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Komnata Quest – The City of Ashes [Review]
Noisy hill.
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Date Played: June 18, 2018
Team size: 2-8; we recommend 3-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $30 per ticket on weekdays, $35 per ticket on evenings, $40 per ticket on weekends/holidays
Ticketing: Private
REA Reaction
City of Ashes was a search-heavy, pseudo-horror escape room in a dim lighting. It had a few interesting set pieces, and a strong final sequence, but none of that could make up for the general dullness of the game itself.
Having played all of the games that Komnata Quest currently offers in New York City, I can comfortably recommend that you play any of their other offerings ahead of this one. It’s not a disaster, but it’s well beneath Komnata Quest’s potential. Skip it.
Who is this for?
- Komnata Quest completionists
Why play?
- A great final puzzle sequence.
Story
Teed up as a Silent Hill escape game, we approached an empty city devoid of life to investigate.
Setting
We removed our blindfolds to take in the dim, gritty, and just a bit gory surroundings. We traversed a number of sets, each quite different from the next, but none particularly inviting.
Gameplay
Komnata Quest’s The City of Ashes was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching and puzzling, with emphasis on searching.
Analysis
– City of Ashes felt like cheap horror. It was grim, but not really scary. The dimness was more frustrating than fear inducing.
+ A few detailed set pieces looked great.
– City of Ashes required substantial searching in low light. We continuously tripped up because we hadn’t found the item we needed to complete a puzzle.
– The puzzles lacked clue structure and feedback. There was a puzzle that we solved, but had no idea how or why.
– We couldn’t properly hear the audio track over the ambient noise. If it held any clue structure or story, it was impossible to make out.
– City of Ashes over-telegraphed one of its most interesting moments.
+ The concluding segment was shockingly good.
– I can’t recommend this game at $30 per ticket, and the $35 per ticket during the evenings and $40 per ticket on weekends and holidays is unjustifiable.
Disclosure: Komnata Quest comped our tickets for this game.
Join us in Nashville at the Room Escape Conference
We’ll be in Nashville next week… because escape room conference!
Where: Nashville, Tennessee’s Music City Center
When: July 27-29, 2018
When we aren’t onstage, you’ll be able to find us at booth 201. Please stop by and introduce yourself. We’re always looking for good conversation.
Speaking
We’re delivering the only free talk on Saturday:
4 Years of Escape Rooms: A Data Driven Look
- 9:00am – 10:00am
- Room 105A
Later on Saturday, we’ll be onstage again with David debating and Lisa moderating:
Future of the Industry Debate!
- 2:30pm – 3:30pm
- Room 105A
The other debaters will be:
- The Nest’s Jarrett Lantz & Jeff Leinenveder
- Escape Games Canada’s Shawn Fischtein
- Strange Bird Immersive’s Haley Cooper
- Great Room Escape’s Greg Salyers
- Clue Carré’s Megan Mouton
- The Basement’s Kayden Ressel
These are some of the people behind so many of our favorite experiences.
Escape Challenge – The Orphanage [Review]
Enter sandman.
Location: Zoetermeer, The Netherlands
Date Played: May 12, 2018
Team size: 4-6; we recommend 4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: €119 – €129 per group
Ticketing: Private
REA Reaction
The Orphanage was dark, with horror overtones. With this newest game, Escape Challenge delivered yet another style of gameplay: The Orphanage had us visiting and revisiting different areas of this abandoned home for girls, letting us get our bearings and then upending any sense of comfort.
The lights, sounds, and impeccable detail from floor to ceiling underscore how carefully this experience was crafted.
If you’re anywhere near Zoetermeer, The Orphanage is a must-play.
Who is this for?
- Horror fans
- Adventure seekers
- Story seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Scenery snobs
- Players with at least some experience
Why play?
- Wonderful interaction design
- Brilliant sound and lighting
- Impeccably detailed sets
- Collaborative puzzling
- Frightening moments that are scary even if you see them coming
Story
We entered a long-abandoned girl’s orphanage in search of adventure. As the door closed and the lights flickered, we realized that something was wrong with this place. With our entrance blocked, the only way out was through the orphanage.
Setting
The Orphanage was grim with frightening moments. Escape Challenge built an incredible and immersive environment filled with carefully designed lighting cues. From floor to ceiling, they designed every detail of this set. They even weathered the strike plates and other door hardware.
