Time to Float!
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Date Played: July 16, 2023
Team Size: Up to 10; we recommend 4-5 (for practical reasons) or 7 (if you want to call your team Lucky Seven)
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $54.99 per player (General Public Admission); $74.99 per player (Private VIP – minimum of four tickets required)
Ticketing: Public, with Private VIP ticketing available
Accessibility Consideration: You’ll experience dim lighting, loud noises, and fog. At least one person needs to crawl.
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
I’m a lifelong Stephen King fan, and his novel IT is one of my favorite stories in his prolific body of work. Often revered as a horror masterpiece, it’s also a timeless story about the struggle between good and evil, and the magic of friendship, told through the lens of beloved characters. I frequently return to my well-worn copy of IT to reread my favorite passages. When I heard that Egan Escape Productions had created an immersive adventure based on the 2017 movie adaptation IT Chapter 1 and its 2019 sequel IT Chapter 2, I was excited to try it.
Given my love for the source material, I knew it was important to go into this experience with tempered expectations, and I really appreciated how Egan Escape Productions approached it; they picked a very specific aspect of the story to bring to life (the 2017 and 2019 movie adaptations), leaned heavily on the horror element, and sought to immerse the participant in a life-size creation of the most iconic scenes from the story. On these fronts, they dazzled. The scenery and scare factor were the stars of this experience, with puzzling taking a backseat.
Escape IT: Chapter 1’s public ticketing system and 10-person capacity per timeslot means that the quality of your experience is highly dependent on who joins your group and how compatible your playing styles are. On several occasions, there was also not enough content (or enough space) to engage 10 people at once. If you’re looking for more control, then it’s best to bring ten of your own teammates or book VIP for a smaller group.
Ultimately, Escape IT: Chapter 1 achieved its goal of transporting players to another world and provided a series of well-paced adrenaline rushes. It’s well worth visiting (unless you’re afraid of clowns).
Who is this for?
- Fans of Stephen King’s IT (both the novel and the movie adaptations)
- Horror game aficionados
- Players who want to feel like they’re in a movie
- Adventure seekers
- Scenery snobs
- Fans of haunts
- Players with some experience
- Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle or interaction
- Players who aren’t disturbed by horror-themed effects
- Players who don’t mind actors in the gamespace
Why play
- Impressive, immersive set design, including spaces that mimic those featured in the movie adaptations of IT
- Large-scale interactions
- The adrenaline rush
Story
We took a journey through the eerie town of Derry, Maine, where nothing was as it seemed and several children had gone missing. Could we face our greatest fears and stand toe-to-toe with a sinister, ageless presence before it could wreak further havoc on the town?
Setting
The gamespace featured key locations from the novel and the movie adaptations, including some that directly mimicked sets in IT Chapter One and IT Chapter Two. It was large and ominous, with clear attention to detail.
Gameplay
Escape IT: Chapter1 was a highly immersive escape room with a moderate level of difficulty, exacerbated by the distractions of standard horror-themed special effects.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing details, and making connections. On a few occasions, puzzles were collaborative and required several members of the team to participate.
As a pipelined experience, teams moved through multiple rooms at timed intervals.
Analysis
➕ The immersion into the world of Derry, Maine (the fictional town where IT takes place) began the minute I drove into the parking lot, where the building and signage were styled to look like locations within the town. The immersion continued throughout the experience, where I sometimes felt like I was on the set of one of the movie adaptations of IT. The entire space did a great job of building a world around the players.
➕ The pacing of the game was excellent. Right when we were getting comfortable or were heavily focused on a puzzle, another jolt of urgency arrived.
➖ The experience did not have enough puzzle content to keep 10 players engaged at any given time. In some cases, there wasn’t enough space for everyone to gather around a puzzle. This resulted in a lot of down time for a majority of the group at certain points.
➕ The game did offer a few collaborative puzzles where it was necessary to engage multiple members of the team, which helped more members of the team get involved in solving.
➖ Escape IT: Chapter 1 operates on a public ticketing system, and playing with strangers exacerbated the tension and communication challenges that often arise in horror-themed/ adrenaline-filled experiences. Egan Escape Productions fully disclosed upfront that I was purchasing a public ticket. However, if I had it to do over, I would go with the VIP private experience.
➕ Fans of the IT novel and movies will be delighted by some small Easter eggs and references scattered throughout the experience.
❓ Our in-game actor gave us a lot of help in the first few sections of the game, so we politely requested that he give us a chance to solve puzzles first before offering hints. He graciously agreed and the rest of the game went well. Other teams may appreciate this kind of help.
➕ Escape IT: Chapter 2 is now open. (It was not open when I played Chapter 1.) If you’re so inclined, you can play both games in the same day.
Tips For Visiting
- Parking: There is a parking lot. Pay close attention to the street address.
- ID: Valid identification is required to enter.
- Age: The experience isn’t recommended for anyone under the age of 16, and parental supervision may be required. Check before you book if you have minors in your party.
- Food: Escape IT Chapter 1 is a five-minute drive to famous Fremont Street where you will find casinos, bars, restaurants, hotels and attractions such as ziplining.
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