Sanguine.
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Date Played: January 8, 2018
Team size: up to 12; we recommend 4-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $29.95 per ticket
REA Reaction
Dracula’s Castle was a search-and-puzzle escape room with a narrative twist: from introduction to conclusion, our gamemaster was an off-stage character in our experience. Mystery Escape Room had some shaky execution, but their inventive and humorous game delivery was impressive.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Dracula fans
- Any experience level
- Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
Why play?
- The puzzles
- Dramatic moments
- The gamemaster
Story
Who knew Abraham Van Helsing wasn’t a closer? He thought he had slain Count Dracula, but the legendary vampire continued to draw blood. We were asked to invade Dracula’s castle under cover of sunlight to finish what Van Helsing couldn’t.
Setting
Dracula’s Castle was dimly lit and lined with stone walls. Most of the light entered from a couple of stained glass window and our lanterns. Count Dracula’s coffin rested in the middle of the space.
Gameplay
Dracula’s Castle had a standard search-and-puzzle escape room structure with an emphasis on narrative and magical happenings.
All of the gameplay was overseen by our incredibly attentive and hilarious in-character but out-of-room gamemaster. He remained a regular audible presence throughout the experience.
Standouts
Our introduction to Dracula’s Castle was phenomenal. It was informative, engaging, and humorous.
Our gamemaster was a character in our experience. Although offstage for the duration of the game clock, his verbal interactions were helpful and amusing. He was an integral part of Dracula’s Castle.
The puzzles flowed well.
The dark set was appropriately ominous and felt castle-y.
The conclusion balanced intensity and humor. It worked well.
Shortcomings
The set was too dark. The perpetually inadequate lighting turned otherwise fun puzzles frustrating.
When we solved a puzzle, we couldn’t always find the resulting open. Especially given the darkness, Mystery Escape Room could build more feedback into tech-driven opens, in the form of lighting, sound, or movement.
We had to stop and read a lot. We would have preferred more variety in clue structure and more clueing born of the environment.
One involved puzzle overstayed its welcome.
Tips for Visiting
- Mystery Escape Room is located in The Gateway. There are a few restaurant options in the complex.
- There is a paid parking garage in The Gateway complex.
- Mind your gamemaster for both help and amusement.
Book your hour with Mystery Escape Room’s Dracula’s Castle, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Mystery Escape Room comped our tickets for this game.
