Long, negative review from an experienced escaper ahead!
I've enjoyed most of the other escape rooms I've done in Atlanta (2), Nashville (1), Birmingham (6), and Tampa (this was my second); this is the only one I have been actively angry about immediately after leaving, and the more I think about it the angrier I get. Being an experienced escaper and beta tester for another company back in Birmingham, I have a bit of an understanding of the things that could come at me in an escape room. I know to look for the flow of things and ask questions about potential "too many attempts" lockouts, if there are things to take apart, etc. I dislike being directly told through paper or onscreen exactly what to do next. I can understand wanting to be thematically inspired by popular media and culture as that's going to drive interest toward a product. Immersion in a story or scenario helps to enhance the experience. I dislike walking into a room that's supposed to be reminiscent of a jungle or an egyptian tomb and finding drop-tile ceilings stuffed with vines purchased at Michael's sitting amid bare walls with burlap covering the windows to the outside. I strongly dislike seeing a keypad on the wall in a scenario that's supposed to take place in 1936 in Egypt. Let's not even get into the blatant IP infringement (Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. needs Marion's headpiece and the Staff of Ra [multiple misspellings of this Egyptian god throughout the room] to get the Ark of the Covenant). One of the most important things in an escape room is engaging multiple people with multiple pieces that all lead to one thing. You have to trust that your teammates are doing their part and that when you need the code/key/object from what they're working on, you'll get it. Also important, is that when you do finally come together for the group solve of this puzzle - provided it's not the final one - there are enough pieces to pass around so that everyone can split back up to come back together again. The room I was in featured a linear string of subpar puzzles that led to everyone looking over everyone else's shoulders while they fumbled with a lock. Perhaps it's just this one room and the others are better, but my experience breaking into one office that doesn't have my boss in it from another that doesn't have his desk in it was so unpleasant that I don't believe I will be returning. That said, the staff was quite friendly and worked well with what they had. They kept making sure my kids were having a good time, which is important for a family group. So, for them, I give a single star. This star does not belong to the company. read more