Room Escape Artist

The Saint (La Santa) is one of the best escape rooms in Madrid, Spain. Here are our recommendations for other great escape room in Spain.

“Aye, Dios mio”

Location:  Madrid, Spain

Date Played: April 25, 2024

Team size: 3-8; we recommend 3-5

Duration: 90 minutes

Price: from €140 per team for teams of 3 to €240 per team for teams of 8

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  This game includes stairs and kneeling. At least 2 players will have to go into confined spaces.

Mess Meter:  🧹🧹🧹🧹 (out of 5)

Emergency Exit Rating: [F] No Emergency Exit

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

For more on our trip to Spain, here’s our field report.

REA Reaction

In the decade I’ve been playing escape rooms, I’ve had to learn to play, appreciate, and then enjoy horror escape rooms… in that order. It’s rare for me to love them. But I loved The Saint. The ebb and flow of tension let me play the game, appreciate the beauty of it, and choose to be brave, rather than afraid.

The early scenes kept us on edge. We weren’t familiar with the space, and we didn’t know what could happen. Still, it gave us space to solve puzzles and feel agency is progressing the game.

The characters we encountered added weight to the plot. They were affected by the horror of the place.

The set was spectacular, and we had time and light to appreciate it. I appreciated the details enough to realize immediately, upon the reveal of a certain prop, how we’d solve the next stage of The Saint.

The effects were brilliant.

The Saint was at its weakest when the gameplay stalled. This happened due to poor cluing, poor maintenance, and in one unfortunate instance, lack of feedback. Because it was a horror game with true puzzle gameplay, when it stalled, it wasn’t particularly scary, just frustrating.

The finale of The Saint demanded something from each of us. Coming at the end of the game, this scene layered anticipation onto a known space. It did something unusual. It demanded my bravery, and I was ready. I liked this so much more than being chased by unknown creatures. I felt afraid, but in control. I understood my mission. It was something I was ready to conquer.

I loved The Saint because it was balanced. It was a horror game, but it was also an escape room, and an impressive one on many vectors. If you’re in Madrid, this one is a must play, whether or not you are drawn to battle demons.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Religious horror fans
• Best for players with at least some experience
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• The set was beautiful
• There were incredible performers
• The puzzles, game world, and story blended together extremely well

Story

The Abbey of Santa Clara was haunted by a demon. The sisters had seen a being that looked like one of them, but was something else. At the ask of Father Eusebio, a demonologist, we’d come to help the sisters find out what was going on.

Setting

We entered the dark and foreboding The Abbey of Santa Clara. As ominious as it was, it was equally beautiful. It was spacious, with a high ceiling, pews, a confessional, a sanctuary, and stained glass windows. It was impressively realistic with a high quality build and detailed design.

Gameplay

Shock Creations’ The Saint was a horror escape room.

It had a moderate level of difficulty, but it will be more challenging for teams that are afraid to move through the space.

Core gameplay around observing, making connections, solving puzzles, and conquering your fear.

Analysis

➕ The set was incredible. The chapel, in particular, was beautiful and realistic. It was so convincing that we really believed that we were in a beautiful, old chapel.

➕ Cold starts are typical in Spanish escape rooms. Shock Creations had a lobby with a restroom, but it was separate from the start of the experience. When we entered the game, it was into this haunted place. We appreciated that The Saint took our payment in-world.

➕ The best puzzles were highly interactive. We constructed and concocted, for example.

➖ A couple of moments either ran longer than they should, or felt lessened by worn props. Similarly we encountered a rather large puzzle that felt under-clued.

➕ The Saint was personalized to a degree we’ve rarely experienced. The gameplay forced us to be brave.

➕ Shock Creations built fear without chasing us through dark spaces. The space was dark, foreboding, and haunted. The effects built anticipation. We never felt comfortable, but we also felt safe.

➖ While we generally felt safe, there was one sticking point. Shock Creations made it clear that we should not move in darkness, but the lighting cues didn’t always adhere to that rule. This created strange moments where we were standing still in the darkness, waiting for lights to come up so that we could follow the rules that we agreed to.

❓ The actors touched some of our teammates a little more than they were comfortable with. Your mileage may vary.

➕ When The Saint wanted to be dramatic, it delivered in a big way.

➕ Late in the The Saint, the nature of the experience shifted and did so effectively, ensuring that we knew what we needed to accomplish.

➖ In the late-game there were a few props with aesthetics that felt wildly out of place in this otherwise cohesive world.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a free, private parking lot.
• There is a lobby with a bathroom, which is very unusual in Spain.
• This game is available in English.

Book your session with Shock Creations’ The Saint, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.