DarkMaster Escape Rooms: Into The Reliquary

By | May 22, 2021

by DarkMaster Escape Rooms (website)

Unit 5, Plumyfeather Farm, Plumyfeather Road, Lye Green TN6 1UX Crowborough

Crowborough

2-8 players

Languages: EN

60 minutes

Brave the Peruvian jungle and find the ancient relic before the Dark Master gets his hands on it.
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Overall rating

Rated between 4 and 5 out of 5

based on ratings from 34 users
combined with 4 pro reviews

Your review

Player reviews

A Blacksmith expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 1 Sep 2023 Team size: 2 Time taken: 43:35 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersiveepic
KazKew rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: July 2022 Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulcleverimmersive

The set is amazing! My team mates are new to escape rooms and we all thoroughly enjoyed it, with some aspects that I haven't seen in other escape rooms before that were so much fun. The puzzles weren't too challenging. It is quite a physical game and expect to get sandy!

Ollie Yeomans experienced rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: 16 Jul 2021 Team size: 2 Time taken: 56 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulimmersiveepic

This room has made me doubt every other 5 star I've given out previously. Out of 70 odd rooms this was the most fun I've had in an escape room. The transitions were incredibly impressive and the size and usage of the game space is particularly special. Not one to be missed at all. 

Shane Craig Gausden experienced rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techcleverimmersivequite difficult
jakea256 expert rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: 5 Aug 2021 Team size: 2 Time taken: 54:36 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifuloriginalimmersive

Sooo cool! So many unique elements that we had never seen before. Incredibly immersive room with a real Indiana Jones feel to it. Won’t spoil anything but so worth playing even if the puzzles are largely search based.

Mike S expert rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: 15 Aug 2021 Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifuloriginalimmersive
markb experienced rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: 29 Aug 2021 Team size: 2 Time taken: 56:12 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifuloriginalimmersive

This is a beautifully designed game, with quite unique elements I've never seen in an escape room before, puzzles and narrative generally fit well together, thoroughly recommend!

Spanishfleas experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
hi-techoriginalfunny
Nichola Morrison experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulcleverimmersive

What an incredible set! As soon as you walk in you are WOWed! Some really brilliant unique parts to this game and they have certainly spent a lot of money on the mechanics and set.

Lots of puzzles and team work required! 

🌵Juliette B expert rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 14 Nov 2021 Team size: 2 Time taken: 42:20 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulimmersiveintense

This room was such fun - absolutely loved it. Some truly unique moments. Story works well; puzzles are not overly challenging but honestly those are not what makes this room special. Great hosting and lovely owners too. 

Ronnie Meade experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifuloriginalimmersive

A stunningly aesthetic room which fully immerses you in to the story and game. Some great elements and one of the best surprises I've ever come across in a room. Although the puzzles are in theme, they do not match up to the standard of the room design. It's easy to get caught up in the wow factor the decor will instil in you...as that alone would score 5 stars. Overall this is an excellent room just lacking in puzzles

🔐James Bloodworth expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 27/11/2021 Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulhi-techimmersive
Theming is excellent but this is a very search heavy game (with an emphasis on the search), it does feature two amazing standout moments that I've never seen before in any ER but it can be a potential search filled slog to get there.  There is another transition I've never seen done before which whilst thematically appropriate, I'd love to see their risk register..
🦡cipherdelic virtuoso rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
beautiful

This is a wow room as soon as you enter, its beautifully done and gives the team more than one "ooo" moment.  The puzzles aren't really challenging, as others have said its very search orientated and heavily relies on the use of two items. 
The "ooo" moments are excellent, but tend to happen to only one or two members of the team, which is a shame as they are so good that everyone should be able to experience them without having to take turns or holding up gameplay.
Just one complaint on this room really, there's one wow moment which I don't know how it passed the risk assessment, the tension on the ropes should be higher and there are loose items right next to where the team disembark. Hopefully it will get tightened as the more its used the looser it will get. 

