Room Escape Artist

Occam’s Apartment is one of the best games in the San Jose area. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms near San Jose.

Not a Replica

Location:  Fremont, California

Date Played: October 4, 2024

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 105 minutes

Price: from $70 per player for teams of 6 to $115.50 per person for teams of 2

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  None, as far as we could tell

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

We first played Occam’s Apartment in 2017 at Evil Genius Escape Rooms in Los Angeles, California. This was the first chapter in a beloved trio of games. When Evil Genius closed, Off the Couch purchased all 3 games and gave them new life in northern California. It’s important to note that Occam’s Apartment has been revived in name, but it is a fundamentally different experience from the original Evil Genius game.

It’s rare to play the same game again more than 7 years later. Looking back at my 2017 review, I have to say, it holds up: The setting wasn’t particularly impressive, but the gameplay was satisfying, and the ending was dramatic… those statements are true of both versions of the game.

Off the Couch augmented the game as well, building a bit more intensity and playfulness into their latter half of their version.

Off the Couch also built a beautiful homage to the original. You had to have been there way back when to appreciate this layer of detail, but take my word for it, the homage is very present. And this sequence led to one of the most interesting portions of Occam’s Apartment. That said, it was cumbersome to control, and left most of the team looking on for too long.

What I appreciated most about Occam’s Apartment was Off the Couch’s hinting. It was so subtle as to be almost undetectable. I can see how they also have the ability to do something more heavy handed, but also in world. They care a lot about the player experience, and try to give each group exactly what they need.

With the intention to create a 12-part series, all in the same universe, Off the Couch is doing something unusual. They encourage players to start with this game, which is the first chapter, and move sequentially through the following chapters.

Their unusual pricing structure is essentially paying by the minute. Slower teams can buy more time, and faster teams can put unused time (essentially, unused dollars) as credit toward the next chapter. While I appreciate the fairness in paying for the time I spend in game, and I think there are feel good moments both in paying for just a little extra time, and in getting credit back, I still worry that this pricing model misplaces incentives. In general, teams will play for speed over experience to save money, and the company will let teams struggle too long in order to keep their money. Frankly, I don’t think it will work well broadly. However, in a game like Occam’s Apartment – one with minimal set and story, and fairly clued gameplay – and, most importantly, a staff that cares about the player experience above all else, it seems to be working quite well. But under most circumstances, for most escape room companies, I think that this model would easily degrade into predatory business practices.

If you are in the Bay Area, it’s worth checking out Off the Couch. I felt Occam’s Apartment was the least interesting game of the three experiences they currently offer, but if you have the time, it’s worth playing them as a set, starting with this, the first chapter. If you’re short on time, The Morgue was the most interesting of the three.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• The character interactions
• A new take on a classic escape game

Story

This was the first chapter of what is intended to be a twelve chapter series. At the time of this review, there were two additional chapters available to play.

Our friend Detective William Occam had recently passed away while investigating a missing persons case. Shortly thereafter, we received a mysterious letter that led us to believe his death might not have been as it appeared. We decided to investigate.

Setting

We entered a pretty standard apartment with a living room, kitchen, and bedroom. It was a bit drab – mostly grays and brown. However, it wasn’t entirely bland. There was some interesting art on the walls and collectibles on the shelves.

Gameplay

Off the Couch’s Chapter 1: Occam’s Apartment was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and solving puzzles.

Analysis

➕/➖ While the set design was pretty standard, the game was generally well built, albeit with somewhat uneven build quality throughout.

➕ Puzzle design was fair. The puzzles were well-clued. We appreciated modifications for player enjoyment, including what would have originally been a “lockout” safe that won’t lock players out.

➖ There was opportunity for additional gating. We wasted a lot of time on a puzzle that wasn’t available to us yet.

➕ Off the Couch used lighting expertly to subtly hint where we should focus our attention. This was especially helpful when the laws of physics conspired against us to make the game way harder than it was meant to be.

➕ There was an impressive homage to the original build of this game. Furthermore, this recreation interacted with the new game in some wonderful ways.

➖ That said, only one player could interact with this homage at a time, leaving the rest of us to look over their shoulder. The interface didn’t work well, and the buttons weren’t mapped well. It was easy to think we’d interacted when we had not. Plus, within this segment, there were especially interesting seeds of ideas that didn’t play out in subsequent games.

➕ The Giggles character was an amusing addition to this game. (This character was not part of the original implementation at Evil Genius.) We had agency in how we interacted with Giggles, which then influenced our experience in the game.

➕ Off the Couch lit up the intensity with the finale puzzle sequence. It was expertly designed to engage the team throughout the space. The cluing was really well timed.

➕/➖Depending on a team’s late-game decisions, Occam’s Apartment could end in a few different ways. We loved the choice, although we didn’t realize we had options while playing; we simply took the action that seemed obvious to us. We wish the game had been a little bit more ready for our choice because as we exited the experience, we were confused where to go to continue the story, and what was actually out of play in the building. This confusion disrupted an otherwise stellar ending sequence.

❓ This was a search heavy game, in a standard, apartment setting. Go in with these expectations.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.
• We recommend booking all three chapters in order. That said, you don’t have to play this way. Each experience stands on its own.
• The booking system is designed for you to return for multiple experiences: If your time runs out before you complete the experience, Off the Couch saves your progress and on your next visit you resume from where you left off.  In the event you beat the experience in less time, any remaining time will be awarded to your customer account as a credit which can be applied to your next game or any item at Off the Couch. 

Book your session with Off the Couch’s Chapter 1: Occam’s Apartment, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Off the Couch comped our tickets for this game.