

Find the diamond.

Puzzles

Entertaining enough, but easy to work out- on the verge of rudimentary.

Mise en scene

The room itself gave engaging Aztec/jungle vibes.

Final Comments

My team of 4 absolutely smashed it in just over half an hour with 0 hints.

Rags to…more rags

This was my last room of 2024- it’s a shame I didn’t end it on a high.

Story

Find a dead old lady’s riches in her house before it’s demolished.

Puzzles

I wasn’t keen on the puzzles. In a word, hotchpotch.

Mise en scene

Three B’s: Basic, Boring, Bland. Nothing to see here.

Final Comments

Not worth the money- even with a discount.

Mayday! Mayday!

£15 each for a group of 2- prices unheard of in the UK! Also, trust me to book a game called ‘Plane Crash’ the day we were flying home

Story

Survive the final hour of a plane’s journey to Smolensk Airport…

Puzzles

The puzzles were a tad basic; there’s little else to say about them, really.

Mise en scene

An incredibly immersive set that really contributed to the story-driven nature of the game. I’d love to say more, but no spoilers. Needless to say, it had us thrilled!

Final Comments

Watch how you land!

Terror on the Tube

Dead End was recommended to me- and what an impressive game it turned out to be!

Story

Venture down to and repair the generators that are keeping London’s ‘Safe Zones’ powered during a zombie apocalypse.

Puzzles

Absorbing and practical; the solution to one was unclear but they were otherwise enjoyable.

Mise en scene

The room boasted an immersive, apocalyptic Tube station layout in which there was a suitably eerie atmosphere. Action also took place on a train carriage with great attention to detail.

Final Comments

One of my party (who has played a fair few with me) said it’s the best escape room she’s done, so kudos to Breakout Chester.

Fumbling in the Dark

A brilliant Groupon allowed my group (5 of us altogether) to embark on 2 adventures: this was the second.

Story

Find an axe to help get your homeland back.

Puzzles

Slightly varied and on-theme, but one puzzle in particular really stumped us.

Mise en scene

Too dark! Phone torches are permitted, but it really would benefit from a bit more light. The Viking mountain cave setting was credible, though some components were on the worse for wear side.

Final Comments

We got out with about 15 minutes remaining.

Tinfoil Hats

A brilliant Groupon allowed my group (5 of us altogether) to embark on 2 adventures: this was the first of them.

Story

Track down a conspiracy theorist who has gone missing.

Puzzles

It borrowed some aspects from a game the room previously occupied (Secrets of the Upside Down) but the puzzles themselves were all new, incorporating visual and physical challenges.

Mise en scene

A touch on the basic side, but this was a conspiracy theorist’s abandoned home- in other words, nothing too fantastical. There was one small section in particular that I wasn’t expecting (and enjoyed!).

Final Comments

We set a new record by escaping with around a third of the time left. While 5 was a feasible team number, take one or two less people if you want a tougher challenge.

Like Taken Candy From a Baby

Since I was making an on-the-day booking for a team of 2, I chose Taken.

Story

Rescue your kidnapped friend(s) and escape the hostage situation.

Puzzles

On-theme, but incredibly easy. A bit of searching here, a bit of thinking there.

Mise en scene

A straightforward but immersive enough space that did the job of looking like a kidnappers’ hideout.

Final Comments

It would work fine as a beginner room. I should have been braver and booked us a 4/5-star challenge: we received 2 clues and escaped with 25:26 left on the clock.

A Truly Horrifying Experience 👎

Merlin Entertainments has clearly seen an extra opportunity to get an extra £50 or so per hour by bolting on this hollow room to its Dungeons attraction.

Story

Escape a cell before you’re executed.

Puzzles

They were pretty commonplace, and a bit too varied in terms of difficulty. As soon as we moved on to the next puzzle, a hint flashed up on the screen: the host was far too keen to give us clues. Several previous reviews echo my feelings about this, so it’s clear that staff simply hold players’ hands and pull them through as quickly as possible. Needless to say, we got out with about 1/3 of the time left.