Jo Keen-Roberts / Reptons experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Team size: 3 Time taken: 60 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifuloriginalepic

One of the best themed rooms we've ever seen, felt like a Disney set!  3 particular aspects you'd never expect to find/do in an escape that were so fun and unexpected. Extremely beautiful and atmospheric. The puzzles let it down a little but Id put this down to experience as they had only been open a few months.  Quite pricey but seriously worth it for a special treat. 

benny1664 experienced rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 17 Jul 2022 Team size: 4 Time taken: 54 Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techimmersive

Much preferred this room to One Wing Airlines but still feel its very search heavy and lacking in quality puzzles.  Maybe my brain just doesnt work like theirs but never feel I gel with the puzzles like we do elsewhere.  The set/theming is beautiful and some very quirky unique ideas.  Unfortunately quite a few of the wow moments are only experienced by 1 person in the team so I would definitely prefer something that everyone experiences.  Its a reasonable room but amongst the most expensive around so would expect a bit more in quality of gameplay.

matt_keds expert rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 10 Aug 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 49:02 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulimmersiveepic
FranklyOscar experienced rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 27/8 Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulstory-driven

Superb set, wide variety of things to do both physical and mental... puzzles straight forward, but enough of them to keep the pressure on .... along with some unexpected surprises along the way. Quite a few padlocks but kind of fits the theme well.

Anonymous expert rated this:Rated between 15 and 15 out of 5
Played: 13 Jan 2023 Team size: 2 Outcome: Failed 🙁
Disappointing to be honest with the reputation this company has was expecting better. Nice sets but poor puzzles and GMs who weren't really interested or engaging. Won't be back
Jen Wells (Get Wells Soon) expert rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: 3 Jun 2023 Team size: 2 Time taken: 34 mins Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulimmersive

What a setting! We really felt like we were in the Peruvian rainforest; the immersion here is total. We're nearly 200 rooms in and there were features here we'd not seen before, which is saying something.

A lot of searching but it wasn't unwelcome and the variety of puzzles on offer felt enough.

This is a very physical game that could challenge those for whom mobility is a consideration; this is also not a room to do in your best clothes.

Gameplay flowed nicely in here and there were very few 'what next?' moments.

Ratchel experienced rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
LolainHollywood experienced rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
story-drivenepicamazing set
Peter Hoare rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 8 Nov 2023 Team size: 2 Time taken: 65 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulimmersivegreat hostingquite difficult

This room is rather surprising, amazingly themed and built, with features you will never see again in any escape room. The puzzles were sometimes a little hard to get started with, and there were some moments of frustration, but the host was amazing and the clues were a gentle nudge rather than telling us the answer. There were only two of us, and we ran over time a little bit but I dont feel to bad about that. There is a lot to do and see. 


This room is also unique in that everyone gets to take a little bit of it home with them, wether they like it or not. Not in their pockets, but between your toes and in your shoes 😉 

Anonymous rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 26 Aug 2023 Team size: 4 Time taken: 40:57 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalimmersiveepicquite easy
Anonymous rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5
beautifulimmersiveillogical

First of all the set is flawless, it really does feel like a movie set.

For us the game relied far too much on finding things hidden in odd places around the room, we are all for observation but it was just getting silly at points.

We felt the flow of the game lacked and didn’t make much sense, with things found not required for another 40/50 mins until another part. And found many puzzles odd and illogical. 

There was a puzzle which was skipped which I think we would have preferred to have been explained how it worked but sadly there was no offer.

This is just our take on the room, but we sadly didn’t gel with the room.  

d.green26 expert rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 1 Jul 2023 Team size: 4 Time taken: 54 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulimmersivegreat hosting
Robert Storey experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 1 May 2023 Team size: 3 Time taken: 40m50s Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techokay gming

Certainly a VERY different game. Could have done with some more puzzles and less searching but didn't leave disappointed at all. 

Beautiful sets and clever use of theming. 

Our GM could have had a bit more life, we started the room rather abruptly (for context we arrived 10 mins prior to booking, as requested by DMER) with very little in the way of room briefing other than "you dont need to do x", "dont move y". No link to story there at all, with the GM starting the game very flatly. 

Ending was underwhelming, with us completing the room with "where do we need to put this??" which could be solved really rather simply with one extra step. 

