Face your fears…or don’t
Location: San Antonio, TX
Date Played: August 25, 2023
Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 2-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $39.99 per player; $34.99 per player for more than 5
Ticketing: Private
Accessibility Consideration: There is the potential for electrical shocks. These are avoidable if you read closely and complete the relevant puzzle correctly, but at least one player will be at risk.
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
Breaking Point‘s premise was that a diabolical bad guy had created a game that forced us to face our greatest fears, a unique theme for an escape room. Indeed, it made fair efforts to present disgusting and creepy vignettes that required a bit of bravery but ultimately simple trust that nothing in this room was truly real.* Unfortunately, the game also faced us with our greatest escape room fears, resulting in an experience that was “scary” for mostly the wrong reasons.
These frustrations fell into three categories. First, there was a good deal of number soup wherein four-digit codes could easily map to any of several locks. This was exacerbated by dim lighting and the fact that 1 number lock carried a 4-minute penalty for entering the wrong code, begging for some indication of what was intended. This introduced the second category of madness: penalizing players for missteps by subtracting time (or just making us wait), a trope that was especially frustrating when the input mechanism for a particular puzzle seemed both flaky and poorly constructed. Lastly, multiple set pieces were simply stuck, requiring excessive force to open as intended… so much force, in fact, that we nearly broke one.
It is entirely possible that infuriating players with some of the most fatal flaws of escape room design was intentional. It certainly added to the pressure, and perhaps there is an audience among enthusiasts who want to test their patience in these ways. If so, consider coupling this room with Horror on Hallows Eve or The Undead at this same location. Those games are more traditionally satisfying, so the triad would provide the complete gauntlet of Extreme Escape’s horror-adjacent experiences.
*Actually, the shocks were real. Have fun!
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Scenery snobs
- Thrill seekers
- Best for players with at least some experience
Why play?
- To say things like “Ew!” “Ow!!” and “Whyyy???”
- To test your patience
- To experience a unique theme
- To create a horror-driven marathon with other rooms at Extreme Escape Colonnade
Story
We had been captured and made to perform on the latest episode of “Breaking Point,” the hottest new game show where contestants must face their fears or die trying.
Setting
We found ourselves trapped in a chamber o’ fears, which, at face value, included syringes, a spider, and a toilet.
Gameplay
Extreme Escape Colonnade’s Breaking Point was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty compounded by time penalties.
Gameplay involved observing, making connections, some dexterity, and patience under pressure.
Analysis
➖ The intro video was unintelligible due to poor audio quality. Perhaps we missed some important context-setting for the experience.
➕ The set was appropriate for the theme and convincingly foreboding.
➖ The dim and colored lighting caused major difficulties with puzzles involving color. Was this intentional? It’s hard to say.
➕/➖ The room involved a higher-than-average level of physicality. Alas, some of that physicality was marred by stuck furnishings and flaky sensors.
➕ One standout puzzle required multiple levels of creative physical problem solving.
➖ Multiple puzzles involved misleading or extraneous information.
➖ Despite clarity of purpose and multiple hints, we were unable to complete a climactic, high-stakes puzzle multiple times in a row, subtracting time from our clock with each fail. It was unclear whether we or the input mechanism was the problem.
➖ There’s arguably a mock gas chamber in this game. It’s ambiguous, but the possibility made me uncomfortable.
➕ Despite this room’s flaws, it has a truly unique escape room premise, so it may be worth playing just to experience the theme.
Tips For Visiting
- There is plenty of parking available.
- There are several nearby chain restaurants.
Book your hour with Extreme Escape Colonnade’s Breaking Point, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Extreme Escape Colonnade provided media discounted tickets for this game.
