The Archive

“The Archive” is double edged sword, that features some really quite great set design, but is marred with atrociously designed, out of date, unengaging puzzles that are needlessly complicated and verbose for the sake of wasting time, with pacing so poor that it almost bored us to tears at certain points. This one is really teetering dangerously close (literally by a hair) to being a thumbs down. There’s just a lot of really cool stuff visually to see that keep it from being a total wash. But that thumbs up is not a recommendation by any stretch. Let’s get the good out of the way first. The set design is truly great. There’s a lot of attention to detail, a surprisingly massive footprint with a great deal to see and absorb, and an awesome sense of place and progression from room to room. They are such inventive, cleverly designed spaces. Which is a shame because, while “The Archive” has all the right visual elements that make it an all time great escape room, it just doesn’t have the right puzzles to match. Every new puzzle didn’t invoke a sense of excitement or discovery when starting it. After a certain point, it just felt like another ordeal that was more like work and less like fun. Look, we get that these are designed with enthusiasts in mind who want a challenge. That’s why we’re here. But it’s not a challenge to force people to sit, dissect and analyze your poorly concocted lore for the sake of solving a simple lock combination, only to have to do the same thing all over again, four layers more involved and irritating this time around, MULTIPLE TIMES. Dare 2 Escape’s consistent biggest weakness seems to be there is TOO MUCH READING and ridiculous amounts of exposition for what amounts to completing a mostly unrewarding puzzle. And there are too many distracting red herrings in each college thesis that just keeps piling up, only to leave a really bad taste in your mouth, making you question what exactly you should even care about. We want a challenge. We don’t want to feel like we’re being taken for a ride and have our time artificially wasted. “The Archive” rides a fine line to being the latter. The entire puzzle structure and flow of this experience is in desperate need of an overhaul. In its current state it’s unacceptable. The only reason this is a 90 minute experience is because you are going to spend most of your time reading. It’s that poorly paced. These rooms may be tailored for enthusiasts, but even hardcore players might find themselves disappointed in its disjointedness. This is a missed opportunity that should have knocked it out of the park.

They didn’t offer a photo this time. :-( Fun room. Very difficult for 2 people. My only complaint would be that it is pretty warm in the rooms and by the last room both of us were nauseous. She did say it was their warmest room. Very cool design and nice GM. I would recommend 3 or 4 people. We will be back to do the rest in September!

This was a 90 minute room. Several rooms plus crawling through a tunnel. Soooooo many puzzles. Only 2 of us made this really tough. Staff was great. Puzzles were hard but logical. There was just a lot of them. lol. We had piles of ‘stuff’ to be used. Lots of things. Definitely recommend

Super awesome room! Definitely difficult and combined some of the hardest elements of escape rooms! A LOT of puzzles and locks but really cool set design and overall a great play through!

i really liked this room but didn’t love it. some parts of the room we got a lot of items and didn’t know the order in which to use them. there was no clear direction and was impossible to figure out without a hint.

This game is probably one of the toughest we have played in a while, and I don’t mean tough in the way that certain other Companies force arbitrary and illogical twists into their low-fi puzzles. These games are HARD but they make sense and with enough effort, you will achieve them. A great combination of logic and physical. Also a very great variety of scenic. Lots of different levels. Make sure at least one member of your party is ready to do some crawling and climbing. We did this as a pair and it was probably one of the most challenging games we have ever faced. Unless you have many games under your belt, bring friends.

This is by far one of the best rooms I’ve ever done. Absolutely amazing

A very strong room! Non-linear with a great variety of puzzles. Excellent theming with lots of surprises. One of the best rooms in the area!

In spite of increasingly grand experiences in the escape room world, I’ve always had a soft spot for a well done classic game. The Archive has been on my list for quite a while, but I’ve never gotten around to actually playing it when I’ve been in the area. The game has aged remarkably well, still providing some wow moments through interesting set design and a well integrated story. In particular, the opening set was rather striking, and left an immediate impression on myself and my teammate. While a few puzzles feel a bit more dated than others, there’s a general sense of escalating intensity in the interaction design to keep things interesting. Everything felt right in terms of puzzles, which were both thematic and integrated into the narrative. I think small teams of enthusiasts (or larger groups of newer players) could have a lot of fun with The Archive, and I’m thoroughly glad I could squeeze it in.