Each and every space within The Orphanage felt lived in, and had clear purpose. It made the set feel real.
Gameplay
Escape Challenge’s The Orphanage was a standard escape room with a high level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, building connections, overcoming fear, and puzzling.
Analysis
+ The intensity of The Orphanage began as soon as we approached the door of Escape Challenge. It set the stage for the experience.
+ Escape Challenge teased the scale of the set in The Orphanage. From the opening moments, we could tell it was expansive, but not quite how expansive. Escape Challenge controlled our movement through it, introducing us to different spaces on their terms.
+ The Orphanage surprised us. After we’d become comfortable with a space, they upended that comfort once again.
+ We loved The Orphanage‘s brilliant take on a childhood game.
– One prop interaction needed additional clueing. We were too gentle with it, and in doing so, erased some of our time.
+ The Orphanage included a variety of challenging puzzles that were fun to solve. We especially liked one dexterity challenge.
– The final segment delivered dramatic intensity, but chaotic puzzling. It didn’t really fit with the deliberately designed puzzle flow of the The Orphanage. Furthermore, the final solve didn’t bring any closure to the story. The concluding scene didn’t match the experience.
Observation: The children in this orphanage had names. Their names came into play multiple times, as we solved various puzzles. These were some of my favorite puzzles. I didn’t realize how challenging it would be to solve these puzzles around Dutch names, which I didn’t recognize and couldn’t easily pronounce. It’s not something I’d ever considered before, and as a name nerd, I was intrigued by this additional challenge. Luckily our Dutch-speaking teammates made this much easier.
Tips for Visiting
- Drive about 1 hour from central Amsterdam.
- Escape Challenge has two different facilities: one in Zoetermeer, the other in Delft.
Book your hour with Escape Challenge’s The Orphanage, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Escape Challenge comped our tickets for this game.
Unlock! – A Noside Story
Clown around.
Location: at home
Date Played: June 8, 2018
Team size: 1-6; we recommend 2-3
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $14.99 per ticket
REA Reaction
A Noside Story was funny, playful, and chaotic. In this installment of Unlock!, anything could happen. This made the story interesting, but the gameplay confounding. While anything seemed plausible, each puzzle ultimately resolved to a specific, if outlandish, solution. There was a lot to love in this game, but it was entirely too frustrating.
If you love Unlock!, give it a shot. Everyone else can comfortably take a pass on this episode.
Who is this for?
- Story seekers
- Tabletop gamers
- Players with at least some experience with the Unlock! series
Why play?
- Detailed and amusing card art
- A silly and creative story
- A handful of good puzzles
Story
A Noside Story was a direct sequel to one of the first Unlock! games, the superhero story Squeek & Sausage. A smoke had covered the town, emanating from notorious Noside’s lair. It was up to us to once again put a stop to this villainous clown’s evil plans.
Setup
A Noside Story was functionally identical to the first batch of Unlock! games. For a detailed breakdown of the series’ core mechanics, give my review of the original three games a read through:
Unlock! Escape Adventure – The Formula, The Island of Doctor Goorse, and Squeek & Sausage [Review]
Gameplay
Unlock!’s A Noside Story was an at-home escape room with a high level of difficulty. Much of the difficulty stemmed from the silliness of the story and in-game interactions. Added challenge came from managing the Unlock! game mechanics.
Core gameplay revolved around observing, puzzling, and card management.
Analysis
+ Unlock! consistently nails illustration. Each game has a distinctive and beautiful look. A Noside Story was no exception.
+ I respect the fantastical elements of A Noside Story. Paper-based tabletop games don’t need to be constrained by physical reality. I appreciate seeing a game explore that idea.
+/- A Noside Story was funny and playful. It made us do unusual and silly things. While this was entertaining, the silliness produced a lot of logic leaps and scenarios where any solution seemed plausible.
– The hidden penalty cards punished us for being incorrect. This seemed particularly unfair in a game where many correct solutions seemed just as possible as the incorrect ones we’d guessed.
+ There were a handful of great puzzles. One puzzle mixed card play with the app to produce something especially sweet.
– A Noside Story was rated a 1 of 3 in difficulty. I’m struggling to tell why it was less difficult than Adventures in Oz. It followed a more typical Unlock! structure, but the logic of this installment was far more challenging.