Mise en scene

The room itself- a mostly empty space- is uninspired (impracticably dark, too). This surprised me given the detailed/engrossing environments found in the Dungeons themselves.

Final Comments

Its location inside The Red Lion pub is ill-considered: the chatter and general noise from patrons massively took away from the story. At £22.50 each, it was undeniably overpriced. I emailed Merlin who assured me that the feedback will be taken onboard and provided me with a full refund (I only asked for vouchers for another attraction, so this was a surprise).

Doctor, Who…Designed This Terrible Room

I had a Virgin Experience voucher and so brought a team of four…regretfully. This room is pants!

Story

Seal a tear in the fabric of space/time before the Cybermen break through it and take over the world.

Puzzles

The puzzles made little sense, and there was a least two occasions we’d completed a challenge without even realising. The steps required for the final ‘action’ were janky.

Mise en scene

Having never watched an episode of Doctor Who, my grasp of the few references scattered about must mean they lacked depth. I was expecting an immersive, high-tech, sci-fi adventure, but what we got was little more than a generic, uninspired half study/half laboratory mishmash.

Final Comments

The posters advertising this room make it look exciting, but Worlds Collide needs to be closed and re-thought.

An Alien Adventure

I brought (most of) my original team who I did my very first escape room with here…to play my 100th! If you’re a student, Cryptology offers 10% discount.

Story

Board a stranded space vessel and find out what happened to the crew- be prepared to make a tricky decision on the way!

Puzzles

There was a good variety of challenges- technological and not-so-technological, but in a humorous way. Some of them were difficult and so a handful of hints were needed.

Mise en scene

It was an immersive room, made to look like an abandoned space lab. The low lighting and smoke machine helped.

Final Comments

We chose the ‘best’ (and trickiest) ending, escaping with three minutes to spare. Our host was very welcoming: they presented us with slices of ‘Escake’ to celebrate my hundredth.

I Need to go Looting for Gold…

…because this escape room left me with no money! If you bring a team smaller than 4 during peak time, you pay the price. Concessions aren’t valid during this time, either.

Story

Grab the town’s newly-discovered gold, fix up an old train and escape on it before bandits arrive to steal the gold and kill you.

Puzzles

Related to the theme, but clumsy mechanics were littered throughout. We failed to do one particular task properly the first time and was told to essentially cheat it in order to continue.

Mise-en-scene

It looked run-down even for a town in the Wild West. The wooden interior did give saloon vibes, and a train segment added a little change of scenery.

Final Comments

My friend and I only got out with 10 seconds left, so at least we got as much value for money as practically possible! This one is a soft pass.

A* Z-Escape

As an experienced escaper, I was invited to play Z-escape prior to its opening. This is a unique escape room in that children can play without parents/guardians, as an in-game host- the librarian- can tag along for the adventure.

Story

Billi the Bookworm has escaped and is causing mischief in the library: find and recapture him before the Library Inspector arrives.

Puzzles

The puzzles are of a reasonable difficulty, meaning a group of adults (well, we’re big kids, really) can enjoy the challenge just as much as a team of juvenile escapees. There’s an engaging variety of mental and physical tasks- even one that involves using your nose!

Mise-en-scene

Its immersive atmosphere is one of The Library of Enchantment’s strongest elements: each well-decorated space is inspired by a different book. The journey through the library takes you from pirate ships to space, with high-quality, charming décor to keep you lost in time.

Final Comments

Our team of 3 had a lot of fun playing, and we did it with about 4 minutes to spare. A lot of thought and research has clearly been put in to make this a formidable room, which shows!

Creating a Monster

This was one of many birthday escape rooms for me! Breakout has yet another new branch in Manchester, so I wanted to have a nosey. I saved a little bit of money with a Virgin experience voucher.

Story

Search Stonecraft Cemetery for a secret lab and recreate Dr Frankenstein’s monster.

