CodesterToaster

Having played two other games by Unreal on our trip my hopes were very high for this one. 

It is clear it’s a slightly older game. It also had a bit less tech than the others which was something I had enjoyed about the previous games. That being said the set was vast and the tech it did have was utilised to its fullest and made for some impressive moments. Some really lovely set pieces and puzzles that we haven’t seen anywhere else. Our GM didn’t speak English but this game wasn’t particularly difficult so it was easy enough to fumble through. 

There were a few moments which were unclear to us and were overridden by our GM but that could be an issue on our end and with no way to ask for longer clues it was a shame, but fair enough that they were skipped.

The ending to the game was excellent we were in hysterics, it was also technically very impressive.

This was a game we added to our trip last minute as we had space and i was glad that we ended up playing.

This room was incredibly slick, it had some great tech that was integrated throughout and really personalised the game for the team. 

The game definitely wasn’t designed for three players and while they made some clever adaptations it was certainly a rush to make sure we got everything done. Kept us on our toes though!

Lovely ending with a nice prize which was much appreciated amongst our team.

I debated a while on what I would rate this room because there is no getting around the theme. In my opinion it’s not something that an escape room can do justice.

As a game the flow was clear and had a lot of unique set elements, it was extremely immersive (not necessarily a good thing in this context) and there were some very interesting puzzles involving interacting with the set. The clue system itself however was very frustrating, it was hard to hear and received a lot of interference from nearby buildings I assume. 

It was very clear from early on in the game though that they were not hiding from the theme of the room. There was footage and audio recordings of the attack played throughout sometimes rather distastefully  mixed with puzzles. Whenever we enjoyed a puzzle we felt quite guilty about it because of the context of the room!

Finally and the biggest let down of all was the ending of the game. We were rushed by an actor into a pitch black room before realising that we had entered a memorial section. In my opinion this wasn’t tasteful and was made worse because after we watched this very upsetting video we were congratulated by our GM for our excellent game!

This room was immersive beyond anything I had seen before this trip. The set was stunning and we collectively gasped upon seeing it. The theme itself was really unique in lots of ways and it led to some fantastic puzzles. It really was unique puzzle after unique puzzle. As a couple of other reviews have set you end up doing the very things you are told not to do in most escape rooms, we found ourselves checking with eachother if something we were about to do was really allowed and it always was which was exhilarating! 

While there was a central area that lots of the game took place in, there were plenty of exciting routes to venture on that revealed themselves. While the room disguised the tech it used cleverly there was certainly a lot of it! Definitely some things you wouldn’t get away with in the UK and that’s the whole point of travelling for these rooms!

The room ended in a really great way, we let our guards down and then very quickly had to get actioning again meaning we left the room with a real rush. 

What a room!

Nakatomi Plaza was certainly a story driven room which is something I always appreciate. Your game starts straight away and you are highly encouraged to play along with the crazy situations you’ll find yourself in. The host tried his best to ensure we had a great time despite the game not being designed for English players. While I won’t ever rate a foreign room down for not being in English (we’re the people who aren’t learning the language!) I do think it’s important to note that this was a game that definitely felt like it had a language barrier. 

While I enjoyed the theme of the room the puzzles themselves really didn’t click with us. The flow felt quite unclear and, while the GM was trying his best to clue, the language barrier ended up meaning we were put in the wrong direction a couple of times.

That being said I absolutely love actors and a bit of improv and this room certainly did that very well, we laughed our way through lots of it!

This was the first room of our trip and like lots of the rooms in Barcelona its very understated exterior is a complete contrast to the amazing theming you find inside. This room well and truly keeps you guessing, we found ourselves completely shocked at the crazy environments we found ourselves in. 

A mention has to go to our host who’s acting and helpful cluing, especially in a second language, was very much appreciated and made the room even more enjoyable.

A couple really standout moments which I can’t talk about because the thing that made them standout was just how unexpected they were but it’s safe to say there are some things in this room we will not forget.

My only criticique with the room was the ending which was to us, a matter of trial and error. While it was not a terrible ending by far, it just slightly let down the overall experience as the rest of the room had been so strong. 

Definitely a must play if you’re in the area and try to stay spoiler free!

First of two we played at LevelUp and I absolutely loved this one. 
The use of space in this room is really impressive and makes for some unique moments.  It can be easy to ignore tech in a room themed to WWII but this room managed to incorporate some exciting elements without breaking the immersion. Another stand out in this game is the clue system which allowed for the GM to really have fun and immerse us in the storyline which I always appreciate. 

Finally, the ending of this game was just unbelievable! I won't spoil it but I would be surprised if any team could predict what was coming for them in the last moments before game end.

The second room we played at LevelUp, there's a few options you can select when booking and we went for the Pro mode with Enhanced Theatrics. I'm often concerned that games with multiple difficulty levels can leave behind red herrings of clues for different modes but this game dealt with it well, I was never led astray. 

In both the rooms we played I enjoyed how there were some subtle nudges to point you in the right direction by way of lighting changes or gentle audio cues. It's something I've seen lots of places ignore but when done correctly, as they've done here, it just makes the game flow nicely (it also stops our ego's from being hurt by needing a more obvious clue!).

This room was all about the theatrics with a lovely set design and some pretty clever tech leading to some jumpscares that really got us, although we were asking for it after booking Enhanced Theatrics! Less padlock orientated than the other game we played with some varied methods for entering codes which I enjoy. 

Played as a group of 4 and it definitely kept us busy for the entire game! A really immersive set and lots of unique puzzle elements. I hadn't played a mine themed game before and this has set the bar very high. I always enjoy when a game has secondary tasks which Foole's Gold implemented well.

This game was just so original, I was blown away by the amount of puzzles and elements I had never seen before. Without going into spoilers, the game ended in a really significant way that made all of the group I was in pause for a moment and consider the consequences of our actions. 

Played on a trip down to Brighton after strong recommendations and it did not disappoint!

The set was beautiful and that combined with an excellent host who was clearly passionate about Escape Rooms meant we had a brilliant time. 

I always appreciate an immersive game and this one really transported me and my team. There was lots to do and some really rewarding puzzles that required a lot of teamwork.
It's a must play if you're in the area!

This room is difficult to rate as it is clear that the company values very cheap room pricing over set and puzzle design. For what they set out to do, create a game that is good for first-timers and cheap to play, they have been successful. You would struggle to find a cheaper per player cost! Because of that though, the room itself was low budget and while this doesn't automatically lead to a bad game the issue was more in the fact that it felt very hastily thrown together with a lack of care for puzzles. 

There was an overwhelming number of identical padlocks causing a large amount of the game time to be spent trying every lock with the same code.  I felt it could have quite easily been a 45 minute room if the somewhat tedious lock checking was improved upon.

The ending however, was a really pleasant surprise and left us in good spirits! 

This game was a really unique take on what is a very common theme for escape rooms.
Of course there were some really unique puzzles which is to be expected from XscapeNow. The room design itself was really great fun and kept us guessing for what would come next. 

Fantastic room with a brilliant set and lots of unique elements which kept us on our toes. 
I really enjoyed the theme of this room and the set itself is really impressive! As for all XscapeNow games our host was excellent and chimed in at just the right moments to keep the game flowing nicely for us. 

A really strong room from XscapeNow, a nice variation of puzzles that allowed each of our group members to find their strengths. Without going into spoilers there was also some clever interactions between the two rooms which I appreciated.  There are an awful lot of great rooms at this venue and while I personally preferred the themes of their others that doesn't take away from this being a unique and really enjoyable room.