Noisy hill.
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Date Played: June 18, 2018
Team size: 2-8; we recommend 3-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $30 per ticket on weekdays, $35 per ticket on evenings, $40 per ticket on weekends/holidays
Ticketing: Private
REA Reaction
City of Ashes was a search-heavy, pseudo-horror escape room in a dim lighting. It had a few interesting set pieces, and a strong final sequence, but none of that could make up for the general dullness of the game itself.
Having played all of the games that Komnata Quest currently offers in New York City, I can comfortably recommend that you play any of their other offerings ahead of this one. It’s not a disaster, but it’s well beneath Komnata Quest’s potential. Skip it.
Who is this for?
- Komnata Quest completionists
Why play?
- A great final puzzle sequence.
Story
Teed up as a Silent Hill escape game, we approached an empty city devoid of life to investigate.
Setting
We removed our blindfolds to take in the dim, gritty, and just a bit gory surroundings. We traversed a number of sets, each quite different from the next, but none particularly inviting.
Gameplay
Komnata Quest’s The City of Ashes was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching and puzzling, with emphasis on searching.
Analysis
– City of Ashes felt like cheap horror. It was grim, but not really scary. The dimness was more frustrating than fear-inducing.
+ A few detailed set pieces looked great.
– City of Ashes required substantial searching in low light. We continuously tripped up because we hadn’t found the item we needed to complete a puzzle.
– The puzzles lacked clue structure and feedback. There was a puzzle that we solved, but had no idea how or why.
– We couldn’t properly hear the audio track over the ambient noise. If it held any clue structure or story, it was impossible to make out.
– City of Ashes overtelegraphed one of its most interesting moments.
+ The concluding segment was shockingly good.
– I can’t recommend this game at $30 per ticket, and the $35 per ticket during the evenings and $40 per ticket on weekends and holidays is unjustifiable.
Disclosure: Komnata Quest comped our tickets for this game.
