✅ Passed Inspection
Location: Warwick, RI
Date Played: July 10, 2022
Team size: 3-10; we recommend 2-4 (due to physical constraints, not gameplay constraints… details below)
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $29 per player
Ticketing: Private
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
We’ve been playing Riddle Room games since their humble beginnings. Back when we played our first escape room with this company, if you had told me that they were going to make something as big and ambitious as Rocky Point Park… I would have thought it impossible. But here it is.
I can officially declare that Riddle Room has outgrown their building… both in terms of game design and prop construction.
With the exception of a middle act that dragged through some repetitive and understated gameplay… Rocky Point Park felt like a declaration that Riddle Room wants to build grand, imaginative, and outlandish adventures. It was a great time.
It was interesting to see the novel ways that they found to fit their giant props into a relatively small space. There was a lot happening in this game, and the most impressive moments served to punctuate the experience.
Riddle Room’s latest games are unique in form, story, and function. I never would have bet on this company, but they have emerged as a strong regional player, and the trajectory of their games and ambition suggest that they are only getting started. If you’re in the Rhode Island area, come check this one out.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Amusement park fans
- Best for players with at least some experience
Why play?
- Unusual setting and aesthetic
- Some nifty and uncommon interactions
Story
The owners of the long defunct Rocky Point Park were trying to bring it back to life. As ride inspectors, we needed to investigate and evaluate their work to see if the amusement park could ride again.
Setting
Rocky Point Park was sort of a best-of hodgepodge of amusement park attractions. The attractions themselves didn’t exist in full, but intriguing bits and pieces of them were represented throughout the experience. The effect was unique and resonant.
Riddle Room also worked in practical effects that really drove home where you were and delivered on the promise of the amusement park location… even if it was in smaller ways than the real thing.
Gameplay
Riddle Room’s Rocky Point Park was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around observing, making connections, communicating, and solving puzzles.
Analysis
➕ The set was delightful. It felt like we were at an amusement park… or rather, inside a cartoon of an amusement park. Riddle Room toyed with expectations. It was almost like they built each set piece or prop at a different scale, but from the same aesthetic blueprint. It was weird and it worked.
➖ Space was cramped. The puzzles had us reaching and tossing at uncomfortable angles.
➕ The puzzles were well clued. The gameplay flowed well.
➕ In the middle of act one, there was a high energy puzzle that had the whole team racing. The winner received a little prize – totally unnecessary, but I bet it brings a lot of joy.
➖ The gameplay dragged in the middle act. Whereas most of the gameplay was extremely varied, in this section multiple puzzles of the same style became repetitive and our energy dipped.
➕ We enjoyed it when our actions early in the game came back later on. Although this was telegraphed, we didn’t know how it would be implemented later… and it was pretty fun. We were excited to see how it would play out. Plus, the mechanic was narratively justified.
➖ The video work and the acting weren’t on the same level as the rest of the experience.
➖ There was a solo moment with no payoff. It might only be a solo moment due to space constraints, but there was an opportunity to make that interaction into something more for a single player.
➕/➖ The last scene of Rocky Point Park made a splash. This was exciting, but unfortunately it drowned out the audio, and the final interaction was a weak ending in comparison.
Tips For Visiting
- There is a parking lot.
Book your hour with Riddle Room’s Rocky Point Park, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Riddle Room comped our tickets for this game.
