Lighthearted conglomerated horror flick.
Location: Stamford, CT
Date played: December 3, 2016
Team size: 2-10; we recommend 3-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $30 per ticket
Story & setting
We were abducted by a murderous madman and shut into his closet. The only thing to do was escape.
Although we were escaping our own demise, this wasn’t a scary game. Anything “gory” in this murderer’s home was campy enough to be neither scary nor unsettling. The setting was bright and a few cotton cobwebs away from being a haunted house for children.
Instead of scaring players, Trap’t made nods at horror, adding little Easter eggs that referenced famous movies.
Puzzles
Abducted: Escape from the Madman included many puzzles that flowed logically, one to the next.
The room escape front-loaded the more intense puzzling. While unusual, this worked well.
Standouts
Trap’t designed a game that flowed artfully through a massive set. In this way, Abducted: Escape from the Madman intensified the experience through sheer depth and size without instilling fear.
We really enjoyed a few of the more technologically-triggered interactions and their construction around horror film props. The best parts of this game leaned into horror cliches.
The Easter eggs were a cute touch.
Shortcomings
Some of the cluing was incomplete and demanded a logic leap or two.
While expansive, the set was ultimately bland. The closet gave way to a scarcely furnished house with little ambiance. Trap’t missed an opportunity to instill emotion.
With the name Abducted: Escape from the Madman, it would be easy to make incorrect assumptions about this game. It danced around horror-y themes, but it was never scary nor emotional; it wasn’t the thrill one would expect. Abducted: Escape from the Madman didn’t really know what it was trying to be or how to market itself to the right audience.
Should I play Trap’t’s Abducted: Escape from the Madman?
This was a room escape in the style of elementary school horror. It was a nod to the concept, but it wasn’t actually an embodiment of the genre. It was a game for those who don’t like to be scared, but those folks won’t get the jokes. Ultimately, this escape room was all chuckles and no adrenaline.
Although the set wasn’t much to behold, Trap’t designed the puzzles that kept us racing through to the end. The puzzles truly carried this game. Genre sentiments and expectations notwithstanding, this was a game for people who like to solve puzzles.
The problem is, how do the players understand what this game really is? It seems like those who go in expecting horror will leave disappointed, while those who want to play a solid puzzle game but aren’t keen on frights will outright disregard a game named “Abducted: Escape from the Madman.”
There were some good interactions and puzzles, but this was a game with an identity crisis.
Book your hour with Trap’t’s Abducted: Escape from the Madman, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Full disclosure: Trap’t provided media discounted tickets for this game.
