Escape Live Birmingham

To begin with, this room is locked with a key, the only way to exit in an emergency is by smashing a break glass key box to obtain a spare, however if the key had been left in the door on the other side (as it looked to have been), escape would be impossible in an emergency. 

Aside from the real danger, this room was disappointing, overpriced and a contender for worst escape room we've ever done.

The puzzles were plain and uninteresting. They mainly consisted of finding numbers and keys.

The room was covered in Green "do not touch" stickers, completely breaking any sense of immersion. I understand that some things are fragile but believe that a good escape room should be designed in a way that most things in the room can be touched/used. It was also very confusing as some items had stickers on one part but you had to use a different part of the same item.

We were "allowed" to take one phone in the room as a torch was needed but not provided. I don't like taking my phone into escape rooms, for it to be a requirement was extremely frustrating.

The timer was a modern TV screen which was paused at the start of the 1 hour video in Windows media player. Instant break of immersion and not in fitting with the theme of the room. The story was weak with a very unsatisfying ending.

Hints have to be requested via an intercom system. We pressed the button and were asked what we needed help with. I don't believe we were being watched and the host didn't know where in the game we were.

Our host spoke at us at length before and after the escape room. He asked us to each leave a review as he would receive a £5 commission for each one. He also spent a long time trying to sell their other escape rooms to us but failed to ask if we'd done any. He spent several minutes describing a room we have already played and it felt awkward to interrupt...

The lobby area was very small, crowded and unwelcoming, all of the escape rooms run at the same time meaning this area can become extremely busy. The space also included an open door to their store cupboard/staff kitchen.

Whilst something that would be easy to forgive if the rest of the experience was up to scratch, the toilet facilities were unsuitable for the number of people through the doors. There were two toilets available, one of which was out of order, the other was dirty and had a sink that didn't drain. 

For £68 (two players) the room was extremely overpriced for the level of experience that was provided. While I have yet to find a chain escape room that rivals most independents, I expected a basic level of customer experience and walked away very disappointed.

An easy and quick room to solve with a linear, logical flow. 

This is ideal for semi-experienced teams. It may feel too easy for experienced, and it can be a little too obscure for beginners who still lack the right automatisms in the room. 

We escaped in under 30 mins as a team of 2. There were some nice puzzles, and some a little flawed but not enough to break the immersion or the progression in the game. 

This was our first escape room, and at the time the hosting was glorious. In the meantime, things might have changed but this room still holds a special place in my heart. 

The immersion is there, with 3 different parts to the room. Bear in mind that the immersion will remain proportional to the actual cost, so this isn't comparable to high-budget venues. Yet, for a room in central Birmingham, the immersion and puzzle flow is pretty good.  (or was in 2018)

There is a great diversity of puzzles, from sensory to logic and search, so this is an ideal room for beginners and families. 

Was surprised by the poor reviews for this room as we really enjoyed it - hosting was friendly and fun, room had a mixture of things to do.  It was the first heist style game we've tried and it was great.  We thought we'd made a terrible mistake that was going to cost us dearly at one point but thankfully, there was opportunity later to redeem ourselves!

A fun room with a great story and flow. Enjoyable solves, hosting left a little to be desired

First time doing a 100% attempt escape room. Didnt particularly enjoy the concept, but thats no fault of the room. Some puzzles seemed illogical, but we still managed to get away with $675k with minimum help

This room was quite disappointing having done several fantastic heist style games.

Lots of the puzzles were just look at a poster to find the info, 

The room itself looks very scruffy and unloved, one puzzle is utterly flawed the components have stickers on that match other items in the room  and come with a sheet that says higher or lower but the sheet is not for the blocks you find.

Some of the monitors weren't turned on and was told don't worry there just themeing.

Overall a big let down of a room that is in need of some love and attention.