Here is the church…
Location: Dallas, TX
Date Played: March 30, 2022
Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 2-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $36 per player
Ticketing: Private
Game Breakage: As far as we and our gamemaster could tell, one puzzle did not display correctly on a monitor.
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
7 Deadly Sins held thematic and narrative promise, enticing us with the lore of Crickley’s Church and its haunting past. Indeed, much of the set and the puzzles lived up to that potential. We enjoyed the initial the decor, appreciated various prop-supported puzzles, and recognized many of the story points foretold in the introduction. These features were not without flaws, but overall this was a fairly elaborate production for Escapology.
However, the room began to falter about midway and didn’t fully recover. One puzzle seemed to malfunction due to technical issues, making it impossible to sync our experience with the expected behavior. The theming for other puzzles expanded in nonsensical ways. Lastly, we found an underwhelming final set compared to previous spaces. We still enjoyed the puzzles therein, but evidence of 1-2 ghost puzzles made us wonder if the conclusion had been simplified, losing some of the promised adventure. We expected to work harder for our goal, but much was just given to us.
Nonetheless, this seemed to have the bones of a stronger room and had certain standout aspects among Escapology games. It would be interesting to compare notes across different locations.
Who is this for?
- Story seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Scenery snobs
- Best for players with at least some experience
Why play?
- Good for a vaguely creepy but timely experience around Halloween
- From a puzzle, set, and story perspective, this is one of Escapology’s better games
Story
Long ago, an evil minister poisoned the entire congregation of Crickley Church as punishment for their sins, simultaneously cursing their descendants to die, one-by-one, Halloween-by-Halloween. Guess what…we’re descendants, and it’s Halloween! Our only hope to defeat the curse was to return to the minister’s church, open its crypt, and drive a dagger through his body before midnight.
Even though this story focused on a minister and his church, it did not have heavy religious content. It did refer to symbols from several different traditions, but the hodgepodge left it decidedly muddled as a result.
Setting
We began our quest in the graveyard outside of Crickley Church. It was decorated lushly and realistically, though it was notably compact. Lighting was realistically dim, but teams can choose to turn on the room lights.
This would be a hard space to negotiate with more than four players, and even then it would be cramped. As the experience progressed, space became more abundant, but the ambiance decreased somewhat in realism and coherence.
Gameplay
Escapology’s 7 Deadly Sins was a standard escape room with a moderate to high level of difficulty.
Puzzles involved observation, making connections, and dexterity.
Analysis
➕ This room had an intriguing, complex premise that carried throughout the experience.
➕ Several puzzles relied on collecting and manipulating props.
➖ Though attractively skinned, the more “classic” escape room puzzles were not deeply tied to the theme. They said “outdoors” more than “cursed church grounds.”
➕ The room included several multi-layered puzzles that were challenging and fun to piece together, though a couple connections were a stretch.
➖ One puzzle was unclear, even after requesting all of the available hints (including the answer).
➕ We enjoyed the reveals, simple though they were. They satisfied the story line.
➖ There seemed to be one or more ghost puzzles in the final act. These coincided with an anticlimactic conclusion that glossed over some of the promised story points, making us wonder if the room had been simplified over time.
➖ The puzzles and set included a vast hodgepodge of cultural and religious symbols, mixing many different traditions. I wondered whether any usages were disrespectful, but at the very least the conglomeration was jarring and undermined the room’s realism.
😈 Despite the name of the room, the seven deadly sins played a trivial role in the gameplay. You’ll have to look elsewhere for lust, pride, and so forth.
Tips For Visiting
- Here are a couple of parking options:
- Free street parking is available, limited to two hours.
- There is a parking garage directly behind Escapology Victory Park. Escapology will validate two hours of parking.
Book your hour with Escapology’s 7 Deadly Sins, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
These issues were the same issues back in March of 2020 right before the pandemic hit. I hate it when escape room owners don’t care enough about their product to fix them WHEN they become an issue as opposed to putting a bandaid on or worse, do nothing.
Thanks for the additional perspective. We had hoped that the mid-game breakage was recent because it was so confounding and prevented forward movement. The other issues, by comparison, were tolerable…just disappointing. Regardless, there was plenty of room for improvement, and we agree that it’s unfortunate if it has persisted this long.