Puzzles

They ranged from “Hated that one” to “That was fun!” while mostly staying true to the storyline. Word riddles, number problems and hands-on tasks all featured here. Bar one in the early stages that had us all stumped, they were rather easy, despite the host saying it’s their hardest 4-star room.

Mise-en-scene

A shady cemetery captured the mood of the room with simplistic gravestones and jet-black trees, then (slightly clunky) mechanics allow you to progress beyond it.

Final Comments

My team of 3 broke out with about 7 minutes to spare. I’d say don’t take any more than 4 people for this one.

Emergency Exorcism

This was the second of a back-to-back booking at Emergency Exit. The prices were incredibly reasonable compared to those in Manchester city centre, and I got a discount on top. We each paid £18 for 2 rooms- excellent value.

Story

Uncover the secrets of a haunted house- where previous explorers have since gone missing- but don’t outstay your welcome!

Puzzles

A typical escape room variety, mostly requiring a fair amount of thinking and a little bit of looking. Nothing revolutionary, but still very good.

Mise-en-scene

Spine-chillingly atmospheric- there were even immersive smells- though it was a little too dark. Loud, frightening cutscenes progressed the story.

Final Comments

Our host was dry in the best possible way and obviously had fun spooking us! We smashed this one with barely any hints. I’m looking forward to coming back to do the third and final room.

Becker Beware

For my birthday, I wanted to do 2 escape rooms back-to-back; luckily, my friends obliged. The experience pretty much started at the door, with a sinister introduction that instantly set the tone!

Story

Investigate the questionable Dr Becker’s study: his invitation for you to visit may not be as well-meaning as it seems.

Puzzles

We tackled a mixture of physical locks and mechanical-based obstacles. The puzzles themselves were engrossing and in good supply.

Mise-en-scene

Perturbing is the word! Among the curious artifacts in the dated, dimly-lit study and beyond, there were surprises to keep you on your guard. There wasn’t a timer to keep track of how long you’ve got left, which I would have liked.

Final Comments

A surprisingly large maximum number of 8 people can do this room: there was enough for 6 of us to cooperate on, but I think any more players would have been too many. We escaped with around 7 minutes left on the clock.

Y’in there, Drac?

Having loved Escape The Chocolate Factory, I brought my dad/brother back here to tackle Dracula’s Tomb for a birthday escape.

Story

Investigate the underground vault that has been discovered during the construction of Princes Quay. Rumour has it a certain vampire may be residing here.

Puzzles

The puzzles had some other-worldly elements to them. They fit the theme and were relatively easy, though we did need one or two hints.

Mise-en-scene

I liked the gloomy, uncanny atmosphere in the room. Props and other paraphernalia were befitting.

Final Comments

We had the same host as last time who remains amiable and passionate about their rooms.

Playtime!

My hometown now has 2 escape rooms- exciting!

Story

Find the missing toy by solving its captor’s puzzles and then rescue it.

Puzzles

They were mostly practical but still varied and all associated around playthings.

Mise-en-scene

The colourful, crèche-like theming came across as well-considered.

Final Comments

I was a little adamant on asking for no clues (too many Games Masters hand-holding through them), and so we finished it a minute or two over the hour- but still had an enjoyable time. Take a team of 4 or 5. Our host was very chatty and enthusiastic.

P-p-p-prisonnnnn

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably done at least three prison-themed games. It’s inevitable at this stage. An escape-loving friend organised this one last minute and so would have likely chosen otherwise if he could, but here we are.

Story

Break out of prison…

Puzzles

Nothing out of the ordinary in a prison break. Some searching, some number-crunching, some computing, some practical tasks.

Mise-en-scene

The cell had an expectedly dingy feel to it; the surroundings/props made it immersive enough.

Final Comments

The two of us got out with around 10 minutes to spare.

Pirate Jail!

Another voucher from Planet Offers saw my family storming through a swashbuckling escape.

Story

Escape the brig and steal the Captain’s treasure.

Puzzles

Fun, but relatively simple- I think only one clue was needed.

Mise-en-scene

Pirate-themed rooms are my favourite, and this one didn’t disappoint. It had everything you’d expect on a galleon: rats, guns, swords and a brig.

