The Man From BeyondStrange Bird ImmersiveEscape roomIRLPeople say it’s one of the best for a reason, and they’re right. The Man Beyond is a demonstration of where escape rooms can (and should?) be going.
40 ThievesMindTrap Escape Room - TemeculaEscape roomIRLBelieve the hype. 40 Thieves is the real deal. Truly one of the best escape rooms in Southern California. The scenic design, the story “cinematics,” the flow, the fun, this is the stuff that will continue to propel the escape room industry as a whole. What an exciting adventure.
Heresy: 1897 [Immersive Theatre]Doors Of DivergenceEscape roomIRLAn incredibly ambitious immersive theater-meets escape room experience. Production design is top tier, maybe the best of any ER I’ve done. The story was fascinating , inventive and involved. Maybe TOO involved. One could argue there was perhaps too much exposition and it got in the way of the gameplay at times. But I’d rather an experience er on the side of too much story rather than not enough. The puzzles were great for the most part, but I do have one complaint. There were WAY too many puzzle “instructions.” In fact, almost every puzzle had a piece of parchment that explained how the puzzle work. At least they tried to make the instructions fit with the story, but for the most part it just got in the way and slowed things down. Certainly not the type of ER where you could just follow through it, doing puzzles in an intuitive sequence. That said, it’s a small complaint in an otherwise stunning experience, with no detail too small. Truly rich and imaginative.
Captain Spoopy Bones and the Magnificent Quest For Some Other Pirate's Treasure!Doldrick's Escape RoomEscape roomIRLAmazing room. Super funny and packed with clever puzzles. Almost perfect! Just a couple puzzle flow sticky points But just a minor minor thing. The promo images don’t do this one Justice. Seemed like it was going to just be for kids but us 3 adults thought it was a blast and was blown away by the production design story performance. Highly recommend!
Wizard's TaleEscape Again RoomsEscape roomIRLA very charming room. Long and complex! Very puzzle heavy. Many fun moments.
The Ghost Of MentryvilleArcane Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLPhenomenal experience for a somewhat dated “Generation 1” room. The integration of the live actor into the puzzle flow and story was expertly executed. I guess the main reason I’m hesitant at giving this room a full “heart” is because…. Well… i can’t shake the fact that all the puzzles and most of the actual game is a bit… oldschool. Nearly all, if not all, of the puzzles were combination or key locks. They were very, very, very COOL locks. But all mechanical locks non the less. I’m sure when this room first opened this room was mindblowing. Unfortunately, compared to some newer and more cutting edge games, Ghost just doesn’t quite cut it any more. That said, we still had a fantastic time, and they really made the most of a tiny space and straightforward components. We still recommend this as a great escape room experience and we’ll take this any day over some more copy-and-paste style generic rooms. Ghost had heart, creativity, a whole lot of spookiness, and most importantly: fun.
HeadcaseBreaking Point Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLGreat room! Couple sticky points, couple pieces of broken tech, but overall very immersive and solid. There's a LOT to do. I loved the non-linear use of the space. The video storytelling maybe got a little overkill, but I'll take trying a little too hard on narrative over not trying at all. Definitely creepy/grousome theming. I'm typically not a fan of humor but it wasn't THAT bad. No insane jump scares or anything, just creepy.
Black and White CafeMindFox EscapeEscape roomIRLA refreshingly original setting. Although maybe it wasn’t maximized as much as if could have been. Still, I give the room overall a “heart” rating because the industry needs more of this. Clever, creative and charming rooms. The only downside is that the puzzles were relatively standard fair and didn’t fully utilize the amazing setting at its disposal. But they also didn’t take away. So that’s a big win. Overall it was a fun, charming, and whimsical escape room that made so much out of a limited space that the industry could use more of. Side note: I can’t wait for the day where escape rooms graduate from generic, over-explaining intro videos and GM rules. They suck the fun and anticipation out of the experience for players coming in.
The Secret At Whitmore EstateBreaking Point Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLSuper good room! Puzzles were decent, theming and set design were excellent. Professional lighting/sound. Has a lot of commonalities to Hope's End, though I think Hope's End maybe had a slightly more unique/creative take on the puzzles and narrative (points to Whitemore for coming first, of course). Still a super solid room. Regarding the scare factor: I've realized I need to adjust my definition of what constitutes a scary room. Compared to haunts, this room is not scary at all. Maybe a couple comically spooky moments. But I'd honestly say the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is scarier than this, so use that as your gauge. I note it only because had I known how not-scary it is, I would have taken my wife (who hates horror). I was bracing for something more like a haunt. This is very Disney-level "spooky."
Whatever Happened To The Garretts?Maze Rooms - West LAEscape roomIRLGreat!..... mostly. This room has some serious wear and tear, despite not being that old of a room. Upon entering the room, we found 2 compartments already open, thereby negating 2 puzzles. And some props were broken or breaking. That said, it's a very fun, creative room. One of our favorite themes. Some extremely clever puzzles (would have been nice to do them all). Loved the diversity of spaces within. With the entrance and lobby were more professional and welcoming. Could have used more puzzles. Without really trying, we finished with more than 20 minutes remaining. I don't mean to be too negative, this was a very fun room.
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