The average crime.
Location: New York, NY
Date played: November 27, 2016
Team size: up to 12; we recommend 3-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $31 per ticket
Story & setting
We were in a detective’s office investigating a crime. We needed to determine whodunit, before they got us too.
This was a standard, mundane office setting with locks all over.
Puzzles
Escape Room Madness relied on common escape room puzzle tactics. The Perfect Crime combined a lot of escape room cliches with a few less standard puzzle executions.
Standouts
One particular puzzle’s output was especially elegant.
The game flow was clear.
Shortcomings
The Perfect Crime’s story arc was flat. At no point did we feel a sense of urgency or heightened stakes.
Escape Room Madness relied on multiple locks with identical input structures, which further flattened the emotional experience of the game.
Tons of details were ultimately useless.
We didn’t need to be in this particular office to solve The Perfect Crime. The escape room could have been equally dramatic, perhaps more dramatic, if it had come in a box for at-home play. The environment was simply a container rather than part of a story.
Should I play Escape Room Madness’ The Perfect Crime?
The Perfect Crime wasn’t a bad game. The puzzles made sense and flowed clearly from one to another. Everything worked.
That said, it wasn’t an exciting room escape either. The environment didn’t contribute to the experience. It never created anything from all that puzzling.
If you’re a new player, looking for an approachable and non-threatening place to start out in Midtown Manhattan, The Perfect Crime is fine. However, there are far more exciting room escapes to experience.
Escape Room Madness is a company with potential. They understand game flow; they got a lot of the basics right. It was clear that they care. If they are willing to push themselves to produce a game that makes a statement, they could grow into a viable competitor in the Midtown Manhattan market.
Book your hour with Escape Room Madness’ The Perfect Crime, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Full disclosure: Escape Room Madness provided media discounted tickets for this game.
