Room Escape Artist

The Undersea Overthrow is an adaptation of an in-person game, played over Zoom, created by Improbable Escapes in Kingston, ON.

Format

Style of Play:

• Adaptation of an in-person game
• Avatar controlled by the players
• Web-based inventory system

Who is it For?

• Players who can’t travel to Ontario
• Players who want a remote Zoom escape room experience with far-flung friends

Required Equipment: computer with an internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 60 minutes

Price: $31.95 CAD per person, with a minimum of $95.85 CAD per team

Booking: book online for a specific time

Description

This is a standard avatar-based remote game, where the players can see a physical set and instruct the host to interact with it. A website provided closeups of puzzle components to aid in solving.

Tammy McLeod’s Reaction

I am so delighted that Zoom games have not gone extinct. I miss being able to play with far-flung friends! This was an online offering of an in-person game. While the physical space looked well decorated and was probably lovely in person, I am most thrilled that the online game support was thoughtfully designed and well put together. Our game host was skillful at presenting the puzzle elements and the companion website had all the important information we needed.

Brett Kuehner’s Reaction

• + Storyline was simple but clear, and our tasks in the game fit the story
• + Sets looked good, even via camera. They were nice enough that I wish I could have been there in person (which has been true with all of the Improbable Escapes remote games that I’ve played)
• + The host was friendly and did a good job of following our instructions and showing us what we needed to see
• ? The host was there mostly to be our eyes and hands, and not to be a major character in the story. This meant the puzzles were central, but there was less opportunity to goof off with the host.
• + Puzzles were fun and worked well remotely, using a website to provide closeups of important components
• ? Puzzles were on the simpler side, which may or may not be to your taste
• – During videoclips some audio was hard to hear, but fortunately there were subtitles for most of it
• ? Overall it was solid and I enjoyed spending time with my friends, but it lacked the kind of spark that the best remote games have.

Joel Smileypeacefun Reaction

In The Undersea Overthrow we entered a submarine trying to discover the lost city of Atlantis and its treasures. It’s a race against our former boss, who wants to steal the artifacts rather than gift them to a museum.

At its best, yet again Improbable Escape delivered an immersive game with some fun interactions and a cute set design. The puzzles as well as the story flowed nicely. Thanks to an expanded inventory system, we could always keep track of our tasks.

At its worst, we saw videos where the audio was inaudible. Even though they tried to adapt the game to an online format, some important details were hard to see or understand unless they were pointed out to us. The gamemaster interactions have always been at a high level with Improbable Escape. Our guide was nice and helpful, yet not as over-the-top attentive as I previously experienced with their hosts.

Livestreamed games have flown off most people’s radar as folks started to travel again. It’s great to see that this company still enables people (who live so far away that they won’t show up at their real-life locations anytime soon) to play their experiences.