Was 1st on the monthly leader board..... we were also the first team to play this month.... (though we were assured that the previous month's best time was 44 mins, and checking socials this seems to be the case). 

All in all, a very good different room that is well... different 😛 

RR_Duo+ rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: 26 Aug 2020 Team size: 2 Time taken: 64:31 Outcome: Successful escape!
Jess_keds expert rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulimmersiveepic

Absolutely stunning set design. Was blown away when first walking in. Some incredible set design and unique puzzles. 

PurpleB expert rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 28 Jan 2023 Team size: 4
beautifulimmersive

A fabulous set.  There was a fair bit of searching at the start which we found a tad tedious but there was also some very cool elements in this room.

Mrs G expert rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifuloriginalimmersive

This game is absolutely stunning to look at with a few puzzles/ features we haven’t seen anywhere else. Incredibly immersive and a good mix of interaction and logical puzzles 

abunai expert rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Team size: 3 Time taken: 49:41

Rating this 5 stars primarily from an experience point of view. There are some crazy (in a good way) elements to this room that I loved. If you are all about puzzle, puzzle, puzzle you may not share my sentiment but the wow moments from the set build and some of the things you need to do are unforgettable. 

Ksen experienced rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 9 Oct 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 45mins Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulimmersivephysical

Fun and immersive game with lots of physical elements making it feel like you are on a true adventure! 

Lee Andrew experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
beautiful

Some really creative points and the set was visually stunning. A really nice touch as well in the room which involves a lot of active players.

Be warned though - Do not wear nice clothes!

Robin Harris & Michael Bailey experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 26 Jun 2021 Team size: 2 Time taken: 55 minutes 31 seconds Outcome: Successful escape!
originalimmersiveintensequite difficult

Not good if you have a fear of heights or confined spaces

Reviews by escape room review sites

Few companies make such a stir so soon after opening as DarkMaster. It wasn’t long after they launched their first two games that word spread that they had something special; and of the two, it was Reliquary that particularly caused the buzz.

This is a jungle / lost temple romp, in the style of Indiana Jones or Lara Croft, searching for a lost artefact, and in several ways it manages to capture a visceral, physical sense of adventure and peril in a way that few escape rooms can manage. I shan’t...

Immersion – in every sense of the word!

If an immersive escape experience is what you are after, look no further! Dark Master have made a very impressive debut with Into the Reliquary. The set design is highly professional and of a quality that you would find in a movie theme park. Luckily, the giant carnivore plants in the bit of the Peruvian jungle you find yourself in aren’t real, but the water very much is.

The set of Into the Reliquary is truly something to behold, and there are certain moments throughout the game that we are unlikely to forget for some time. The puzzles didn’t wow in the same way as their surroundings, but still made for a fun game, although that was somewhat overshadowed by a moment or two of what felt like legitimate danger.

I’ve been in quite a few bonkers sets for Escape Rooms. This has to be the most nuts, even beating DarkMaster’s own aeroplane in One Wing. Everything has been thrown at it, with one more surprise just when you think they can’t do any more. It is an incredible feat of engineering and I’ve no idea how they managed half of it.

A beautifully themed room with puzzles to match the room. Unique concepts and some awesome surprises. Check our review for more details 

Lists

This game is part of the following user-created game lists:
  • Best UK escape rooms 2022 by Escape the Review virtuoso
    These are the 100 highest rated escape rooms in the UK, as of 31st Dec 2022, based on combined ratings from enthusiasts, bloggers and experts - every game here comes highly recommended. 
  • Best UK escape rooms 2021 by Escape the Review virtuoso
    These are the 100 highest rated escape rooms (out of 1600) in the UK, as of 31st Dec 2021, based on combined ratings from enthusiasts, bloggers and experts - every game here comes highly recommended. 
  • Best UK escape rooms 2023 by Escape the Review virtuoso
    These are the 100 highest rated escape rooms in the UK, as of 31st Dec 2023, based on combined ratings from enthusiasts, bloggers and experts - every game here comes highly recommended. 
  • My Top 10 Games by jakea256 expert
    Unordered list of my favourite games in just shy of 200 as of 5/1/24.

See also