The Book of Souls is one of the best games in Denver. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms in Denver.
Locks and monk-keys.
Location: Littleton, CO
Date Played: September 27, 2021
Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 2-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $35 per player for 2-3 players, $31 per player for 4-6 players
Ticketing: Private
Accessibility Consideration: 1 player needs to fit in a small space
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
Mystic Escape Room’s The Book of Souls was a lovely take on a traditional escape room format, elevated by polished puzzle interactions, subtly magical tech, and a transportive set.
When Lisa and David reviewed Mystic Escape Room’s older room The Amulet of Time in 2019, they commented that “one or two reveals were screaming for some magic.” In The Book of Souls, Mystic Escape Room significantly upped their tech and production game, and there were mounds of magic to go around. We played The Amulet of Time and The Book of Souls back-to-back, and while we enjoyed both rooms, we were astounded by just how much Mystic Escape Room refined their designs with The Book of Souls.
The Book of Souls is a hidden gem and regional must-play escape room. Escape room enthusiasts would especially savor The Book of Souls as a duo or trio given the intimacy and flow of the experience.
Who is this for?
- Puzzle lovers
- Scenery snobs
- Any experience level
- Small teams
Story
We entered an abandoned monastery known to hide the Book of Souls. If we could locate the book and return it to its secret sanctum, we had a chance to dispel an ancient curse and free the souls — but only until the book closed for the next 100 years.
Setting
The Book of Souls took place in an abandoned monastery. The set was compact and efficiently used; it felt intimate and magical rather than cramped. Warm low lighting seeping in from above enhanced the feeling that we were in a small secret annex of an old stone building.
Gameplay
Mystic Escape Room’s The Book of Souls was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around puzzling and making connections.
Analysis
➕ The Book of Souls made great use of a small space. The set was alluring and immersive, with some small artful touches that helped transport us to a serene and slightly eerie old monastery.
➕ The puzzle flow was smooth, satisfying, and mostly linear. There was a nice variety of puzzle types which all made sense for the theme. A number of puzzle interactions provided magical moments where they mattered most.
➕ The Book of Souls hit the sweet spot of low lighting that provided ambience but still allowed for sufficient visibility. Some small tea candles helped fill in some darker corners of the room.
➕ The sound design in The Book of Souls was lovely. Ambient audio set just the right tone for an old monastery, and it was well mixed with other audio cues tied into specific puzzles. The soundtrack was also timed to ensure the right buildup in energy going into the endgame.
➕/➖ We had fun interacting with a musical puzzle, though some extra dampers could have made it slightly easier to play just one note at a time.
➕ The Book of Souls included a range of input mechanisms, from a few standard locks to some more interesting custom ones. A set of chunky wall-mounted discs were especially well fabricated, with a satisfying “click” on each rotation to a new symbol.
➖ One puzzle was precisely positioned to provide the right perspective, but a more opaque material could have made it easier to see what we needed to see.
➕/➖ We found a narrative-centric twist on a common escape room puzzle type to be quite attractive. However, the physical build of this side of the set wasn’t up to the aesthetic of the rest of the room.
➖ Certain compartment reveals could have used better signaling. After confirming a puzzle answer, we were sometimes left searching for what had just opened up.
➖ Red “do not touch” stickers stuck out in an otherwise consistently immersive environment.
➕ We were enthralled by a rather ethereal ending. A clever combination of effects made for the perfect climax to the atmosphere, flow, and story of this room.
Tips For Visiting
- We found street parking nearby.
- There are lots of cute restaurants and shops in this neighborhood.
Book your hour with Mystic Escape Room’s The Book of Souls, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Mystic Escape Room comped our tickets for this game.
