Hostage

Good production design but puzzles toward the end of the room are a little tedious. I think also the sequence w/ live acting from the staff should be totally reworked. The issue with that sequence is that the person who is engaged talking w/ the live actor might run out of stuff to do. They should be allowed to rejoin the primary group after *they complete their task* not after *the primary group completes their task*. The current system creates a scenario where one person is isolated w/ nothing to do for, potentially, a very long time. It is also creates an awkward situation for the actor where they need to be all spooky and in character for waaayyyyyyyy longer than they should have to, so the impulse be silly and not on theme becomes very strong, which I totally get.

This room had unique elements to try and immerse you into the story before going into the room. The game itself was cute, but required a lot of hand-holding for my team unfortunately. I wouldn't say that this room is particularly intuitive because there were a lot of "side quests" you could tackle that drove us away from the main storyline. Our GM was so cute though that we just let her guide us most of the way - she was very encouraging, but ended up helping us like 75% of the game T.T I'd say this room is probably more fun with at least 3 or 4 people on the team!

Super cool game with the right amount of scares. Definitely have to be comfortable with the dark, tight spaces and some creepy props. Definitely worth it for the experience!

Hidden gem of the Bay Area when it comes to scares and escape rooms. Very creepy atmosphere and game master/host were incredibly inviting and did an awesome job immersing us in the game. The puzzles are hard but definitely doable.

I liked the back and forth teasing type we had with our game master. No scares (cause there was 2 of us). Great guy.

Hostage is in rough shape. Several puzzles were either held together by clear or duct tape, if working at all. The GM gave less than ideal hints, and even admitted to not hearing players very well. We could hear our GM talking about us throughout the game due to thin walls, and it did not add to the experience. Tech wasn’t working, the set was in poor condition, and the puzzle flow was confusing at best. I don’t know if there was an adult on site at any point during our game. For $100, I expected more. Even with how much I’ve heard about their other game, Nursery, I doubt I will return due to the lackluster first experience.

My group of 6 completed this room and what a ride it was. The atmosphere and setting was definitely spooky (I am a scaredy cat and generally a jumpy person) but the GMs were helpful and make it a fun experience. I do think the experience might’ve been better with maybe 4 players rather than 6 but my whole group enjoyed it regardless. They did “personalize” the game in a certain way that none of us expected and it that was very memorable for all of us. Would definitely recommend this room for everyone to try at least once. I believe there are side puzzles that can be completed and seems like the room is possibly updated here and there so I do think there is always potential to come and play again.