Room Escape Artist

Red Alert is one of the best games in Los Angeles. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms in Los Angeles.

[At the time of this review Red Alert was called P.U.T.I.N. Bunker.]

No one makes fun of Russians like Russians.

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Date played: October 14, 2016

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $26 – $40 per ticket, depending on the number of players

Story & setting

Vladimir Putin has been deposed and plans to take the world with him: he has activated Russia’s nuclear codes. We accessed his private bunker and had, you guessed it, 60 minutes to disable the launch sequence.

The entire game was a parody of Putin and many Russian stereotypes. It was strange, yet genuinely funny.

The set was reasonably well-designed with solid props and construction. The game opted for a comical environment over an attempt at immersive storytelling, which worked well.

Puzzles

The puzzles were the star of the game. They were hands-on, inventive, on-theme, and funny. They didn’t tell a story, but they were interesting, unusual, entertaining, and approachable.

Standouts

The puzzles were a pleasure to solve. They were innovative, tactile, and humorous.

While the P.U.T.I.N Bunker was not as beautiful or immersive as some of the other games we experienced in Los Angeles, it brought a levity that we were starved for after a week of mostly horror and serial killer games. (LA has tons of these.)

60 Out dedicated a significant segment of the game to a single joke. It was a bold and unusual move that I truly appreciated.

Shortcomings

One prop was unusually finicky and required an unreasonably amount of care to execute.

This is one of the stranger criticisms we’ve ever had for a game: one of the puzzles was racially insensitive. It wasn’t a bad puzzle. It wasn’t at all hateful, but it seemed tone deaf in a year that is charged with racial politics. If I had to guess, this was more than likely the product of a cultural misunderstanding.

Should I play 60 Out Escape Rooms’ P.U.T.I.N. Bunker?

P.U.T.I.N Bunker was a ton of fun. It was quirky, humorous, tactile, puzzley fun.

This was our fourth game with 60 Out and they have consistently demonstrated strong puzzle and interaction design. Additionally, they understand how to build a puzzle-centric game with flow, which allows them to produce stellar experiences.

Play it for the puzzles, the humor, and the fun.

Book your hour with 60 Out Escape Rooms’ P.U.T.I.N. Bunker, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Full disclosure: 60 Out Escape Rooms provided media discounted tickets for this game.