Theresa

Reviews

Reviews

De Wraak Van Han [Han’s Revenge]

De Wraak Van Han [Han’s Revenge]

De Gouden Kooi

  • Escape room
  • IRL
We were “new hires” on a trial run for an HVAC company, complete with uniforms that immediately put us in character. On our first day on the job, we’re called to fix the A/C of our company’s arch-nemesis… an oscillating fan company. Things spiral quickly as we find secret passages, uncover plans of sabotage and ultimately escape their dungeon. This game had a high production value…it was like a perfectly executed traditional escape room run by a well oiled machine. Professionally produced intro videos, the most clear communication ahead of time out of all the escape rooms I'd ever done (they emailed me reminders like five times?), and a very polished set. Definitely a smooth business. Really great set..almost flawless. We enjoyed most of the puzzles, they were very on point with the story telling, mix of logic puzzles, cute logic puzzles, physical exploration, it was very well executed and full of funny fan related things mixed in.
Metropolis 2099

Metropolis 2099

Dream Labs

  • Escape room
  • IRL
This escape room honestly felt like being dropped straight into a sci-fi movie. From the second you walk in, you’re transported into a futuristic world with amazing build quality and some of the best transitions I’ve ever seen. Every new room felt like stepping onto a different movie set, and the “wow” moments just kept coming. The ambiance was next-level: notably clear audio creating immersive sound effects, and visuals that made us feel like we were walking through a neon-lit Tokyo alleyway or strapping into a ‘dream pod’ that that could transport us through time and space. You forget you’re in an escape room. It really feels 'alive' especially in some of the key moments throughout your heart is racing. The puzzles themselves were on the easier side. Most of them involved looking around, finding objects, or noticing details in the space. They were integrated into the story nicely, but puzzle enthusiasts might find them a little light, or one in particular, arduous. One puzzle at the start was a bit buggy, but the staff handled it quickly and it didn’t ruin the flow. That said, the wow factor is unbeatable. The dream pod intro, the jaw-dropping transitions, and some thrilling surprises made this an experience we’ll never forget. The ending wrapped everything up with a really interesting reveal and a really smooth transition back out. If you want to feel like the lead character in a high-budget sci-fi adventure, this is it. Such a great ER, it made the trip to Bad Steben worth it. We did this on our first day of our escape room tour after a red-eye and two hours of sleep... One of the most immersive escape rooms we’ve ever done. We can't wait to be back to do the other rooms :) Note, I was worried about previous reviews online saying there are no toilet facilities here, but indeed there is.
Kaleidoskop 1963 [Kaleidoscope 1963]

Kaleidoskop 1963 [Kaleidoscope 1963]

Time Maze

  • 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

Botanist Manor

Botanist Manor

Escape Rush

  • Escape room
  • IRL
This escape room was perfection for us in terms of game play, puzzle, set, and the feeling of being transported, and honestly despite a tech hiccup, lands in my top 3. The set was absolutely beautiful. The puzzles struck a balance just challenging enough to tickle your brain, while also being incredibly satisfying to solve. Hints were delivered on a smart phone screen which we love for not disrupting flow. The experience was filled with surprises, twists and turns in the narrative, and clever meta layers that kept us engaged the whole time. From the very start, the experience felt elevated. The lobby sets the stage as you enter “Ravenwood” which looks like a bespoke speakeasy/tailor shop? But we are there as undercover intelligence agents and travel through time. Just how nice the lobby was raised our expectations, and the game not only met them, but exceeded them… It was so satisfying to progress through their custom built gadgety puzzles. By the time we reached the end, we honestly weren’t ready to leave the world they had built… Everything leading up to the end was amazing. We encountered some issues with the Wi-Fi network, which caused a few devices to go down near the end, but it didn’t take away from the overall feeling of magic throughout the game. Customer service was top notch, and we were issued a refund/credit for the technical glitch. I am sure they got to addressing the issue right away. Right up to where we had technical issues, the sound, lighting, build quality, smooth transitions, unique mechanics, and a mix of high-tech and tactile puzzles all combined to create something top notch. We can't wait to go back to Escape Rush to try their other rooms, this one is a must-do.
Ctrl Alt Reboot

Ctrl Alt Reboot

Escaparium - Laval

  • Escape room
  • IRL
We were quite excited for this game based on the rave reviews and having completed so many of the other Escaparium games, but we were disappointed with Reboot. The game has a beautiful set and a ton of potential and some great components. There was an imbalanced ratio of long stretches of listening to the the ‘immersive theatre’ and musical components before continuing to actual game play. While some puzzles were nice, many were contrived and required step by step instructions from the GM taking away the magic and immersion of ERs. Some puzzles were not responsive or were broken breaking the immersion. Even for an ER, and despite so much of our game time being spent on listening to the storyline, the story and resolution didn’t quite hit the mark for us. There were cool parts to the game but we felt the game play didn’t meet its full potential for how incredible the set and some special effects were.
Monster Mashers

Monster Mashers

Tales of Torchdale - Monster Mashers

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Exciting, goofy, spooky fun! We were recommended this room and added it to our escape room trip itinerary last minute and so glad we decided to book an late-night 11PM experience knowing nothing about it. lol. This was such an entertaining experience, we were scared, laughing our pants off, (and falling over backwards?!) puzzling our way through two wild hours in the middle of the night. We don't usually do scary rooms but this one was so fun and worth the thrill - won't share any spoilers, better to just go do it! We are so glad we add it last minute. Despite being a somewhat scary escape experience, the puzzles were actually really good as well.
Le Jubilé d'Or [The Golden Jubilee]

Le Jubilé d'Or [The Golden Jubilee]

Escaparium - Laval

  • Escape room
  • IRL
We are surprised by the less than positive reviews on this one. This is more of a traditional escape room with great puzzles. This was the second dark room for two of us and first for the other and we enjoyed the challenge. The GM did not break game play and the puzzles explained themselves which we loved. Not the immersive theatre type of the newer rooms but we love puzzles and this room is solid for using your non visual senses. Minor: in the first room there was one game that gave us slightly incorrect game pieces/clues that would have made it impossible for inexperienced players without brute forcing. We loved the second room and exploring to solve on our own. The GM noted some elements of the second room have changed over the years to improve gameplay.