horsemarie

Irresistibly original concept for a room, really fun and loads to do for 2 people. Ok, it has dated and could do with some maintenance really, several bits of tech were broken, but this was all mitigated very well by our host Onyx who made sure it didn’t affect our enjoyment at all. Some nice puzzles. If you don’t turn up expecting a glossy movie set type experience you’ll enjoy it. Really fun vibe from the whole place (even the toilets!), these people are clearly puzzle enthusiasts and we would definitely return to try their other rooms next time we’re in the area. 

Gorgeous pirate-themed set which was really immersive. There’s a moment where I thought for a second that we’d genuinely stepped outdoors! Great attention to detail and really nice puzzles. 

Ive tagged this as ‘overpriced’ for two reasons. Firstly, the website boasts a ‘limited time offer’ that all rooms cost a flat fee of £90 regardless of team size. Having checked my records, as a team of 2 I’m pretty sure this actually makes it the most expensive room we’ve ever done by a decent margin. Secondly, the advertised 90-minute duration is misleading. This is a standard length escape room but they allow up to 90 minutes to make sure all teams get to escape and experience the whole room. As a team of 2, we escaped in less than half that - teams of 3 or 4 could do it even more quickly. The room was excellent but we’ve done other excellent rooms elsewhere that were genuinely 90 minute experiences for a lot less money. 

The look and feel of this room is perfect, I can scarcely believe it’s 10 years old. Our host took the time to point out the various bits of maintenance he had done over the past few days. You can tell it’s a real priority to keep everything looking pristine, which is really appreciated. It’s very immersive. Some decent puzzles though the story takes priority for this room in particular. Some of the tech broke but I guess these things happen from time to time.

Ive tagged this as ‘overpriced’ for two reasons. Firstly, the website boasts a ‘limited time offer’ that all rooms cost a flat fee of £90 regardless of team size. Having checked my records, as a team of 2 I’m pretty sure this actually makes it the most expensive room we’ve ever done by a decent margin. Secondly, the advertised 90-minute duration is misleading. This is a standard length escape room but they allow up to 90 minutes to make sure all teams get to escape and experience the whole room. If you’re a team who usually comfortably escapes within 60 minutes, you will do so here too. 

Did 4 escape rooms with these hosts, all in one day. All were great but this room and its sequel, The Basement, were my favourites. Amazing unique setting in a Napoleonic fort, which makes for an amazing atmosphere! Never really done any rooms with live actors before and I worried it’d be too “horror” for my tastes, but not to worry, no jump scares here, just a really immersive creepy and story-driven room. Good puzzles. Will be looking out for what room they open next. 

Loved this, really immersive and great use of the quite small space. As someone who’s done quite a lot of escape rooms, there were puzzles in here that felt original and not really like anything I’ve met before. 

Great room with loads of non-linear puzzles to solve. 

Our first trip to Escape Quest and they absolutely deserve all the positive reviews and award shortlists. Beautiful setting, totally immersive and jam-packed with great puzzles. Lots and lots to do for a team of 2. Will definitely be back to do their other rooms. 

This was the last of 8 escape rooms done in a week’s holiday; we’ve done some really fantastic rooms this week, but this one was a standout special.

We’ve just finished a week of road tripping around doing some top-rated rooms; the hosts at another escape room recommended we detour to Stafford for this one, and it was absolutely worth going out of our way for! Lovely immersive setting, non-linear progression and some unusual and innovative puzzles with barely a padlock in sight. Loads to do for a team of 2. 

This was our first visit here. Really enjoyed the theme and story behind the room, and it has some decent puzzles. The main problem was with a particular device/puzzle requiring some dexterity and manually moving parts; it took us a long time to do and didn’t work as intended, so someone had to come in to fix it, which obviously breaks the immersion significantly. Would still come back to try their other rooms, though.

All the rooms we did here were fantastic and it was hard to choose a favourite. This one stands out for its unique and inventive premise. A great take on the classic Battleships format. Jam-packed with puzzles for a team of 2. Great flow and use of space - exiting the room at the end is a bit dizzying when you see how you’ve moved around the building relative to where you entered! Very entertaining.

After doing two of LevelUp’s other games and just loving them, we decided to come back the next day to do this one. Unfortunately it was significantly less good for two main reasons.

Firstly, broken tech. Moving puzzle pieces that wouldn’t stay in place and kept falling out. A magnet lock that popped open without us having completed the required trigger to open it. A light that was supposed to come on but didn’t. One of the initial paired starting cells was missing a step stool making it difficult to look at/interact with things at ceiling level; again, when we asked why, we were told it was broken.

Secondly, hosting issues. There are loads of puzzles and lots to do for a team of 2 people. More than once we were both working on puzzles and a hint would come through for a totally different puzzle that we hadn’t got to yet. This not only breaks the immersion and the train of thought, but also spoils the fun of the puzzles still to come! I get that the host is probably working off some time-based cues to decide when to give these hints, but to be honest unless we were literally stuck and wandering around lost, I’d rather just be allowed to crack on with it, even if that meant we risked not completing in time. 

Excellent room design with great use of space. I’ve done a few WW2 rooms before but this is particularly evocative and immersive. Good puzzles and some delightfully surprising moments. You can tell the hosts/designers are enthusiasts who must love what they do here.

Never in a million years would I have predicted some of the twists and turns of this room! A truly unique experience. I’ve always avoided games with live actors before, but it’s done with so much heart and charm here that I didn’t feel awkward or intimidated at all. Definitely pay attention to the warnings given at the time of booking; things get quite physical at multiple points as you move around the space. Unmissable, and worth making the journey for (unless you are proudly from Birmingham or Coventry in which case you may find the experience largely slanderous!).