A stay with piece of mind
Location: Thornton, CO
Date Played: November 3, 2022
Team size: 2-6; we recommend 2-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: from $40 per player for teams of 2 to $30 per player for teams of 5-8
Ticketing: Private
Accessibility Consideration: Players may turn on fluorescent lights for vision needs or to remove the fear
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
I’m a big fan of what 303 Escape is doing and if you want to learn more about this, you should absolutely start with my review of Chapter 1: Room 303 as Chapter 2: Dark Heart of the Hotel is a continuation of that story and experience.
If you’ve played and enjoyed Chapter 1, then you’ll love this game. It was a sequel and continuation in every sense.
And if you’re a traveling escape room player, you should just book both. You don’t have to do it back-to-back as there isn’t an in-game bridge between the two chapters, but you should play them sequentially.
I look forward to Chapter 3 when it eventually arrives.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Scenery snobs
- Serial killer and HH Holmes fans
- Any experience level
Why play?
- You’ve already played Chapter 1
- It continues where the first game left off, in every way
- If you liked Chapter 1, you’ll enjoy Chapter 2
Story
Having narrowly escaped Room 303 we were loose in the hotel hoping to find evidence that would prove to the police that the proprietor was, in fact, alive and still murdering people.
Setting
The set had us exploring more of the hotel and its various nooks and crannies. It felt like a continuation of the set from the first game, although at points it felt a bit more built around Halloween scare props.
Gameplay
303 Escape’s Chapter 2: Dark Heart of the Hotel was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty and a bit of horror.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.
Analysis
➕ Pretty much everything that I said about Chapter 1 applies to Chapter 2 (except for the thing about the phone.) The lobby intro, the fully realized world, the set design, and the light switch that removes the horror… all of this applied to Chapter 2.
➕ The interconnected story between Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 was unusual and added to the experience.
➖ The intro area was a bit cramped.
➖ Maybe we missed a step or something, but one puzzle seemed unusually opinionated about how we input the solution.
➕/➖ There were a number of puzzles that were crafty and fun… while lacking a clear justification in the narrative.
➕ Similar to the phone in Chapter 1, the videos in Chapter 2 were entertaining to explore.
Tips For Visiting
- There is a parking lot. After parking you have you walk around the building to enter.
- Both Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 were set in the same world, and I strongly recommend playing them in sequential order. (The experiences don’t flow straight through, so you don’t need to book them immediately back to back.) There will be a Chapter 3.
Book your hour with 303 Escape’s Chapter 2: Dark Heart of the Hotel, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: 303 Escape comped our tickets for this game.
