The Last Masquerade

Rating: 2.5/5 - Decent game, but no immersion and everything felt too flimsy I played this pop-up room at Gen Con with 5 strangers. I somewhat enjoyed it as the puzzles were decent and they managed to fit in some nice surprises. There was also more tech than I expected with some locks mixed in. My main issues with this room is that there was little to no effort to decorate, most of the props and puzzles were just spread out on tables or hung on the barriers with clothes hangers. They ran another game in the same room so you could hear the players on the other side of the fabric barrier. While I enjoyed the tech, many of the props felt flimsy/fragile, so much tape was used to finish objects and everything felt home-made (not in a good way). The GM was friendly and helpful though.

The Last Masquerade is a mobile pop-up escape room. As something that has to be set up in a more communal setting, it was surprisingly well-put together and fun! The puzzles were mostly riddle-driven, but the solutions were innovative and made the most out of the setting and props. It actually felt immersive despite being a puzzle room set up in a more public area. There were some technical difficulties, unfortunately, but they were addressed. There is a live game master in the room, but they’re not dressed up or anything. They just watch over and make sure things work while providing hints as requested. Another interesting aspect is that they call their escape rooms LAIRs, or Live Adventure Interactive Rooms. As such, they provide alternate endings depending on your progress. As our group escaped, I think we got the good ending! Overall, surprisingly fun for what it’s advertised to be, a literal escape room that has popped up! It’s actually expensive to get hire the escape room, but if you’re an attendee of an event and can buy a ticket to the room, it’s quite cheap!