“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” – Edgar Allan Poe
Location: North Tonawanda, NY
Date played: April 30, 2017
Team size: up to 8; we recommend 4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $22.50 per ticket
Story & setting
It was 1849 and Edgar Allan Poe had just passed away. We snuck into his home to pay our respects and found ourselves locked in his office. Could we escape his final project and puzzle our way to freedom, or remain trapped forever more?
Staged within Poe’s office, the set was simple yet elegant.
Puzzles
The puzzling was a series of ciphers and literary references-turned-puzzles, all of which were more than at home in a Poe-themed room escape.
Standouts
Escape Room Adventures WNY did a beautiful job of translating a number of Poe references into puzzles. One early interaction was exceptionally inventive.
The ending was similarly brilliant.
Shortcomings
There was a run of tedious puzzles in the middle of Escape from The Raven’s Room that did not live up to the excitement and innovation of the early- and late-game interactions.
There were too many locks with similar digit structures. This made it occasionally difficult to tell which answers went where.
Should I play Escape Room Adventures WNY’s Escape from The Raven’s Room?
Escape from The Raven’s Room had some of the most elegant literary references-turned-puzzles that I’ve seen to date. There were some brilliant moments within this escape room that I absolutely loved.
That said, Escape from The Raven’s Room also felt incomplete. It left me wanting more of the magnificent literature-inspired puzzling that I know Escape Room Adventures WNY is capable of creating.
If you like Poe’s work, it’s absolutely worth giving Escape from The Raven’s Room a playthrough, regardless of your skill level.
If you aren’t familiar with Poe, you’ll still be able to appreciate some of Escape Room Adventures WNY’s design decisions, but you will miss things.
If Escape Room WNY were to bring the middle section of Escape from The Raven’s Room up to the level of the opening and closing, it would be a truly magnificent experience. I hope that they do it.
Book your hour with Escape Room Adventures WNY’s Escape from The Raven’s Room, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Full disclosure: Escape Room Adventures WNY comped our tickets for this game.