Final Comments

The 4 of us got out with 23 minutes to spare.

Son Seekers

I brought a friend here with a Groupon that got us 20% off.

Story

Rescue your son from The Upside Down before sinister beings cross over from this other dimension.

Puzzles

I remember there being a decent variety at an engaging difficulty level, tied in to the decade the TV series it’s inspired by is set.

Mise-en-scene

I haven’t seen Stranger Things, but the ‘set’ here seemed on the mark.

Final Comments

I didn’t mind this one: not the best, not the worst. We got out with 5 minutes left, a few clues pushing us towards the victory. I’d recommend a team of about 3.

A Very Mild Case of Cabin Fever

We got a deal from Planet Offers, meaning the total price was around £30.

Story

Lost in the woods with no phone battery, venture into the cabin to get its radio working and call for help.

Puzzles

They were fine…but in short supply!

Mise-en-scene

Starting off outside the cabin, it’s a little dark and mysterious. Once inside, there’s a slight menacing vibe, with one or two opportunities for a spook. However, some of the props are so low-grade that they take you out of the story.

Final Comments

This room was over before we knew it: there was over 20 minutes left on the clock. I’m glad we didn’t pay full price based on its limited length. There were 6 of us, and everyone in the party had played at least 5 or 6 games. You only need 2-4 people to make it a more worthwhile challenge.

Vamping It Up

Breakout has added a vampiric escapade to its roster. Strangely, I got a bit of a discount by buying a voucher from Jacamo, for which I used a 15% off code.

Story

Escape Nosferatu’s dwellings before he comes back and eats you in front of his friends.

Puzzles

Surprisingly difficult given the three-star rating; sometimes we needed more than one hint per puzzle. They weren’t overly captivating.

Mise-en-scene

The small, cave-like space did indeed imitate a dank, dark, vampire’s lair…so it would have been helpful if we were shown how the lanterns worked before starting.

Final Comments

We got out with seconds to spare, although I can’t help but think the Game Operator paused our clock once or twice. Take a team of three or four to this one.

Scour the Saloon!

This room is different in that breaking out is just part of the challenge- once you’ve got the exit code, you then need to collect as much loot as possible.

Story

Raid the saloon for all of its riches and break out before the Sheriff catches up to you.

Puzzles

Fairly rudimentary, but decent. For the money-collecting puzzles, you get no hints whatsoever: no spoilers, but you really need to have your think-of-everything, search-everything head on if you want to strike it rich!

Mise-en-scene

With saddles, a bar area, barrels and a piano, Most Wanted definitely gives a saloon feel. It looks a little tired, but that kind of compliments the space.

Final Comments

Our team racked up about 70 tokens: we’d still be there now finding the rest of them if we weren’t told at the end.

Decoding in the Dojo

I came here with a few friends- it’s always more expensive on the weekend, so go mid-week if you can and look out for those student and over sixties concessions!

Story

Defeat warlord Tanaka by stealing the magic stone from his sword handle and break out.

Puzzles

They were varied, and tied in to the story. Since Escape Hunt use very little traditional locks, expect a fun variety of physical and practical challenges in order to progress.

Mise-en-scene

Fourth Samurai is an escape set in a dojo, with an ancient Japan ambience and props to match.

Final Comments

We needed a few clues but worked together to break out with thirteen minutes to spare.

Lifeless Lab

For one of their newest escapes, this room was a let-down. As you’ll see below, the story has been done a million times.

Story

Search a lab for a cure to the zombie outbreak- but find it quick as you’ve been exposed to the virus and will turn in an hour.

Puzzles

The puzzles were very bog-standard- I didn’t even have to think for some of them. In terms of hints, we needed one or two little nudges.

Mise-en-scene

The design/scenery was reminiscent of a tired prop room for a ghost train. A scattering of disfigured, tattily dressed dummies and the odd piece of laboratory equipment resulted in an experience that lacked any sort of character. There were missed opportunities for scares here.

