Room Escape Artist

Simon says, “Play this game”

Location:  Albuquerque, New Mexico

Date Played: May 31, 2024

Team size: up to 6; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $33 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  One player needs to crawl. The game uses flashing lights and fog.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

I’m an unapologetic fan of New Mexico Escape Room. I love their particular blend of beautiful set and interaction design, with playful, and often humorous gameplay. We’ve given them Golden Lock Awards in the past for both Blackwell Manor and Super Secret… it’s with that in mind that I say that for my taste, Cabin 2.0: Simon Says, “Die” is the most well-rounded game in New Mexico Escape Room’s lineup.

That’s not to say that Cabin 2.0 was the flashiest, puzzliest, or funniest game in the building… those honors go to Blackwell Manor, Nefertari’s Tomb, and Super Secret, respectively. With this latest game, it really feels like New Mexico Escape Room nailed what they were going for. The tuning of gameplay, character, and design was impressive.

Additionally, Cabin 2.0 was an approachable horror game that served up great puzzles along the way. They’ll catch you with a fright, but then they’ll let you puzzle. It was well balanced.

If I had one major critique, it’s that the hint system felt under-developed in comparison to literally everything else going on in Cabin 2.0. This is an issue that spans most of New Mexico Escape Room’s games, and it creates a situation where their games are far better for teams that don’t require help.

Overall, there’s a maturity to Cabin 2.0 that felt fantastic. I played this game twice over the span of a few days, and my appreciation only grew the second time through. Due to Albuquerque being less of a tourist town, New Mexico Escape Room doesn’t always come up when people discuss fantastic escape room companies… but they do fantastic work. They have 6 games in their building and 0 duds. There aren’t many escape room companies putting up numbers like that.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Horror fans
• Best for players with at least some experience

Why play?

• Wonderful set design
• Strong puzzle play, especially for a horror game
• There are a number of beautifully designed, unique moments

Story

The notorious “Simon Says” killer is already behind bars, but now, years later, our team of FBI investigators is finding new victims. We’ve returned to his cabin to see if we could find the killer and stop the murders.

Setting

New Mexico Escape Room set out to create a murder cabin, and comfortably pulled it off. Cabin 2.0 looked substantially more impressive than the original (which we had seen but did not play).

The game space was well-designed from floor to ceiling, and even the exterior of the game had an impressive facade.

Aesthetically, Cabin 2.0 also had a bit of a sense of humor to it. It walked that fine line between scary and funny that so many great horror movies accomplish.

Gameplay

New Mexico Escape Room’s Cabin 2.0 was a standard horror-themed escape room.

It had a moderate level of difficulty. It included some more complex, layered puzzles, but the scares tapered off when it was time to focus and solve. If you are nervous in horror games, your perception of the difficulty might be different.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, solving puzzles, and braving an approachably intense environment.

Analysis

➕ The set looked great. It felt like a cabin, down to most disgusting, but perfectly appropriate decor. Plus, it had the external facade that is a hallmark of New Mexico Escape Room’s style, and makes their games that much more inviting. The props were especially detailed. Those who enjoy gruesome horror props will appreciate the artistry here, on display at different scales.

➕ The effects amped up the intensity at the right moments. We felt the game crescendo. The effects also provided gotcha jump scares at the right moments, without overdoing it.

➕ The puzzles were well-clued with satisfying solves. Even when we didn’t think the cluing was there, it was subtly embedded into our surroundings. The puzzles progressed in complexity over the course of the game. While we found some of the earlier puzzles to be relatively mundane, the later puzzles turned in new directions.

➖ New Mexico Escape Room misstepped with a late-game gating decision. It would be easy to play one whole act in a suboptimal environment that would cause frustration, and let beautifully detailed props go wholly unappreciated.

➕ New Mexico Escape Room built a lot of tech-driven interactions into Cabin 2.0, and hid everything beautifully in the set and props.

➖ The hint system was underdeveloped, which can led to unnecessary feel-bad moments. There was opportunity to work the hints more seamlessly into the game, so that they feel like natural cluing.

➕ One transition scene felt wonderfully ominous, it shined a light on the deliberate and clever design work of New Mexico Escape Room.

➕/❓ Our actions had meaning in the game. We needed to both stop the murders, and solve the mystery of the killer. It would be possible to win the game without fully solving it. We loved that we had this much control, but we can appreciate teams being frustrated if they accidentally skip a puzzle that is pivotal to the story.

➕ The finale was exciting. Win or lose, Cabin 2.0 will give the team a dramatic ending.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.

Book your hour with New Mexico Escape Room’s Cabin 2.0, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Mexico Escape Room provided media discounted tickets for this game.