Dark LullabyEscape Artist Greenville - Hampton StationEscape roomIRLWe loved this room. The puzzles are mostly mechanical and worked very well, fitting in with the creepy retro bedroom theme. The narrative was well-executed, reinforcing the theme and providing context for the puzzles. Great use of lighting to both set mood and direct the player's attention. The audio throughout added to the atmosphere. The live actors were used well. This was my favorite of the three Chimera Corp. rooms, narrowly edging out Castle Fluffendorf, which was also great.
Quest For The Temple of LightThe Keepers of BalanceEscape roomIRLThis is a phenomenal, must-do experience. Building this room must have cost a fortune, and you can see, hear, and feel that money. The sets are epic and lush, the lighting and effects superb, the props detailed and hefty. You can smell the wood when you walk by walls of crates. The spaces are big, fully-realized, and epic. We were agog throughout. The staff were in character from the moment we walked in the door. The experience wasn't flawless-- there were some details we had a hard time making out in dim light, to the point where we brute-forced through all the possible combinations. At one point you receive information that you can't review, so your memory better be up to it. One puzzle could have been designed to provide better affordance toward the proper interaction. But these are minor bumps to smooth out. While there are puzzles, this isn't a puzzle-forward room. It's a cross between interactive theater, a theme park attraction, and an escape room. At one point you receive a newly-forged object, and that object is warm to the touch. That's AMAZING attention to detail. We adored it, and if they actually complete all the rooms they plan (including a 3-hour experience taking up the entire second floor of their very large building), we will definitely be back to do them all.
WreckedMasterpiece EscapesEscape roomIRLWe really enjoyed this room. The audio and visual effects created a great atmosphere, and the set design delivered on the junkyard theme. There were a lot of locks, but in this room they made complete sense-- of course an iron fence, an office shed, or even an outdoor garbage can in a junkyard would be locked. In this room the locks reinforced the fantasy. But beyond that, the puzzles were creative, thematic, and fun. There was a cooperative puzzle I particularly enjoyed. The finale doubled down on the theme in a cool way. Don't be put off by the "investigating a serial killer" theme-- there's a moment that's a little creepy but nothing truly scary. This was a great room our group of 3 thoroughly enjoyed. I do wish the narrative could have been integrated more tightly into the gameplay. Our host gave us a big info dump after we finished to explain what was going on narratively, and we would have loved those beats to have been delivered by the room itself rather than merely alluded to.
Down The Rabbit HoleThe Final DoorEscape roomIRLThe room felt old, with many visibly worn elements. Two of the puzzles had mechanical problems requiring host intervention. There was no obvious place to begin. Later we realized the host had pointed us toward somethiing during her intro, but a) that info came too early, before we had context, and b) we all misinterpreted it as a clue to how to get hints during the game. The spaces were mostly bare, hard painted surfaces, making the spaces uninviting to be in. The reliance on word/number/key locks was not thematic. There was a slide with a 187 pound limit that the adults in our party exceeded, so we had to use an alternate route. The puzzles near the end of the experience were more satisfying and successful, but overall the room was a disappointment and I can't recommend it.
NevermoreNocturne AdventuresEscape roomIRLThis room was an unexpected delight. Like many others we raised eyebrows at the residential basement location, but there's nothing unprofessional about this operation which is higher quality than most other rooms we've done. It was obviously a labor of love from people who care about the subject matter. We loved every minute and every aspect of it. The setting is appropriately intimate. If you know your Poe, you'll appreciate the Easter eggs. We were immersed for the duration of the experience, an experience that exceeded expectations. We also loved meeting and talking with the owners afterward, I'm sad we couldn't do their their other room, Ripper, on this trip, because they've earned my trust with Nevermore. Highly recommended!
Castle FlüffendorEscape Artist Greenville - Hampton StationEscape roomIRLCharming room enhanced by some delightful puppetry. Framing device notwithstanding, the story is a well-worn trope of rescuing a sleeping princess. But everything is done quite well, and the interaction with the florist-- from the realization of what we needed to do to its execution-- is one of my favorite moments from any room I've done. I wish we'd taken a picture of it.
Help WantedEscape Artist Greenville - Hampton StationEscape roomIRLI enjoyed this room. While I liked it least of all the Chimera Corp. rooms, I liked the acting in this room the best-- particularly the condescending host/manager. If you're doing all 3, you'll get a little more out of it if you do this one last, since it has references to the story/characters from the other rooms.
Teleporter TrialsLock, Clock, and Peril Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLAnother great room from this location, with a playful spin on a "figure out an alien spaceship" theme. A good variety and quantity of puzzles kept us busy throughout.
Tomb RaidersLock, Clock, and Peril Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLOf the three rooms we did (A Not So Fairytale Ending and Teleporter Trials being the others), I think this was my favorite because it best delivered on its core fantasy. The space felt tomblike, and the puzzles remained (mostly) tightly themed throughout. There are lots of props to handle and manipulate, and the mostly mechanical workings of the room felt perfect for a tomb (a couple of light effects notwithstanding). The Egyptian tomb is probably one of the hoariest tropes in escape rooms, but this room executes it very well.
A Not So Fairytale EndingLock, Clock, and Peril Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThis room, like all the rooms we did at this location, is packed with things to do-- a very high "puzzles per square foot" ratio. We loved that! The fairytale theme comes through nicely through multiple spaces, each with completely different visual treatments and themes. All of the puzzles made sense and locks were used sparingly. The room, which starts fairly small, kept opening up into more spaces. When we finished, it felt a bit like completing a marathon, with a real sense of accomplishment.
