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Your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and you have to walk to the nearest service station. Down a long dark road filled with rows of corn fields you come across Earl's Body Shop. Finally...somewhere to get fixed and get back on the road. Only Earl is out getting parts and will return soon. As you wait around you start to think things are not what they seem. And perhaps...maybe you are right!
519 escape rooms
Definitely one of Axxiom’s better rooms. We enjoyed the theme and set designs, and a couple of fun surprises. There are a few puzzle quirks that disrupted the flow a bit for us but the GMs seem aware of this and chimed in with nudges to make sure we escaped.
s
39 escape rooms
We typically prefer a room with audio surveillance so we can ASK for a clue instead of one being given a clue every time the game master saw we got to a tougher spot. And there are too many… we wouldn’t have been able to escape without clues because each part relied on you figuring out some innocuous combination of things. This should be rated much more difficult overall. Some things were super easy but some were definitely not and my husband and I have done many rooms
This game has to flow in order.. you do not skip around
Cool room(s)
Very kind and attentive
Yes
79 escape rooms
Very new room and the concept was great. Unfortunately our GM was completely inattentive and did not respond when we asked for a clue toward the end in the last room. It would have been a great experience if they were paying attention.
No
24 escape rooms
This was the first time I had the privilege to try out a brand new room as the first booking on the first day it opened, as we were in the area and noticed a room we hadn't done before. The premise was interesting enough, and while the horror element seemed obvious from the description, it was the uniqueness of the setting that made it more exciting. The story was immersive and the room's theming and atmosphere was on point. Quite a bit of the room started out very smoothly as it was pretty easy to spot starting points and the locks you would need to solve. I was also quite a fan of the choice to "hide" the monitor in a more immersive decoration, similar to how it was done in Vampire's Haven, which in this case was a newspaper vending machine outside of the "store." The puzzles do get a bit more confusing as the game goes on, often just as a means of connecting how certain parts are related, or how to interact with them. Axxiom as a whole, and this room in particular tends to have interactive elements that aren't very intuitive as to HOW you're supposed to interact with them, oftentimes requiring you to press buttons all at once instead of choosing the correct ones individually. Another puzzle involves a color code with RGB lights, and if you're colorblind like me, you might not realize that certain shades are actually different. It helps if you know that there are no repeat colors, so I didn't immediately put together that purple and pink were supposed to be seperate colors, as pink looked close enough to a slightly washed out purple to have me think the light was just a bit off. The real hard/tricky stuff lies in the final room, requiring a lot of back and forth that suits larger groups. The room does have a very fun conclusion, making use of its clever monitor placements, that I didn't immediately think was a win, even though it was pretty obvious in hindsight.
The final few puzzles had some weird requirements and out of the box thought to connect things that don't immediately seem like they would be related. The first half of the room flows far better, so you should have a decent amount of time to tackle the harder stuff at the end.
Once again Axxiom went above and beyond, and honestly this is their most thematic room since Mason's Temple or Newark's sorcerer's apprentice.
The GM was friendly and helpful enough, being ready with a hint when cerain parts were not as intuitive as they could have been.(and pretty much let us finish the solve despite being slightly over time.) This can make of break the experience as I'm pretty sure I would have been SLIGHTLY nicer to Vampire's Haven had our GM been half as cooperative and attentive as this one. They also let me ramble on about nonsense and escape room esoterica which was appreciated.
Yes
There is a standard horror element with a fairly predictable ending reveal, but at least done with a setting and setups that made it feel far more unique that most offerings in the horror escape genre.
A lot of puzzles stuck with me for more than just their difficulty, and there are plenty of interesting surprises and design elements that make it work even better. It's also a fantastic ending that really feels unique.
Medium
The beginning was simpler than the end, as things become more confusing and complicated as the room goes on, but if you're familiar with a lot of escape room puzzle tropes, you'll piece a lot together with just a little effort.
High tech
I would learn high tech as the elements and interactions are more complicated and electronic focused, complete with some clever use of magnets and monitors. There's still a good amount of standard locks which does fit the theme overall.
4
Even with a limit of I believe 6 or 8, I always prefer small groups with tight knit cooperation. 4 would be ideal but I think 3 is also very reasonable. Even though I did this with only one other person, the amount of back and forth in sections would greatly benefit from more people.
Spooky
Some more gore themes in the final stretch, and the start sells the "small shop in the woods at night" vibe very well. There's the occasional noise with mild jumpscare elements, and makes clever use of sound to be incredibly eerie in parts.
12
If you have an edgy preteen with a at least healthy and non-concerning obsession with horror movies, they'll probably love it but any younger will probably be very spooked by several parts. There's also some very off-color language on a few of the signs dotted around the shop, but I guarantee your kid has heard far worse things on Roblox.
No
Being the first to do the room, it was a refreshing change to know that nothing would have been previously destroyed by a rowdy group and I hope it stays that way. There are more than a few elements I can see being failure points in the future if not well maintained.
No
There's one fairly interactive animatronic, and an actor on a monitor feed, but no live actors in the room with you.
Not at all
Some dexterity is involved with a late puzzle and a bit of walking between room sections to check previous puzzle elements, but it's not taxing or tiring in the slightest.
I brought up the color blind issue of the final puzzles, so it's a bit of a sticking point. Some spaces are small to traverse and I can't imagine a wheel chair being able to get into all the rooms. Another puzzle requires some hand dexterity to move around some objects in a box using gloves.
Yes
Not as simple to locate as Newark, but a fairly visible spot in the mini mall it resides in.
Medium
It's not a very large lot, and can fill quickly when busy but it's long enough to likely find somewhere to park that wouldn't be much of a walk.
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