The Retreat - Under New Management

I liked what they were going for in the room. It is Friday the 13th but it has been edited for basic cable. All of the horror elements are there but it's never truly scary - which is perfect for me (I watch the movies with my hands covering my eyes). The sets were all beautifully done and had lots of fun little Easter Eggs hidden throughout. The environment itself was probably the best part of the room. The puzzle play was a little clunky for what I've come to expect from Trapology. Some puzzles flowed smoothly and were a lot of fun while others just seemed to go against instinct and required clues from the GMs to get any sort of idea on what to do. We finished the room with a minute to spare not because we solved the final puzzle but because I recognized the kind of device was being used and what it would require to open it. The story was fun and the little interactions with our GMs were a nice touch. I think with a little finessing this would become an amazing room!

I really love Trapology, I’ve played all of their other games and even did the original Retreat when it had opened. Sadly, this game was a little bit disappointing to me. I appreciate the update to the setting, which I think is still this game’s highlight. However, darkness in horror games is a fine line and I think this game veered too hard into it; it was often frustrating to use locks or look for clues. Puzzle-wise, the game had a few good moments, but one larger puzzle in the middle of the game felt overly complicated with too many details and differing steps (in addition to one prop being incorrectly marked), which took up the majority of an otherwise relatively short game. I’m not sure if there were elements that were meant to be puzzles but were not actually integrated - some of the more interesting props were not relevant and the ending was very abrupt. There was a story, but I was left not really internalizing a lot details and in some cases I was confused about certain developments. Theatrical moments were a nice touch but seemed not to have as much of a justification or plan (one in particular I feel was a missed opportunity for a stronger framework to justify it). I really feel bad posting this review - I do not want to discourage anyone from checking out their other games (which are some of my favorites in the area), but this was unfortunately just not enough of a deviation from the original in terms of set or well designed in its puzzles and story, in spite of a a few cool moments and puzzles.

This very well might be Trapology’s best work yet. The theatrical elements of it all, the completely overhauled and impressive theming, all the little details come together to make one of the most fun, campy slasher games I’ve ever played. This game is so well done.