– One of the hallmarks of the Unlock! series has been the fact that players do not destroy anything in the process of play. In A Noside Story, however, we had to destroy one of the cards to solve a puzzle. It would be possible to solve this puzzle non-destructively, but that wasn’t the intent. Destructable elements can be a lot of fun, but this interaction was a boring and unnecessary deviation from what we’ve come to expect from Unlock!
– The hidden numbers in Unlock! continue to be the bane of this entire play system. It was even worse in A Noside Story because there was a number on a card that was part of a puzzle… but corresponded to another card in the deck. We were not supposed to take the card.
Tips for Playing
- While the Unlock! series is generally replayable, this particular episode had a destructible component.
- Inspect everything for hidden numbers.
- Be sure to keep a close eye on which cards are in play and which cards should be discarded. A single lapse in this can wreak some havoc.
Pickup a copy of Unlock!’s A Noside Story, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Full disclosure: Asmodee sent us a complementary reviewer’s copy of this game.
(If you purchase via our Amazon links, you will help support Room Escape Artist as we will receive a very small percentage of the sale.)
Boom Chicago – Escape Through the Movies [Review]
Yes and!
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Date Played: May 11, 2018
Team size: 2-5; we recommend 2-4
Duration: 75 minutes
Price: €40 per ticket
Ticketing: Private
REA Reaction
Boom Chicago is an improv comedy troupe whose escape games explore comedy. Escape Through the Movies wove us through a large assortment of backstage spaces throughout their theater. Each new area that we entered took us into a new iconic movie for puzzles and laughs.
While it was a bit uneven in both aesthetics and gameplay, Escape Through the Movies was a fun assortment of unusual segments that didn’t take itself seriously. It presented great moments.
If you’re in Amsterdam, go with the right group and the correct mindset to experience one of the rare comedic escape rooms created by people who get comedy.
Who is this for?
- Movie buffs
- Comedy fans
- Adventure seekers
- Story seekers
- Any experience level
- Players who are comfortable going up and down stairs
Why play?
- Comedy
- Classic movie moments
- It’s different
Story
The movies are real worlds and Hannibal Lecter wanted to bridge the gap between our reality and the movies. History’s worst movie villains would conquer our reality unless we stopped them.
Setting
Boom Chicago is, first and foremost, an improv comedy theater. Escape Through The Movies was built in various rooms throughout their backstage area. It spanned multiple floors and each new space represented a different movie (or series).
The set design was uneven. Some segments look beautiful, while others seemed thrown together.
Gameplay
Boom Chicago’s Escape Through the Movies was a standard escape room with some other types of gameplay mixed in. It had a lower level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, light interaction with an actor, and puzzling.
Analysis
+ Escape Through the Movies began with a typical escape room set and game flow. The setting was charming. It set the stage for our strange adventure.
– As we left the first set, we entered into an uneven fantasy world. Some sets seemed to strive for realism, while others did not. Boom Chicago seemed to struggle with how realistic to make this humorous adventure.
+ Boom Chicago chose this plot well. It could justify just about anything… so it took us through some of the most unexpected scenes. And it worked.
+ Boom Chicago added sequences that didn’t follow typical escape room gameplay. Some parts were a little intense and others were silly, but these segments were where Escape Through the Movies really shined.
– The puzzles – and other puzzley activities – didn’t give quite enough feedback. We’d wonder whether we were approaching them correctly.
+ Boom Chicago achieved a massive escape room milestone in creating an iconic movie interaction that so many other companies have clearly wanted to build, but simply didn’t know how to make it work.
– The timing wasn’t always on point. We’d solve something and the escape room would react, but off cue. This confused us.
– We traversed a lot of different sets in Escape Through the Movies. While we enjoyed the concept, it meant we walked through a lot of wholly undesigned space, which broke the fiction. In one instance, Boom Chicago needed better stage directions. We accidentally walked past one scene without stopping to experience it. (Our gamemaster directed us back.)
+ Some scenes were purely jokes. No puzzle/activity content. Boom Chicago pulled this off.
– The ending lacked the drama of some of the early scenes. It had fanfare, but the final solve wasn’t epic enough to serve as a conclusion to such a large-scale experience.
+ Boom Chicago specializes in comedy. Escape Through the Movies didn’t take itself too seriously. It made fun of its subject matter and we laughed along with it.
