ExpandedCircle

Reviews

Reviews

Cornstalkers: Lost in the Maize

Cornstalkers: Lost in the Maize

The Escape Ventures - Orlando

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Phenomenal game and absolutely one of the best in the US! I wish I could rate this higher than a single heart because I have not been able to stop thinking about it since we finished. Escape Ventures has set a very high bar for themselves. Their set design and atmospherics are immaculate, their puzzles are intuitive, often clever, and flow extremely well. But what truly sets them apart is their storytelling and superlative customer service. Cornstalkers is no exception. This is an expansive game that has a delightfully playful first act serving to disarm you before things take a horrific turn. Chock full of fantastic character interactions that encourage you to play along and interact to your heart's delight. This game demands a lot of it's GMs, but ours, Rina, was an absolute delight. For those who have played their other games, I'd say this is the perfect marriage of the grand scale and pacing of Arctic Storm with the delightful creepiness of Neighborhood Watcher. They bill this as their most intense experience, and I would agree with that, but the disclaimers on their site may scare some people off that could likely handle this one. I would say it's on par with, or even a few knotches below, your standard local haunted house. I wouldn't mind if they cranked up the fear factor a lot more, but for the average apprehensive player they probably hit the sweet spot. I really can't recommend this game enough. While Neighborhood Watcher is my previous favorite game from this company, I think Cornstalkers may have just dethroned it. I can't wait to see what they do next!
Neighborhood Watcher

Neighborhood Watcher

The Escape Ventures - Orlando

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Orlando is overflowing with highly recommended games. But after a short binge of some of the most loved companies in the area, Escape Ventures was the clear favorite for our group. They nail everything I want in an escape experience. The set design really nails all the little details. The gameplay and puzzles always feels logical, makes sense, and flows smoothly. And our GM, Nick, who is required to fill multiple roles in the game, was absolutely phenomenal. I suspect your experience with this game will really depend on your GM, but I've only heard good things from others who have played with a different GM. Escape Ventures seems to design their rooms with the knowledge that first and foremost, escape rooms are supposed to be FUN! This room, although a bit more modest in scope and scale than some of Escape Venture's other rooms (which are all also excellent, BTW) this room has quickly shot to the top of my all time favorite rooms. It is the perfect blend of nostalgia, creepy/scary, and humor. When I try to convey the magic of escape rooms to newcomers to the hobby, this room (and company in general) is one of the prime examples I'll be telling them about from now on.
Nevermore

Nevermore

Nocturne Adventures

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Nevermore is an Edgar Allen Poe themed room. The space is small, but it never felt small. Even with our group of four it never felt cramped. The density of clever, creative, intuitive puzzles was impressive, and the scenic quality surpassed many far more prolific venues. Everything had a purpose. I might even dare to describe this game as elegant. We couldn't help but stop and exclaim "oh man, that is SO cool!" multiple times throughout the experience. The owners come from a haunt background and it absolutely shows in both the overall experience as well as the tiniest of details.
Save The City

Save The City

City 13

  • Escape room
  • IRL

𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 �𓅝𓃄 �𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿 𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 𓂨𓅝𓃄 𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿

Crazy Train: The Ballad of Skeemin' Plotz

Crazy Train: The Ballad of Skeemin' Plotz

Doldrick's Escape Room

  • Escape room
  • IRL

𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 �𓅝𓃄 �𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿 𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 𓂨𓅝𓃄 𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿

Ripper

Ripper

Nocturne Adventures

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Located in a relatively nondescript house in a residential neighborhood, I couldn't help but feel a bit wary of what we were walking into. Little did I know, I'd end up having some of my all time favorite escape room experiences. (for reference, I'm at around 180 games) They pack two impeccably done games, as well as a professional lobby, into their basement and utilize their limited space in such brilliant ways. Ripper is an immersive haunt/escape room hybrid that seems to win high praise from anyone I've seen talk about it. You can choose your level of scary, and of course we went for the full experience. I am SO glad we did. If you're a fan of horror rooms, the less you can learn about this room, the better. It was a thrill ride start to finish and felt like a truly cinematic experience. Excellent scenic design, soundtrack, lighting, and puzzles that were just the right level of difficult to pair with the ever-present tension all came together to give us an experience I'll remember for a life time. Our crew spent the rest of the day gushing about how great both rooms were. The only disappointment was that they didn't have any additional rooms to play! I would love to see what these creators could do with a giant warehouse and a few million dollars because the creativity on display was truly impressive.
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