Best. Room. Ever.
First, let me preface this review with a number of caveats: we do not play to beat the room (although it's always a bonus when we do!); we don't like leaving a room too soon because we pay for time in an total-immersion environment, and finishing a game too early just makes us feel a little ripped off; and we love it when our game-masters actually play - with - us - because being an escape room game master is the best job in the world, right?! That out of the way, we had booked Xenomorph: The Queen's Spawn way back in December, but the blizzard then messed up our plans (since then, we've played three sci-fi-themed rooms in row, not planned), and so, because they did not accept cancellations, we rescheduled just in time for the heatwave. We had to make their minimum booking for four, but even with that, it was worth every penny and tip! This was the first escape room we played that had live actors in the room with us. I don't know what we expected, but it was certainly not as much of an adrenaline rush as we had!
Red Giant Escape Rooms was our first (another first) room in Utah. Those familiar with my reviews will know we like an escape room close to somewhere nice to eat and with plenty of free parking, since, for us, doing an escape room is usually the culmination of any day. Well, Orem, Utah, is not a dense city like the cities we are used to, so, while yes, there is a Chinese restaurant and some other businesses that share the same parking lot with Red Giant, it was not a priority for us to try out any other business there. We essentially spent our morning in Provo (having driven from our base in Salt Lake City) before we arrived in Orem just to pit our wits against Xenomorph!
Escape room lobbies in Utah - at least, Red Giant - are set up quite differently from the ones in Southern California. Instead of just the usual puzzles, coffee and water being offered in the very spacious lobby, there was actually a vending machine on site, with Texas-born Dr. Pepper available, no less! So welcome in the middle of the heatwave we experienced during our visit! As it turned out, Red Giant seems to be affiliated with the Alternate Reality Rooms in Katy, TX (previously reviewed) - because when we signed our waivers, we found ourselves already in the system.
After Zack got us checked in and we checked out their restroom - very clean, no complaints - we were shown the obligatory preview video advisory. It was only then that we realized the escape experience would have a live actor - in fact, two; and ALL their escape rooms have live actors! Also, our time in the room, their most difficult one (again!) was 75 minutes, instead of the usual hour! Talk about bang for buck!
This story is straightforward: We, Special Forces Team Bravo, were sent to rescue chief geneticist, Dr. J. Larsen, who had been conducting classified research on the deep space station the Sulstromo, in quadrant LV-427, and recover his research at all costs. The room can accommodate up to a group of 10, and, with a solve-rate of 10%, so we didn't feel bad at all that we failed in our mission - spectacularly - with our little group of three!
The room itself required the opening of a TON of locks, a lot of physical activity, a lot of digital dexterity - most things we try to avoid when playing a room, but, alamak, guys! - so much fun. So, so much fun. An added bonus: we didn't have to play with our masks on - and, boy, were we grateful for that! In the span of the 75 minutes, we must have entered no less than four different realities - and by the time we exited, our hearts rates were up and adrenalin pumping. The puzzles were not as linear as we understood them to mean, but Sergeant Jackson, who had been in the Far East for a while and so is a polyglot of sorts, was the best team leader; and Preston was the best lost doctor ever. Thanks to Zack for our mission-not-accomplished photo which came out great.
So, so bummed we don't live in the vicinity, because we would love to go back to try out their other rooms - Excalibur, Deep South and Neverland. Lucky folks who live in the area! I don't know how we can go back to playing just regular rooms now! Very bagus! Terimah kasih! read more