The Bloody Circus

Overall, a game with a lot of potential whose pacing and accessibility issues overshadow engagement with the story. The jump scares, atmosphere, and efficient use of space were great. However, in trying to make the game hard, the designers created some logical leaps that led us to spin our wheels way too much and resort to brute forcing locks (plus the intro video eats up precious time). I was with a group of experienced players and we had to have some clues just spoonfed to us, and we ultimately didn’t finish. (The GM’s explanation of the remaining puzzles had me muttering to myself “Oh wow we never would’ve figured that one out, either.”) Physically, the combo of dim lighting and faded-effect paint on all the walls and items made nearly everything illegible; off-white and yellow bars both covered in fake blood look exactly the same in there, which isn’t great when the colors matter. The room needs to be reworked to become a fun challenge rather than a frustrating one.

Overall, I give a thumbs up but it was a mixed bag. First the good: Excellent set design and immersion. Very spooky with several well done jump scares which I loved (but if you don’t like scary rooms, you might want to avoid this one). The game master was friendly and helpful after the room. Now the bad: the game was way too hard. I’m not just saying that because we didn’t get out. There were some puzzles where the logical leaps were all but impossible without clues and others where the room’s darkened lighting made it very difficult to make out necessary colors. The company is upfront that it’s challenging, but the length and difficulty makes this room nigh impossible to finish in an hour and they eat into your time with the intro video. I’ve had great experiences at this location, but unless you’re a sadist, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

Excellent room that plays into the spooky theme. There are a lot of jump scares,(none involved live actors or anything like that). For the most part the rooms are lit and you aren’t stumbling around in the dark. Theming is top notch, and there are some cool puzzles requiring all your senses. I think there are a few issues around puzzle pacing that I hope they can adjust.

The setting, design, and effects were great, as you would expect from their other rooms. I played opening weekend, and the first riddle took us almost 20 minutes, and even after a few hints didn’t make sense. I think with some time and tweaks, it could be really great.