+ Boom Chicago has a spacious lobby with a bar. It’s a fun place to hang out before or after playing Escape Through the Movies.
Tips for Visiting
- Boom Chicago is accessible from Amsterdam City Center. It is right near the Anne Frank House.
- We recommend Long Pura for an Indonesian meal across the street.
- All players need to be able to walk up and down stairs.
Book your hour with Boom Chicago’s Escape Through the Movies, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Thoughts on Escape, Immerse, Explore New Orleans
Escape, Immerse, Explore New Orleans collected 42 people from 17 states, who traveled 72,000 miles, to ride 2 buses and played a total of 63 games across southeastern Louisiana.
The player satisfaction surveys showed an overwhelmingly positive response. The attendees loved the games and one another.
Randy of Escape Rumors published an incredible writeup/ review of the tour.
Player Variety
We had players on the tour who had crossed the 400-game threshold. We also had a number of folks who had previously visited fewer than 10 escape rooms and literally doubled their play-count on the trip.
We’ve always tried to help players find the escape rooms that fit their taste, skill, play style, and comfort level. After running two escape room tours, we are confident that we’re onto something.
The escape room player community is growing and it isn’t monolithic. This diverse group of people really are attracted to different things in escape rooms.
Mighty Games
We featured a wide variety of games ranging from the more traditional escape rooms of Clue Carré, to the immersive world of Escape My Room, to the beautifully executed games of Rise, to the dumbfounding set design of 13th Gate.
Each company offered something different. Each also offered at least one game that topped someone’s list as their very favorite game of the tour.
The Tour featured 13th Gate’s Cutthroat Cavern, a game that many would consider a curve-breaker. In a lot of ways, it was. Nearly half of the players reported it as their favorite game of the tour. That sentiment, however, was not universal.
This is no knock against 13th Gate. It’s a testament to how much room there is to create unique experiences that can be loved by different people for different reasons.
Of the 14 escape rooms featured on the tour, each of these 6 topped at least one player’s list:
- Agent 13, 13th Gate Escape
- French Quarter House of Curiosities, Clue Carré
- Hijacked, Rise
- Inventor’s Attic, Escape My Room
- Spellbound, Rise
- Tomb of Anubis, 13th Gate
Exactly half the featured games rose to the top as favorites. There isn’t one best way to create an escape room!
Creating Community
It was heartwarming to see these folks come together to play games, set records, have fun, share stories of favorite games, and laugh over terrible escape room experiences.
The games are fun, but for us, escape rooms are about the people that we share them with.
We met so many incredible people with different backgrounds, stories, experiences, and other interests.
The Experiment Continues
We’re working on what comes next. Where else can we go? What games will we showcase? What other formats can we tinker with to bring this community together?
The Escape Immerse Explore Tours of New York and New Orleans were both massive experiments… albeit experiments that Lisa and I obsessively thought through, from game line up, to transportation, to the puzzle that we hid in the welcome information and sealed in wax… but it was still mad science.
We thank all of those who popped the stopper off of the Erlenmeyer flask and joined us in drinking this crazy concoction.
Through this we’ve learned so much about player behavior and running events. We have many more ideas for how to deliver an even better experience.
We had the best weekend with all of y’all and we cannot wait to do it again.
If you were not able to attend New York or New Orleans and you would like to receive an email announcement for the next tour, please contact us.
Locked Amsterdam – The Liebermann Conspiracy [Review]
One fine art break-in.
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Date Played: May 6, 2018
Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3-4
Duration: 90 minutes
Price: ranging from €23 per ticket to €41.50 per ticket depending on team size and weekday or evening/weekend
Ticketing: Private
REA Reaction
In The Liebermann Conspiracy we set out on a heist, explored elaborate technological interactions, and navigated through a diverse collection of elegant sets. We saw a lot of things we hadn’t seen before, and had a lot of fun, even when we more or less lost the narrative at the end of the game.
I’m glad that we played this one because we almost didn’t (read on to learn more about that). If you’re in Amsterdam and willing to take a short taxi ride, Locked Amsterdam is a really interesting place to play.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Any experience level
Why play?
- Neat gadgets
- The break-in moments
Story
Journalist Hugo Laanen was hiding after his encounter with the Russian secret service in Locked Amsterdam’s first escape room, The Submarine. While Laanen was maintaining a low profile, he learned of a global conspiracy by the Liebermann Group. Since he was in hiding, he had reached out to us to investigate on his behalf.
