Room Escape Artist

Norcross Art Gallery is one of the best games in the San Jose area. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms near San Jose.

Can art cure humanity?

Location:  Fremont, California

Date Played: October 4, 2024

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

Duration: 90 minutes

Price: from $60 per player for teams of 6 to $99 per person for teams of 2

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  There is one step.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

This was our second visit to the Norcross Art Gallery, after playing and reviewing it at Evil Genius Escape Rooms in 2017. When that company closed, it found a home at Off the Couch. Looking back at our original review, the game lands a bit differently today. Like Occam’s Apartment, this was a significantly different game than the original. While some story beats and interactions existed in both versions, it was functionally a new game.

Norcross Art Gallery was a puzzle-focused game, with some commentary and character-building hiding behind the solves.

The puzzles were varied and interesting, and generally flowed well, with one notable exception in the form of a gating issue where we had the solution figured out, but hadn’t yet activated the input mechanism. We lost a lot of time due to this situation.

While playing for speed is never our goal, considering the pricing model at Evil Genius, where players pay for time in the game, the puzzle flow needs to be exceptionally smooth – for both the experienced players trying to speed run and the newer players who would otherwise need extra time. While I see why this price structure is built around fairness in other ways (since players only pay for the time they use), this kind of snag started to feel murky. While our tickets were comped, we had very little trouble imagining what our response would have been to time wasted like this if we were, “on the clock.”

The climactic reveal didn’t wow us as much as it did in 2017, but then again, we knew it was coming… and we’ve seen a lot of galleries. So, perhaps that’s not a fair critique. I expect it will wow a lot of newer teams and add a lot to this game, upping the intensity quite a bit.

In 2024, I enjoyed Norcross Art Gallery more than Occam’s Apartment, but I expect that varies by team. I suggest booking all three games, in order, the way Off the Couch intends. However, if you’re short on time, The Morgue outshines the other two.

Who is this for?

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

Why play?

• Interesting, layered puzzles
• The personalized souvenir

Story

This was the second 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.

We’d left Occam’s Apartment (chapter one) concluding that we should continue our investigation into a mystery surrounding the demise of our friend Detective William Occam at the Norcross Art Gallery. We would be looking there for a particular Evil Genius.

Setting

The brightly lit Norcross Art Gallery had a few exhibits, spanning three rooms. The art on display varied in style and included paintings, sculpture, and some more technologically-driven art installations.

Gameplay

Off the Couch’s Chapter 2: Norcross Art Gallery was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

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

Analysis

➕ Norcross Art Gallery was a puzzle-focused game, where we found deeper meaning within art. The puzzles were creative and varied. Some were straight forward, and others required layers of connections. Our favorite puzzle became more transparent as we overlayed new information.

➖ One thematically appropriate puzzle didn’t speak to our group. The tech didn’t work reliably, and we found the whole thing annoying to solve, even if we appreciated the concept.

➕ Off the Couch used lighting well to keep us focused on the right aspects of the game at the right times.

➖ One layered puzzle was poorly gated. We spent a lot of time inputting the correct solution before we’d unlocked access to the input, meaning our correct answers couldn’t register.

➕ The Giggles character had a minimal role in Norcross Art Gallery. However, they left quite the impression of us.

➕ The twist in Norcross Art Gallery added intensity to the experience.

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 2: Norcross Art Gallery , and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

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