Don’t forget to pack your cement shoes.
Location: Massapequa, NY
Date played: March 26, 2017
Team size: up to 12; we recommend 3-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: from $30 per ticket
Story & setting
We entered the home of a mob boss to locate a port and container number in order to intercept contraband cargo.
Underworld took place in a sparsely furnished home. The set pieces and overall aesthetic were largely unremarkable.
Puzzles
Underworld relied on persistent searching.
The puzzling was your typical varied escape room fare.
Standouts
We appreciated one puzzle in particular for the logical connection Just Escape created that wasn’t readily apparent.
Just Escape’s intro video was sassy… in a good way. We really enjoyed it.
Our gamemaster delivered artful, punny hints that led us indirectly to overlooked information.
Shortcomings
The hint delivery seemed inordinately delayed. Just Escape should have these wonderful hints prepared ahead of player request.
Just Escape hadn’t been open more than a few months, and already many of the props showed signs of wear. In one instance, a written clue was entirely rubbed away. They need to be cognizant of maintenance.
One red herring gobbled up a good chunk of our time and attention.
Should I play Just Escape’s Underworld?
Underworld would be a fun beginner game. The setup worked and the room escape flowed logically. The puzzling was pretty standard, with a few more challenging elements. Most solutions led to a lock, yet the volume of locks wasn’t overwhelming.
While I wouldn’t recommend that experienced players go out of their way to visit this escape room, if you’re new to escape rooms, or you have some friends on Long Island you’d like to initiate, Underworld wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
Book your hour with Just Escape’s Underworld, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Full disclosure: Just Escape comped our tickets for this game.
Although I agree with most of your review, and feel this is one of the better (if not best) rooms that Just Escape offers, I felt there were certain puzzles that you had to make a few leaps in your judgement to figure out. Or ones that you wouldn’t have been able to figure out without hints. I know they have a hard limit of 3 hints but when I did this game with my boyfriend, I felt our gamemaster was actually like a 3rd player in the room with us helping us along the way, especially when some of the clues were not relative to the game. I’m thinking of one instance in particular towards the end of the game but will not give any spoilers away to those who haven’t played it yet. I did enjoy this room a lot. It is good for beginners and the puzzle is relatively linear. Good review 🙂
Thanks Brittany. I can’t disagree that things got a little logic leapy at times.
We didn’t have the same experience with the gamemaster. One of the funny things about escape room reviewing is that each experience can vary a lot between individual games. We ultimately review the games as they are for us.
Exactly. Was just offering my experience in regards to your review 🙂
I’m glad you did. I hope my response didn’t come across as standoff-ish (reading it now, it might have).