Smells Like Teen Spirit
Location: San Antonio, TX
Date Played: August 29, 2023
Team Size: 2-12; we recommend 2-6
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $36 per player
Ticketing: Private
Accessibility Consideration: N/A
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
Depending on your experience of the 90s, this room may trigger either intense nostalgia or an intense urge to tidy up. For guys who came of age in that decade, this will feel familiar; my husband still owns half the stuff in this room. I, on the other hand, experienced it as a messy bedroom, and it felt almost too close to snooping through my own brother’s laundry. It was authentic to its core, but you can decide if that appeals to you.
The gameplay itself was purpose-driven and fun to unwind. This was a sleuthing game laid before us by a sly teenage rockstar trying to outwit his parents. The puzzles reflected this situation well, often giving the sense that we were following a real trail that a teenager would actually leave. The puzzles reasonably led one to another after we figured out how to start, culminating in a simple yet fun finale that checked our work.
The main flaw in the flow was that the room bordered on information overload. So much ambiance came from dense cultural media references that it was hard to know what was in play. Ultimately, the experience was more guided than not, but there was enough searching that we couldn’t fully trust it to lead the way. Hence, we occasionally wasted time on rabbit trails.
Even so, this was a solid, lighthearted good time that’s worth a visit for San Antonioans looking to relive the past.
Who is this for?
- Story seekers
- Scenery snobs
- Teenagers of the 90s
- Any experience level
Why play?
- To relive a bit of your youth, if this was your youth
- To play a simple mystery game
Story
It was the late ’90s, and our older brother had been playing in a secret rock band. Alas, our parents were on to him, and they had just stormed off to check out his study group alibi! As loyal siblings, we had to rip through his room to figure out what venue he was playing at, his band name, and his stage name so that we could call and warn him.
Setting
We found ourselves rifling through a teenage boys’ late-’90s bedroom, complete with dirty laundry, band posters, and a TV/VCR combo. A rad boombox blasted a grunge soundtrack throughout.
Gameplay
Get Out of My Escape Room’s Rock the 90s! was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Gameplay involved searching, deducing, and making connections.
Analysis
➕ As a teenager’s bedroom, the set felt livable and almost lived in. It captured the mundanity of the nostalgia well.
➕ Many of the sleuthing puzzles made sense as authentic ways that a teenager might hide his secrets. We often felt like we were legitimately snooping.
➖ The blacklight portion of this game was a nuisance in multiple ways. Aside from aimless freeform searching in a large space, the flashlight had three modes that we had to cycle through to access the blacklight. This seemed like an unnecessary annoyance (but easy to fix!).
➕ There was a realistic side-story that helped us narrow our focus.
➖ Through some casual exploration, we managed to trip up a tech feature without realizing it, leading to a significant delay in puzzling.
➖ Some of the clues for our quest were embedded in comical flavor text that at times seemed actionable…but wasn’t.
➕ The conclusion was a simple but satisfying response to our sleuthing efforts. We accomplished what we set out to do, and it was appreciated.
Tips For Visiting
- There was a parking lot.
Book your hour with Get Out of My Escape Room’s Rock the 90s!, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
