Green Light Escape Room – Brewery Heist [Review]

Indiana Jones and the Last Call

Location:  Wilmington, NC

Date Played: September 26, 2021

Team Size: 3; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $26 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: some ducking and crawling required of at least one player

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

A modern-day prohibition had dried up our beer supply, and it was up to our intrepid team to break into the last remaining beer reserve and save ourselves from this horrific, beer-free existence. On this premise, the game delivered strongly, right from the beginning. The set offered immersive bar vibes with large, carefully crafted wooden set pieces that made me feel I was at an unpretentious local watering hole. The puzzles in the first part of the game contributed to this immersion, including one very satisfying solve about halfway through gameplay. The narrative gets a bit muddier, even confusing, as the story continues, but nonetheless continues to build immersion in the world it creates.

Overall, this game could benefit from some polish to the set and the decor, and refinement to a few puzzles, but in sum did deliver both fun and value for our group.

5 beer barrels stacked, each with their own wooden label identifying them.

Who is this for?

  • Adventure seekers
  • Bar hoppers
  • Fans of quirky storylines
  • Scenery snobs
  • Best for players with at least some experience
  • Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Story

Prohibition is back, and with the beer supply having run dry, our team was to break into the place rumored to have some in reserve.

Setting

The set had an immersive, bar-like vibe to it, amplified by large wooden set pieces and bar decor. Detracting from this immersion were lots of paper puzzles and hand-written clues (in Sharpie) on some of the beautiful wood pieces.

A wooden sign that reads, "Beer," and is shaped like a barrel hung from the ceiling.

Gameplay

Green Light Escape Room’s Brewery Heist was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay centered on searching, making observations, and varied puzzle types.

Analysis

➕ The wooden pieces of the set design were great to look at, fun to interact with, and demonstrated a lot of effort on the part of the creator.

➖ Aspects of the set looked unpolished, including messy Sharpie writing on various pieces. There were also many paper items, some printed and some hand written, that lacked visual finesse. These elements detracted from the immersion and scale offered by the set as a whole, and minor changes could yield a big return in player experience.

A wooden beer-tap closed with a combination lock, in hand written marker it reads, "Open to Public."

➕ There were a few great puzzle solves in this game, utilizing several puzzle styles, that strongly advanced the narrative and were very enjoyable.

➖ One point in the game bottlenecked with several locks and cumbersome paper puzzles, which slowed momentum and became tedious.

❓ The narrative started out strong but shifted into territory that didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I leave this as a question mark because there are plenty of players that appreciate a meandering storyline and may enjoy where this game ultimately takes them.

➕ Brewery Heist was a very full experience packed with content that offered great value to players.

Tips For Visiting

Green Light’s location in the Riverfront District of Wilmington is very convenient to several breweries and restaurants, and we easily found street parking.

Book your hour with Green Light Escape Room’s Brewery Heist, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

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