Operation Arctic Storm: The Final MeltdownThe Escape Ventures - OrlandoEscape roomIRLWow. I’ve done a lot of escape rooms, and this has been, hands down, my favorite. The attention to detail is so good. The design of the rooms is better than anything I’ve seen. It’s very immersive, and the puzzles are intuitive and fun to complete. They were just challenging enough, not annoying or tedious like puzzles you might come across in other places. All the fx we’re functioning and cool to look at. There are also some puzzles that I’ve never come across in other locations. Each inch of the rooms was carefully crafted. To add to it all, our GM was nice and attentive. I can’t recommend this room enough.
Cinema 7Will To Escape - OrlandoEscape roomIRLI really wanted to like this room. We did Disappearance with Will to Escape, and it was great. This room just felt like it was missing a lot. It wasn’t scary. The set design was cool, but a lot of things were rickety, especially for a brand new room. Many of the puzzles were overly complicated for the sake of being complicated. The game master wasn’t attentive for most of the game even though there weren’t many customers. She didn’t respond a bunch of times. It was very hot in the room. And there were puzzles that they’d apparently removed from the flow of the game that they left in the room and just told us not to touch. It was disappointing. Good idea, very bad execution. 3.5/10
Sal's CyberneticsThe Immersive MachineEscape roomIRLMy wife and I have done over 65 escape games and agreed that this is the best one we’ve experienced. When they call it an immersive machine, they aren’t kidding. The experience was so entirely immersive that you begin to feel like you are part of the world, from the very moment the game starts. The level of creativity, ingenuity, and sophistication of the different kinds of puzzles, room design, electronics, etc. is not something I’ve seen before. K was a perfect game master. She contributed to making that world seem real and was helpful without being overly-involved. You can really tell that The Immersive Machine put a lot of skill, time, and passion for escape games into what they do. I don’t line in Arizona, but I wouldn’t mind taking a trip there in the future just to play any other escape games at The Immersive Machine.
Echoes at Murder HeightsPuzzle Corp. Escape Rooms [prev. America's Escape Game Orlando]Escape roomIRLThe game itself and the game master were both awesome. The game has a generous amount of scares, and there are a good amount of puzzles that don’t feel repetitive, with some very unique ones too. There are some puzzles that really challenged us, but in a fun way, and the design of the rooms captured the spooky vibe perfectly. Luis was an amazing game master too. He was attentive and made the game a lot of fun. We’d definitely come back here again.
Disappearance: Last LocationWill To Escape - OrlandoEscape roomIRLThe room was amazing. It managed to use a scary theme without being too “on the nose.” It was very immersive. The puzzles were all well-thought-out, unique, and fun to solve. The room and props were in good shape. The flow of the room was great and appropriate for one or many people. Also, the story was interesting, original, and clear. A lot of other rooms either over-complicate things to the point of making them irritating or over-simplify things. This room did neither. The game master (Trevor) was also very nice. He made the experience that much more immersive and fun.
Prison BreakThe Escape Game - OrlandoEscape roomIRLThis escape room was a lot of fun. The set design was great, and the puzzles were varied and fun to solve. There were elements of puzzles that I have not seen in other places. And, all in all, the puzzles were not easy nor were they frustratingly hard. Not to mention Matt A and Matt T were so friendly and helpful. It was just an all-around good experience.
The Video StoreDare 2 EscapeEscape roomIRLThe set design was great. It was fun and nostalgic without being cheesy or cheap. The puzzles were fun to solve too. As always, our game master was a blast. We ALMOST got out, having just 2 small puzzles to go. The only thing I think that could be improved is replacing some of the locks and set that needed too much finagling to open. All in all though, the room was a lot of fun.
Jewel ThiefEdge EscapeEscape roomIRLIt was not too easy and not too difficult. The puzzles were unique and fun. The set design could use a little improvement to make the experience more immersive but it’s a solid room and a good time, and the GMs were very nice.
The Paper CompanyDare 2 EscapeEscape roomIRLThis one was fun and creative in terms of puzzles. They never skimp on interesting puzzles. It’s a great room if you love The Office. It looks and feels cheaper and is only one room, but I think they know that and charge less for the room because of it. Wasn’t a fan of some of the electronic components in the room. One of the puzzles didn’t work correctly, but they came in and fixed it right away. Not one of their best rooms, but still not bad either. 6.5/10.
The Other SideFox in a Box MiamiEscape roomIRLThe idea was great, but the execution wasn’t very good. The rooms was much more expensive than most escape rooms, and there really wasn’t a lot to account for that cost. The design is spooky but cheap with some things made of paper maché. I could get over that, but the tech was also finicky and the puzzles weren’t very logical. Overall, their rooms could use a little more thought into gameplay and what can reasonably be deduced by players. With this and all their rooms, there was usually a lot of time wasted because something wasn’t placed EXACTLY in the right place to the millimeter or because the solution to a puzzle wasn’t something a player could infer from things in the room. Overall I give it a 3/10, maybe 4/10 just because of atmosphere.