Setting
The Liebermann Conspiracy’s sets were especially diverse, each space looking nothing like the previous ones. We began in a raw, yet realistic storage area, and progressed from there.
Gameplay
Locked Amsterdam’s The Liebermann Conspiracy was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching and puzzling.
Analysis
+ We brought our tools with us to break in. And break in we did. These small details made for an exciting opening and supported the narrative.
+ The gamespace was composed of custom construction. This was impressive.
+ We were mesmerized by an in-game gadget and how Locked Amsterdam worked it into this escape room.
+ Locked Amsterdam turned a spatial constraint into an intense in-game moment.
+ We enjoyed many of the puzzles in this escape room.
– A flaw in a technological implementation allowed an observant player on our team to circumvent a major puzzle.
+/- We found three possible solutions to one puzzle. Locked Amsterdam didn’t mind that we hacked together something unintended – and we liked our other solutions better than the intended one – but we wished the intended solution had been less clunky.
– While it started out narratively strong, our sense of world broke down late in the game. The Liebermann Conspiracy evolved into an escape room with puzzles for puzzles’ sake, rather than a puzzle-driven adventure.
+ We traversed multiple sets. Each felt so different from the last. We especially loved one artistic late-game set. It was unexpected, but felt legit.
– The final gamespace felt plain and empty. This contributed to the scene feeling forced and out of place.
– The Liebermann Conspiracy lacked a climatic moment. Its best moments were early on and it didn’t build to a finale.
+ The Liebermann Conspiracy is a 90-minute escape room. While we did spend time waiting for various in-game tech in predominantly linear parts of the game, we didn’t have to feel time pressure because of this.
? Ok… Now for an uncomfortable subject. If we hadn’t enjoyed The Submarine on our last trip to Amsterdam, we would never have booked The Liebermann Conspiracy; we probably would have skipped Locked Amsterdam entirely. In our minds, the name seemed to imply a game related to an anti-Jewish conspiracy theory. Rest assured that this escape room was not anti-Semitic. This was just a name with no stated deeper meaning. Your reaction to the name will likely vary based on whether or not you live in an area where you meet enough Jews to recognize Jewish names. All of that being said, a name change wouldn’t be the worst idea, because I am glad that we played this escape room.
Tips for Visiting
- You’ll have to taxi or Uber from the city center.
- At least one player needs to be able to climb a ladder and move swiftly.
Book your hour with Locked Amsterdam’s The Liebermann Conspiracy, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Don’t Move the Furniture [Escape Room Meme]
If you’re unfamiliar with this image, it has quite the story.
Komnata Quest – Joker’s Cafe [Review]
“Hey kids! Joker here…”
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Date Played: June 18, 2018
Team size: 4-10; we recommend 3-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $35 per ticket on weekdays, $40 per ticket on evenings, $45 per ticket on weekends/holidays
Ticketing: Private
REA Reaction
Joker’s Cafe was a creepy, but approachable escape room. Although neither the beginning nor the ending hit the mark, the majority of the gameplay was entertaining. The puzzles combined with set design, technology, and effects to deliver energetic solves.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Story seekers
- Players with at least some experience
Why play?
- A lot of square footage for New York
- Some strong puzzle moments and effects
Story
The Joker had been luring children into his cafe and using them for his experiments. Since “The Bat” was busy saving other people, our team of GCPD officers had been dispatched to the scene.
Setting
We started on a street corner outside the Joker’s Cafe looking to break into the bubblegum pink candy shop. This bright and eerily friendly setting evolved into someplace more sinister.
Gameplay
Komnata Quest’s Joker’s Cafe was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching and puzzling.
Analysis
+ Jokers Cafe had a large footprint, especially when compared with most other New York City games.
– Komnata Quest had repurposed their former one-person lobby game, Mousetrap, as the opening sequence for Joker’s Cafe. Because this early puzzle structure didn’t engage a larger group, Joker’s Cafe had a lackluster beginning.
+/- Through detailed set design and misdirection, Komnata Quest created a few surprising opens. While we appreciated the concepts, we wished it telegraphed these less.
+ Joker’s Cafe successfully transitioned between different tones. It offered a peek ahead such that more jumpy players could become comfortable with the creepiness to come.
