
EscapeRoomExplorer
228 escape rooms
‘Dreadnought’’s strength is how accessible it is for an English audience. This is one of the few games in Seoul that is truly English-friendly for foreigners that cannot speak Korean. While one puzzle does have Korean characters in it, that specific puzzle lands more as an observation puzzle and doesn’t impede gameplay. The use of player “powers” was interesting, and it was pleasing to see that Breakout allows “extra help” (unlimited hints) now, which will still allow players to experience the entire game. The staff did well to explain and recommend powers based on the room. Overall, ‘Dreadnought’ feels like an older escape room where the puzzles feel like themed puzzles, rather than an immersive experience with elements of diegesis throughout. The main point of interest is ‘Dreadnought’’s unique theme and slight narrative, which are impeded by its delivery within large blocks of text. Another element of note is a particularly difficult puzzle that almost certainly requires outside knowledge—something that isn’t expected by today’s standards. We read the explanation afterwards and still didn’t understand the answer. Make sure you get the “Lockmaster” power to receive the answer for that one.
Gameplay
It was relatively easy to figure out which puzzle was next, but cluing and flow could be improved to bolster player enjoyment. Some puzzle pieces were given immediately, despite belonging to puzzles at the end of the sequence.
Atmosphere
‘Dreadnought’ had a collection of ship-themed rooms with some print outs stuck onto the props to complete the decor instead of authentic ship set pieces. That being said, they built some interesting elements into their rooms to make each room varied and different.
Customer service
Staff were very kind and helpful, particularly with explaining the player roles the group could choose from.
Particularly interesting or different
No
Story
The narrative was interesting and different to most escape room experiences, but the integration of the narrative was almost exclusively via blocks of texts or page-long letters.
Difficulty
Medium
Game tech
Mechanical
Ideal number of players
4
Scary
Not scary
Minimum age
16
Was anything broken?
No
Live actors
No
Physically active
Somewhat
You have to be able to climb stairs.
Easy to find location
Yes
Parking
Limited