Final Comments

We broke out in good time and, well, that was that. It’s only fair to say that, after leaving this review on TripAdvisor, a member of staff got in contact to say immediate improvements to the room will be made.

Nosferatu (What a Guy)

As part of a birthday weekend, I came to play Nosferatu with a few friends. Our host was okay- our interaction with them was minimal because of Escape Reality’s infamous hint system (more on that later). Their briefing- which included a “If you break anything, you have to pay for it”- wasn’t the friendliest I’ve ever experienced. Did we look heavy-handed, or something? Who knows.

Story

Discover the reason behind your fellow villagers’ mysterious deaths, or fall victim to Nosferatu.

Puzzles

The first puzzle was impossibly difficult without a clue. There were multiple aspects you had to link together: rather than easing us in, the vampire folk clearly wanted to throw their hardest task at us first. Others were manageable and did an acceptable job of tying in to the theme. As ever with Escape Reality, tablets were used for accessing hints by scanning images next to puzzles. Lazy, impractical (it was a dark room) and lame. We needed a couple of pointers, but these “clues” simply tell you what to do.

Mise-en-scene

There were one or two surprises, but Nosferatu maintained an eerie vibe as a pose to a terrifying one…so don’t worry about getting too spooked (I say this as one of my friends is a scaredy-cat). The surroundings were correspondingly gloomy/macabre.

Final Comments

Something was up with the final puzzle, as the action we were meant to perform did not bring about the outcome it should have. After many (many) attempts, though, it worked and we got out with about thirty seconds to spare!

The Prices Are Criminal

I came with friends as a group of 6 to Escape from Alcatraz. The instructional video at the start of the game went on far too long and basically repeated everything our host told us. Speech in the next video introducing the story was too quiet to hear.

Story

Escape your cell in Alcatraz before you’re taken to the electric chair.

Puzzles

Some of the puzzles and their solutions were far too tenuously linked: there was one in particular where I was just like…well how on earth would you know how to do [that] with [that]. None of them were particularly innovative, either. Our host, Claudia, was lively, invested in our experience and offered hints in the best way. Whenever we asked for one, questions like “Do you want to know what to do with X” or “Would you like a riddle?” were posed to us, so our team could choose how much or little assistance to receive.

Mise-en-scene

Sure, Escape from Alcatraz is a solid (but generic-themed) break-out-of-jail escape room, but £25 per person- a price that doesn’t change whether your group is a 2 or a 6- is unjustifiable. Take a good luck at the discount page before paying, as there’s lots. We got money off with Blue Light Card, but it was still £21.25 per person.

Final Comments

I may be giving a harsh critique here, but my point is that, for a room priced at £150 per play, jaws should drop, and minds should be blown. While this didn’t happen, we still had a fun time.

Chocs ‘n’ Locks!

I might’ve completed 81 escapes, but never one in a chocolate factory! I went with my dad and brother, and we got 10% off with ENIGMAPERK.

Story

Take the chance to step inside the chocolate factory, but make sure you can escape (?)

Puzzles

An engaging variety of puzzles that involve some artful thinking and clever pay-offs. The placement/accessibility of a couple of components in the game mislead and threw us off the scent (which, in this room, was genuinely like sweets- amazing), but our friendly Games Host was on hand to provide hints when needed.

Mise-en-scene

In the thoughtfully laid out spaces, there are plenty of nods to the films, some more subtle than others. The final ‘zone’ is particularly impressive.

Final Comments

Altogether a top-notch room- in fact, my dad and brother said it’s one of their favourites. We escaped with just under 5 minutes to spare.

Fun Lab!

This was my second of two rooms as part of a Compendium double-bill.

Story

Steal a top secret antidote from a lab, but don’t get trapped in.

Puzzles

The puzzles here were very interactive and engaging. There was an exciting focus on teamwork, which really added to the experience. I was sometimes distracted by how much fun I was having!

Mise-en-scene

A machine-filled laboratory with some unique twists, and a sassy voiceover robot offering help.

