Update June 14, 2015 – Live Room Escape has renamed itself, “Countdown Live Escape Game.”
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Date played: January 24, 2015
Price: $35 per ticket
Plot
“Once someone enters, the doors lock and the countdown begins. Mr. X was smart enough to hide his work and created several clues. Will you be able to escape from the trap room?”
Aggressive horror
This is a horror themed room. Unlike the horror themed room from Mission Escape Games in NYC, which set a scary tone, but never really crossed the line, this one was actually scary.
They did things that legitimately make you jittery and jumpy.
This was the most interesting aspect of this game. It also made it unique, among room escape games I’ve played.
There is one significant moment in this game that is unique, nerve-racking, and pretty damn cool.
Active employees
The people working the Trap Room really play toy with you.
While you’re in the room, they are working hard.
And for what it’s worth, they are really nice people and passionate about their work; this makes it harder to say that the Trap Room has some serious flaws.
Light spoiler warning
Be warned, there are some light spoilers in this review.
I like to avoid them, but I just can’t write about some of the biggest problems in this room without spoilers.
That being said, the reasons to play this game are for the horror elements, not the puzzles.
Puzzle deficit
The room is filled with stuff… But there aren’t many puzzles to solve.
Most of what’s in the room is useless, and the single biggest challenge of the game is sorting out what actually matters.
Sloppiness
When you do encounter a real puzzle in this game, it’s just sloppy.
Generally in a room escape, when you’ve found the answer to a puzzle, you know how to apply it.
Twice in this game we had an answer, and we knew where it went, but we couldn’t figure out formatting.
The fun of solving a puzzle is in deriving the answer, not in determining whether to orient a letter as a “b” or a “d.”
Waivers, breakables & fairness
Before you even start the game, the owner makes you sign your life away, and agree in writing that if you break anything, you bought it.
It was really dramatic.
When you enter the room, there is a computer with a sign on it that says, “Don’t move the computer.”
While the a computer monitor is not “the computer,” it’s a breakable part of one. There shouldn’t have been something hidden under it. I’m including this spoiler mostly because I think the clue they hide under it should be moved. It’s not a fair place to stash a clue. We followed the rules, and we were punished for it.
Similarly, light and darkness are important in this game, yet the men behind the curtain control the lights.
We missed clues that we would have found if we could control the lights.
There’s an element of fair-play that is lost in this game.
The bottom-line
If you’re looking for an experience akin to an interactive haunted house, this is a lot of fun.
If you’re seeking a room escape that’s going to make you feel like you squared-off against a carefully constructed puzzle, then this is not an experience that I would recommend.
If you’re looking to scratch that horror itch, book your hour with Live Room Escape, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
