A very solid escape room with a good number of decent puzzles but nothing that really stood out. A few rough edges along the way leaves it in that range of games where I’ll still recommend people play but won’t do so enthusiastically.
A rundown of some of the shows in the 2016 Vault Festival that appealed to me including Houdini’s Last Trick, >taur_, Decide-A-Quest, The MMORPG show and Werewolf Live.
A great game with bold imagery and good use of lighting throughout. Aside from an annoying directional puzzle and fiddly technology, the puzzles were logical and fun. A joy for enthusiasts and experienced players alike.
An enjoyable room that never really got me excited. The decor was a bit bare and while there were a couple of things to keep the attention of the enthusiasts, it never really felt like it flowed.
A disappointing first half, especially for anyone who’s attended a Wiretapper event, and a damp squib of an ending left this experience wanting in spite of the middle of the show having a strong set, high octane scenes and generally good acting.
A tongue-in-cheek ‘Allo ‘Allo style performance where I could never quite get my head round whether it was a serious game or not. When it was good, it was very, very good but there were a few too many moments where I was left disappointed.
A game that literally puts some magic back into escape rooms. This is a tough escape room with lots of puzzles and plenty of challenge – possibly too much for a lot of teams. Take a biggish group along and keep your focus and you’ll have plenty of fun.
A game with a long list of flaws that I somehow seemed to actually enjoy. Once you get over flimsy components, annoying red herrings, a dubious puzzle, insufficient puzzles, a disappointing story, off-theme puzzles and no real finale you’ll find a distinct sense of achievement in having finished the game (most likely after having waited for an email response to clue requests…).
A good second outing from the Panic Room that demonstrated their improved craft in creating rooms. What they’d lost in sheer size and volume of puzzles, they’d made up for in creativity and theme. I’m excited to see what their future games will be like.
Has it really been a year since I posted my first set of predictions on this site? Apparently so. Well, since then the UK market has continued to explode in a way that no one suggested twelve months ago. There are now 600 or so rooms in the UK across well over 200 venues and a good
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