Final Comments

Our host was very friendly and conscious of how much help we did (or didn’t!) want. We had about 5 minutes left after escaping this one.

Asylum Secrets

Compendium were offering money off their Gift Vouchers, and so I brough a friend to do two rooms back-to-back.

Story

As journalists, step into Bentham Asylum and uncover the secret behind Cell P23, which was locked long ago with no explanation.

Puzzles

A mixed bag that you need to think logically for. Cooperation is also key!

Mise-en-scene

Very good! The obsolete, unassuming space delivered on ever so slightly eerie, abandoned asylum vibes.

Final Comments

We got out with around 7 minutes left on the clock.

A Cut-Throat, Cut-Short Crusade

We were looking at the leader boards in disbelief because of the record-breaking times…but that would all soon make sense.

Story

Raid Blackbeard’s cabin for his treasure, but abandon ship before it sinks.

Puzzles

They fit the theme nicely, but one or two were frustrating to complete.

Mise-en-scene

The room looked swashbuckling enough, that’s for sure. I believed we had stepped onto a pirate galleon.

Final Comments

What a disappointingly short game! Where were the rest of the puzzles? The ending especially felt rushed and uninspired. We had over 20 minutes left on the clock. When you could be paying up to £25 per person, Blackbeard’s Treasure just isn’t worth the money.

The Worst Room I Have Ever Played

This was my 78th escape room, and it was the worst I have ever done.

Story

For an undisclosed reason, you go into some guy called Brent’s room. He went crazy because of his religious mother. You have to put her ashes in their ‘rightful resting place’ in order to get out before Brent comes back.

Puzzles

Puzzles did not match the theme: they were woefully basic, and some looked out of place. The practical challenges of lifting a small weight and operating a little solar powered train proved boring and frustrating. The Game Host had to come in because the latter wasn’t working as it should.

Mise-en-scene

The room itself was sparse and scarcely decorated to suit the occult church/tomb theming referred to in the storyline.

Final Comments

‘Blackpool’s best Escape Games’ could not be further from the truth. This was a pathetic excuse of an escape room. Were it not for prolonged closures because of Covid affecting local businesses, I’d have asked for my money back. When I left this review on TripAdvisor, the manager accused me of making it up. I replied via email detailing the date and time of the booking, and stating I have no reason to upload fabrications. He’s yet to respond.

Sinister Sleuthing!

This ominous-sounding room looked perfect for our pre-Halloween escape.

Story

Head into the abandoned orphanage and evaluate its potential as a new apartment block…sounds straightforward enough, right?

Puzzles

More than sufficient in both theming and quantity. They require you to look, think and act!

Mise-en-scene

Gloomy and forsaken surroundings sustain a tense atmosphere throughout. There are surprises and some bone-chilling twists that punish you whenever you let your guard down.

Final Comments

I had a lot of fun in this one. Our host did a great job keeping us immersed in the story. We got out alive with 10 minutes to spare. Phew!

Filling In for Alice

This was my first venture down the Rabbit Hole for an Alice in Wonderland-themed adventure. Escape Hunt offer concessions for students and seniors.

Story

Find and return the Queen’s tarts before it’s off with the Mad Hatter’s head, for he has been accused of stealing them.

Puzzles

Interactive, with a far bigger focus on magical mechanics rather than coded locks, which suited this particular room.

Mise-en-scene

Quirky and colourful, the scenery is artfully linked to Lewis Carrol’s novel. It’s compact but this adds to the immersion. An eccentric Hatter provided the odd verbal clue when needed.

Final Comments

We retrieved the Queen’s tarts with 15 minutes to spare. Take no more than 4 people to this challenge, otherwise it’d be too crowded.

(Closed now- just adding to my list of played rooms)

More Potion Prepping

It’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure of being locked in a room for an hour, and what better way to get back into the swing of it than a medium-difficulty, magical Breakout with friends?

Story

Sneaking into the emporium to seek the owner’s most powerful potion has triggered a spell, trapping you inside. Brew the potion to escape before they return.

