Room Escape Artist

They see me rolling

Location:  Indianapolis, IN

Date Played: September 24, 2022

Team Size: 2-7; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $22.99 to $42.99 per player depending on player count

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit

Physical Restraints: [A] Pull to Release

REA Reaction

The Kidnapping is one of Breakout Games’ oldest games, yet it still delivers fun, mild horror, and old-school escape room gameplay, tied together with a novel opening sequence. As a good foray into the basics of escape rooms and the concept of a horror game, The Kidnapping was a fluid experience from beginning to end. The amount of similar input locks was overwhelming, yet the puzzles solved cleanly to allow for more time to map each input correctly. 

The opening sequence of The Kidnapping was the strongest part. Breakout forced players to think on their feet and roll around for a new perspective on what would otherwise be an uninteresting search puzzle. 

One of the most impressive aspects of The Kidnapping was our gamemaster. They were oddly soothing in a weird situation, and allowed our players to feel at ease while entering an unknown and potentially uncomfortable situation. 

If you’re heading to any Breakout location for a few games, The Kidnapping is a good addition to your trip, especially if you’re newer to escape rooms or looking to try out a creepier theme. For folks playing at the Indianapolis location, we recommend playing CLUE over The Kidnapping, unless you don’t know the board game or really want a darker theme.

Who is this for?

• Players of any experience level 
• Puzzle fans 
• Light horror fans 

Why play?

• Unique opening sequence with a clever setup
• Old-school escape room gameplay 
• To dip your toe in horror

Story

Like any typical night, we found ourselves locked up in a strange room. Knowing our kidnapper would be back in the hour, we had to free ourselves and escape or face our unfortunate demise. 

Setting

The Kidnapping was set in a dark, dingy room with low lighting and brick walls. It had an unusual centerpiece that was creatively integrated in early gameplay. 

Gameplay

Breakout’s The Kidnapping was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty. 

Core gameplay revolved around puzzling, searching, observing, making connections, and teamwork. 

Analysis

➕ The Kidnapping opened with a clever concept to pull the bounds of gameplay in a few new directions. This element was quite fun, but could be bypassed quickly if the right teammate observes their surroundings. 

➕ Breakout has removed blindfolds from the experience, asking players to close their eyes on the honor system. This made us more comfortable, alleviating worries about the cleanliness level of said blindfolds. 

❓ Once the opening sequence was completed, the room was entirely generic gameplay. 

➕ The gameplay was clear, with logical cluing and smooth solves. 

➖ That being said, the amount of locks of similar inputs stalled us for longer than the actual gameplay did. 

➕ A mid-game “jump scare” was quite fun for everyone, whether observing or interacting. This interaction had our team giggling at the helping hand. 

❓/➖ The lighting stemmed from only a single (albeit bright) desk lamp. If you struggle with low light, this game could be incredibly frustrating.

➕ Breakout used a typical escape room trope under a new light which looked great in the setting. 

➖ There were some unlabeled, unused holes in the wall not part of any puzzle. These holes were either a ghost puzzle or an oversight, but they stalled gameplay for longer than necessary. 

❓ The Kidnapping was not a scary game, but would be a great way to on-board into scarier games. If you’re looking for true horror, this is not the game for you. 

Tips For Visiting

• There is plenty of parking on-site 

Book your hour with Breakout’s The Kidnapping, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Breakout Games provided media discounted tickets for this game.