Room Escape Artist

Don’t throw away your shot.

Location:  Albuquerque, New Mexico

Date Played: May 31, 2024

Team size: up to 8; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $28 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  Players who are color blind will struggle with some puzzles.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Duel at Dusk is one of the more playful and light-hearted games at New Mexico Escape Room. While the idea of a duel in the Wild West might sound intense, this was a bright, family-friendly take on the theme.

This is a new version of one of New Mexico Escape Room’s earlier games, fully rebuilt, greatly improved, and in a new location.

With Duel at Dusk, New Mexico Escape Room’s top-notch scenic design was again on display. From the outside (meaning, from the hallway!) this escape room looked like a saloon. And inside, the dark wooden construction and detailed painting made this a fun environment to spend an hour puzzling in.

And puzzling, we did. The gameplay was all about the puzzles, which were built into the props, and usually required that extra step of thinking, making them rewarding to solve.

We expect it can be challenging for newer teams to get started in Duel at Dusk, and our main suggestion for this game is to illuminate a clear starting place so the momentum builds quickly. That said, this wasn’t an issue for the experienced teams on our recent Escape Immerse Explore: New Mexico escape room tour, many of whom tore through this room at record-breaking speed.

In many of the other games at New Mexico Escape Room, they’ve experimented with set, narrative, and effects in more flashy ways. Duel at Dusk offered less novelty. It was a classic, puzzle-focused design, with excellent theming and an engaging goal. If you’re visiting New Mexico Escape Room, you’re probably coming for a few of their other, more notable games (such as the Golden Lock Award-winning Blackwell Manor or Super Secret) but if you have extra time, add Duel at Dusk into your lineup before you skedaddle out of town.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Wild West fans
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Engaging, tangible puzzles
• A fun environment to solve in

Story

At dusk, it would time to duel. No sweat. Except that we’d misplaced our lucky gun at the local saloon the previous night. Time to return to the saloon. The bartender was giving us only an hour to find it.

Setting

Behind the classic, waist-height, swinging doors, we found a brightly lit saloon. The walls were partly paneled with dark wood, and a sturdy bar was the focal point of the room. It looked entirely realistic, if uncharacteristically playful, for the Wild West.

Gameplay

New Mexico Escape Room’s Duel at Dusk was a standard escape room with a lower level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around observing, making connections, and solving puzzles. The more challenging puzzles worked best with good communication.

Analysis

➕ We loved the outside facade of the saloon and the swinging doors. It felt so natural. Yes, it was a little weird (and perhaps a first for us?) that we had such an open view of the hallway (and the hallway had such a view of us), but Duel at Dusk was at the end of the hallway, in a less trafficked area, and once we were puzzling, we were focused on the game.

➕ The set was fun to play in. It was unmistakably a Wild West saloon. However, it was bright and friendly. It was not yet dusk, after all. It was uncharacteristically clean for a saloon. No complaints.

➖ It can be challenging to find the initial thread of gameplay. There was a lot of content that appeared accessible at the onset, and no clear on-ramp. We expect that newer teams might flounder a bit before they get going.

➕ The excellent puzzles were embedded in tangible props. They often appeared straight forward, but still made us stop and think. One puzzle hung in front of us for a long time, but the rewarding late-game solve earned our stamp of approval.

➕ /➖ Duel at Dusk included some lengthy mapping and deciphering. These puzzles were best completed as communication puzzles, and we enjoyed them. That said, we can see them overstaying their welcome, especially if a team doesn’t stay organized and has to start over.

➖ The hint system for Duel at Dusk was under-developed. It was easy to “accidentally” get a nudge (wanted or unwanted) because we could see that a hint had become available for a specific puzzle. Additionally, there was opportunity to build a more thematically-integrated hint system, which would make the game feel more alive.

➕/➖ The finale was cute. We liked how it engaged the whole team in a light-hearted manner. However, we would have liked a bit more from the finale interactions.

➕/❓ Duel at Dusk was a puzzle-focused game in a themed environment with a clear goal. This was well executed, classic escape room gameplay. However, it didn’t have the narrative elements or bombastic effects that we’ve experienced in some of New Mexico Escape Room’s other games. Your enjoyment will likely vary based on your appreciation for this escape room design style.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.
• Note that prop guns are used in the game.

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

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