Puzzles

The variety was good, but we didn’t come across anything mind-blowing. They weren’t sequential, which was ideal for our team of 5 since we could split up and work on different things. Players new to Hogwarts-themed rooms will be more impressed by the Emporium of Magic’s puzzles than experienced escapers. We often needed a hint to keep us on the scent (which I blame on the big gap between playing caused by Corona of course). We’d also solved two puzzles without even realising and there were one or two occasions where we (I) hadn’t entered the codes properly…definitely some more post-lockdown rustiness going on there, aha.

Mise-en-scene

The theming left a lot to be desired. More could be done with the space- a couple of dusty bookcases, a desk and an old-looking suitcase does not a magic shop make. The ‘potion-brewing’ corner was nothing more than a bedside table.

Final Comments

This is the fourth magical-themed room I’ve done, and it was by far the weakest.

The Temperamental Temple…

I took advantage of an opening offer, getting 20% off the booking.

Story

Venture into the temple and find the Forbidden Eye, a powerful treasure.

Puzzles

The game almost completely revolves around solving number locks, which came across as unimaginative given the setting. Some of them used fiddly components that were difficult to work with and/or interact with other things in the way they’re supposed to. Ambiguity also made the experience less enjoyable, especially in the final puzzle. The owner/host is new to the escape room business- he made that very clear to us- and he was far too trigger happy on the radio, giving us hints when we were still in the process of working things out on several occasions. Post-game, I asked about how it is possible to work out the sequence of numbers for one particular code once we had acquired them, to which the he said trial and error.

Mise-en-scene

The scenery contributed to a jungle temple theme, but a few aspects of decoration were tacky and it felt like light was kept to a minimum to disguise this. Windows that weren’t properly concealed took away from the sense of escapism, and the props were unsurprising.

Final Comments

In a team of two, we tackled this one fairly easily. The room is too cramped to accommodate any more than four people at a push. As a new game, the host asked our opinions of what we liked/didn’t like in order to make it better: I feel that this is something that should be done prior to opening with test teams rather than paying customers. It needs work. Since Cryptic is located in Ashton-under-Lyne, I’d need to be given a much meatier discount code to return and try the other two rooms.

Befuddled Down Baker Street

My final escapade at MoviEscape involved a visit to 221B Baker Street, though I wish I took more than just one comrade for this difficult room.

Story
Find out the location of Sherlock and his kidnapped pals.

Puzzles

There’s nothing massively intuitive in the puzzle department, here. We got off to a speedy start, but then slowed down to an unenjoyable halt. Useful items aren’t just tricky to find- they’re literally camouflaged, which took the fun out of searching for things. I’m sure that one of the items needed for a certain calculation wasn’t present. For one of the last puzzles, the problem-solving required was very difficult to work out without any sort of help. I overthought the penultimate task as a result of becoming overwhelmed by lots of different numbers and not knowing what to do with them. We must have spent a quarter of our time on it, and more or less had to have the answer spelled out to us.

Mise-en-scene

It passed as a detective’s office with its dated wallpaper, record player and Holmes memorabilia. However, the second room was a random and irrelevant space to the story. This is another of MoviEscape’s rooms that uses an egg-timer (grr).

Final Comments
Apparently, all of the games at MoviEscape are intermediate level, but this one was by far the hardest. Our host was apathetic at best.

Saw It All Before...

As mentioned in another review, I found a deal on Planet Radio Offers that allowed two players to play a room for £20. I bought two of these vouchers, and used one before lockdown. Upon returning to Manchester, it was finally time to cash in the second.

Story
Taken away and locked in a basement, unmask a killer among your fellow kidnappees before the real (?) killer returns. This feels like one of those stories that doesn’t really know what it is. I suppose it’s a Cluedo-ish game set in a Saw-like environment.

Puzzles

Basic, basic, basic. A bit of maths here, a bit of UV there. Several of them involved classic games in one way or another, which I suppose ties in with Jigsaw’s most well-known quote: “Do you want to play a game?”. Most of the hints (provided on a screen- over a speaker in ‘The Puzzle Master’s’ voice would have added to the experience) we needed were due to us not looking around the room enough. A ridiculously-thorough search is needed every time something new is opened.

