Room Escape Artist

Dragons can attack

Location:  St. Charles, IL

Date Played: October 24, 2024

Team size: 2-10; we recommend 3-5

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $35 per player

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Dragon Slayer was a creative, fun, and worthy escape room that occasionally got in its own way due to excess.

The puzzles played well. The set was plenty compelling, with tons to look at and enjoy.

The story voice overs and puzzle reading passages went on and on and on. They pushed way past the point of making their point, repeatedly making us feel like, “we got it,” and were ready to move on. This was also made worse by irritating delivery, both in performance and mixing.

Additionally, it seemed possible that a set-based interaction could jump out and bite someone… if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When the story stopped pouring in, and the puzzles didn’t require reading a giant passage, Dragon Slayer was very enjoyable… but at the same time, I left feeling like this game should have been better than it was. All of the bones are present. It’s some fine-tuning away from being a game that I would strongly encourage everyone to play, rather than simply recommending it.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Dungeons & Dragons fans
• Best for players with at least some experience
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• A quirky and varied set
• An ample volume of good puzzles

Story

Some time ago, a fire-breathing dragon captured a princess and locked her away in a castle. Many adventurers have sought to save the princess and none have returned. As the increasingly damaged castle begins to collapse, we set out on one final attempt to defeat the dragon and return the princess to her kingdom.

Setting

Dragon Slayer had a medieval, fantasy aesthetic to match its dark fairy tale story. The set was packed with details throughout, however the space switched between feeling like a container for puzzles and the setting of an adventure. Both feels worked, but the set was more engaging in the late-game when it switched to adventure mode and away from a room containing a puzzle gauntlet.

Gameplay

iPanic Escape Room’s Dragon Slayer was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.

Analysis

➕ iPanic Escape Room builds cool sets and Dragon Slayer was no exception. The scene changes were clear and very different from one another.

➖ The story delivery was clunky. There was far too much exposition, and the voiceover was uninspiring… which made the long story segments feel even longer. This statement also applied to reading passages. The story delivery felt excessive.

➕ The puzzle play was solid – not stellar because the story could get in the way – but everything solved cleanly and was fun to work through.

➖ The tolerances for the tech were too tight and the game didn’t always accept correct inputs.

➖ A small water feature really needed proper water treatment… or it needed to be dried up. As it was, it presented a very real health and safety risk for legionnaires disease.

➕ There were some cool and playful set-based effects.

➖ One late-game set-based effect needed another 6 inches of clearance to ensure that it won’t bite anyone.

Tips For Visiting

• iPanic has a parking lot.
• There are ample food options within a short drive.

Book your hour with iPanic Escape Room’s Dragon Slayer, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

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