– Joker’s Cafe wasn’t particularly inspiring as a Batman or Joker game. It felt like Komnata Quest could have done a lot more with the theme.
+ Periodically, we’d see interesting puzzle design. One mid-game puzzle had elements that were interesting to combine.
+ Komnata Quest integrated an unusual device into the narrative as a puzzle. This came together soundly.
– In one segment, we searched through quite a bit of unnecessary material. It felt like maybe a puzzle thread had been removed from the game, because these props felt like unresolved puzzles, which led us off the path of gameplay.
– Joker’s Cafe ended anticlimactically. There was a delay before a correct input registered, which left us wondering for just a bit too long whether we’d correctly solved the final puzzle.
– Komnata Quest has become really expensive. Joker’s Cafe was a really good game, but was it $40-$45 per player on evenings, weekends, and holidays good? I’m on the fence about that. New York has a lot of quality games for less money. These prices elevate expectations to heights that Komnata Quest hasn’t delivered.
Tips for Visiting
- Accessible by the G subway and the East River ferry. Street parking only.
- We recommend Paulie Gee’s for pizza and Ovenly for desserts.
- Players need to be able to step over a relatively high barrier.
Book your hour with Komnata Quest’s Joker’s Cafe, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you using the coupon code escapeartist to receive 10% off.
Disclosure: Komnata Quest comped our tickets for this game.
Get Out of Here – The Diamond Heist [Review]
Tune up.
Location: Utrecht, The Netherlands
Date Played: May 7, 2018
Team size: 3-8; we recommend 3-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: ranging from €109 per group to €119 per group depending on team size and weekday or evening/weekend
Ticketing: Private
REA Reaction
The Diamond Heist’s design aesthetic and construction quality were world class. I’m struggling to think of another escape game that hid technology quite as well as The Diamond Heist. Additionally, Get Out of Here’s comic-booky, noir-esque voiceover narration delivered humor and story with incredible efficiency. The catch: cluing and gameflow were shaky at best and left a lot of room for guesswork and approximation.
The Diamond Heist is almost top tier, and with some game design iteration, I have no doubt that Get Out of Here could achieve true greatness.
If you’re in Utrecht, check this one out.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Story seekers
- Scenery snobs
- Any experience level
Why play?
- A unique setting
- Expertly hidden tech
- Beautiful set design
- Neat gadgets
- Surprising reveals
Story
Big Harry and Little Charlie — brothers, business partners, and master thieves — had worked together for years without drama. Charlie, however, had grown to resent that his brother called all of the shots. Their last heist had scored the legendary Ephemeral Diamond and Harry wouldn’t even let Charlie see it… so Charlie had hired us to burglarize it from his big brother.
Setting
Get Out of Here’s The Diamond Heist was set in an automotive garage. The large, detailed space was beautifully designed. It looked and felt real with all of the escape roomy puzzles, interactions, and technology hidden shockingly well.
In preparation for the mission, we were given jumpsuits.
Gameplay
Get Out of Here’s The Diamond Heist was a standard escape room with a high level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around making connections, a little physical activity, and puzzling.
Get Out of Here has two copies of this game, so it is possible to race through these games competitively.
Analysis
+ Get Out of Here’s custom construction was high quality. They built interesting set pieces into their large gamespace.
+ Much of The Diamond Heist was tech-driven. The tech build was high quality and seamlessly hidden. This contributed to our amazement at one particular reveal.
+ The Diamond Heist delivered a few badass reveals. These were incredible moments.
– The Diamond Heist lacked clue structure. Much of the gameplay was presented as interactions rather than puzzles. It became increasingly frustrating to interact with the space and to trigger the dramatic moments.
– At times, we felt like digging for clue structure was akin to pixel hunting. The puzzles and their components felt too small for the large gamespace.
+ We enjoyed one thematically appropriate puzzle that combined information from disparate sources into a substantial and satisfying team puzzle.
– One puzzle required highly precise color perception.
+ The comic book-esque voiceover felt like our inner monologue. The adventure narration delivered narrative progression. This was different and fun.
Tips for Visiting
- Drive 45 minutes from central Amsterdam.
- At least a few players need some basic agility.
- Wear comfortable shoes.
- Don’t wear skirts or dresses as they will make it difficult to put on your jumpsuit.
Book your hour with Get Out of Here’s The Diamond Heist, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Get out of Here comped our tickets for this game.