Mise-en-scene

A generic, grubby basement that only provided tenuous links to the film it is inspired by. The toilet cubicle had doodles scribbled on it as seen in a secondary school- an addition I didn’t understand. The room lacked references to traps, evil clowns or anything else corresponding to the Saw franchise. It’s not scary, just grotty (the latter comment is not a complaint, as this sort of setting is supposed to be soiled). The further you progress, the more gruesome it gets- thankfully.

Final Comments
Quite simply put, it’s not ‘Saw’ enough to justify its name. I’d call it ‘Cesspit Cluedo’ instead.

Stockport Sorcery

I found a deal on Planet Radio Offers that allowed two players to play a room for £20. At a tenner each, it made sense to purchase two so that I could play the four remaining rooms on MoviEscape’s list!

Story
Graduate from the Magic Academy by making potions and casting spells.

Puzzles

The sort you’d expect from a Hogwarts-themed challenge. Merlin’s Academy had the cutesy magical-themed gimmicks that make people throw 5-Star TripAdvisors at it- so don’t expect every lock to be a four-digit number code. We got stuck a few times, but it’s a room that everybody should be able to get through without too much help.

Mise-en-scene

With all the dusty portraits, candles, spell books and potion ingredients you could shake a Nimbus 2000 at, there’s no doubt that it’s an old wizarding school. Although it is to keep in with the setting, I hate it when sand-timers are used as an indicator of time remaining. The hint-giver is an animated little creature.

Final Comments
The last room contains an impressive spectacle- it’s just a shame it appears so late on in the game. You won’t want to take many more than four people for this one.

Worst. Games Host. Ever.

I found a deal on Planet Radio Offers that allowed two players to play a room for £20. At a tenner each, it made sense to purchase two so that I could play the four remaining rooms on MoviEscape’s list!

Story
Take on the role of a DEA agent and steal all the money stashed away in the meth lab. I thought players would play on the Walter White side, but evidently not!

Puzzles

Some were trickier than others and they stuck to a Breaking Bad sort of theme. As with all MoviEscape rooms, looking around for things is paramount. Unfortunately, we got stuck at a certain point, and our inattentive host gave us the wrong clue. This meant we were trying to solve something that was, at that moment in the game, unsolvable. And that’s how he left us for the remainder of our game. We were literally given the answer we needed with a few minutes remaining, but it was too little too late. After establishing the fact that he had been making us work towards the wrong hint, the host didn’t offer an apology. Instead, he shooed us out of the room for the next game.

Mise-en-scene

It looked like an industrial kitchen/warehouse with its lofty ceiling and large, drug-synthesising apparatus. But it was nothing to get overly excited about.

Final Comments
I’ve never had a host ruin a game like this one did. He was totally disinterested.

A Lil Ritual

My last visit to Escape Reality (until they open a new room) and, with a full loyalty card, this game was free!
Story
Rumours about strange chanting in the forest leads you to a cabin in the woods. Once inside, the door locks and members of a cult surround it. Escape before they can sacrifice you as part of their ritual. Classic dumb-teenagers-in-a-horror-film behaviour.

Puzzles

The very first one had us absolutely stumped, which is unlike us. It was on the confusing side. Once that one was out of the way, we were up running, save for a couple more clues. It was a rudimental series of spoopy (spooky but cute) puzzles, with one or two making use of the gloomy atmosphere.

Mise-en-scene

This room had the feel of the witch’s cottage from Hansel and Gretel, with its beguiling furnishes and abundance of little knick-knacks and articles. The dim lighting contributed to the ominous vibe.  

Final Comments
We got out with less than a minute left on the clock. This isn’t the best room Escape Reality has to offer, but it certainly isn’t the worst. Ritual feels like it has been crammed into a spare utility room to monetise the extra space. Take no more than a team of four.