Escape Room Ennis - Under Siege Review (Non-Live Experience)

Hi all

Sorry for the hiatus.  Life has been busier than ever, but I’m finally getting around to writing up my escape room reviews.  There is nothing like the impending TERPECA deadline to focus one’s attention…

In June 2021, my wife and I played Under Siege, an online escape room based in Ennis, Ireland.  We beta tested the room for the owners (who were on Zoom with us while we played).  Usually, this is not a Live Experience game (but it was for us). 

Under Siege was my 189^th escape room experience.  The theme of the room is as follows:

It is Year 972: Brian Boru was one of the twelve sons of the King of Thomond (County Clare). YOU are a member of the Norse Vikings that have settled in Limerick under the leadership of “Ivar of Limerick”. Brian Boru and the Vikings had a strange relationship of both co-operation and of conflict. ​ You have heard rumours that Brian Boru is planning to attack the Vikings to gain full control of Limerick. You and your friends have stealthily crept into Brian Boru’s tower and found his war room. You discover evidence that he plans to attack your people in exactly one hour. You need to get back to your people, get onto your ship, and set sail before you are all killed. But Boru’s men have locked you into the tower!!​ You have only 60 minutes to escape the tower, get to your ship, and set sail before certain death at the hands of Brian Boru!

Here’s what I thought about Under Siege:

·         Under Siege is a photo-sphere room of a real life escape room (our first Irish room!);

·         the theming was strong.  All of the props and puzzle elements made sense in the space;

·        I would describe Under Siege as a strong beginner’s room.  The puzzles were all logical and solvable and there was an interesting variety of puzzles of varying difficulty levels.  I’m not entirely sure how long it took us to escape, but my vague memory is that it was around the 30-40 minute mark); and

·         all of the puzzles made sense and were satisfying once solved.  The game play is a point and click-style online game.  We had no technical issues and the room ran very smoothly for us.

I think Under Siege is a strong online point and click-style room, particularly for beginners and families.  The game master (and owner) was amazed that we managed to solve one puzzle out of order – we only had some of the information but it was enough to decipher what was required (apparently no other team had done so before us). 

Where:                          Virtual room (online)

Virtual Room Type:      Non-Live Experience

Duration:                      60 minutes

Themes:                       2 online rooms

Cost:                             19.99 Euro per player

Overall Rating:             Strong beginners point and click room

More details:                https://www.escaperoomsshannon.com/online-games

 

 

Amaze Escape 360 - Crazy Doctor Review (Non-Live Experience, Online)

 

Hi all

Back in April 2021, I beta-tested a non-live "photosphere" room for a company from the Netherlands called Amaze Escape 360.  The room is named Crazy Doctor and the story is as follows:

A few days ago, your friend Anna has made an appointment to see Dr. Condor due to some COVID-19 symptoms, but you haven’t heard from her since. As you start to look into this, you find there are rumors that Dr. Condor is kidnapping and performing terrible experiments on his patients. You decide to head to Dr. Condor’s office and investigate. Can you find Anna or will you be his next victim?

Crazy Doctor was my 180th room to date.  Here is what I thought:

• there were some interesting puzzles.  I would describe Crazy Doctor as a largely linear room.  The room is based on a real room in the Netherlands – the owners have taken photographs (photospheres) of each of the rooms and players point and click their way through.  The room has a good flow and was logical;

• the theme is pretty scary and dark, so definitely not recommended for young kids;

• this largely worked well, but there were instances when things couldn’t be clicked, or where the camera angle made things difficult to solve.  I gave this feedback to the owners after my experience; and
  

• overall I though the experience was reasonably good. The cost of the room is €12.00 per connection, which I think is a little steep for a non-live hosted game (particularly given the many available options in the market).

Where:                         Virtual Room (online)

Virtual Room Type:      Non-Live Experience

Duration:                      60 minutes

Themes:                       1 online room

Cost:                             €12.00 per connection

Overall Rating:             A reasonably good point and click style room

More details:                https://360escape.nl/

 

 

 

The Escape Game - Unlocked: The Heist Vol 1 & 2 Review (Non Live)

Hi everyone

Some time back (late 2020), my daughter and I played the 2 Heist rooms at Online Escape Room.  These rooms are Non-Live rooms (ie no live avatar, play at home at your own pace).  

In both Volumes of Heist, you play the role of a special agent, fresh out of training, who is attempting to find an internationally-famous art thief. These games were our 147th and 148th rooms to date. 

I would describe Heist as a relatively simple game, with some interesting puzzles (but nothing ground breaking).  The games were not scary and were therefore suitable for my then 8 year old to play through with me.  

I think it took us about an hour or so to complete each Volume.  It was engaging and they used video cut scenes really well.

I'm not a huge fan of Non-Live rooms (as I prefer Live Avatar rooms when I'm playing online).  But the experience was fun and I suspect it would scratch the itch for those of us still in lockdown.  And the price is very reasonable.

Where:                         Virtual room (online)

Virtual Room Type:     Non Live

Duration:                     60-120 minutes (not limited)

Themes:                      3 themes 

Cost:                            $10 per theme (we played at the invitation of the owners)

Overall Rating:            Non-Live experience at the simpler end, but enjoyable

More details:                https://theescapegame.com/unlocked/#unlocked-missions