Room Escape Artist

Worthy Second Location

Location:  Providence, RI

Date Played: December 14, 2024

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

Duration: as long as you want

Price: $34.99 per player for 2 hours, $44.99 per player for 4 hours, $54.99 per player for all day

Ticketing: Public

Accessibility Consideration:  not everything will be accessible to everyone, mostly due to physical elements, but also due to reliance on colors

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

A few months ago, we saw the big Level99 sign on the side of the Providence Place mall as we rode Amtrak from Boston to New York. We are big fans of Level99, and we immediately started scheming when and how we’d get to Providence, Rhode Island.

With their second outing, Level99 has made a lot of improvements. Most notably, the atmosphere is more inviting. The seating is more comfortable, and the natural light adds a lot to the restaurant and bar area. They’ve also added a way to pause the time on a timed ticket so that players can take advantage of these upgraded amenities and enjoy a leisurely meal, ensuring everyone spends even more time at Level99. If they could also add some sound-proofing to their communication-focused games, they’d have a truly comfortable experience.

Having already visited Level99’s first location in Natick, Massachusetts, half a dozen times, we were worried that Providence wouldn’t have enough to offer us. I’m thrilled to report that this fear was unfounded. Providence had plenty of new rooms, including a handful of more escape room-y ones that we particularly enjoyed. Additionally, many of our favorites from Natick had also made their way to Providence. (Of note, we hadn’t been to Natick in over a year when we went to Providence. It turns out that many of the new games in Providence have also made their way back to Natick.)

We don’t live near either Level99 location (although we have family near Natick), and we are happy to see more locations opening up. We believe Level99 locations can be amusement destinations for travelers as well as locals. With their avatar designs, stars, and prizes, Level99 is clearly designing for players to come back and level up. That said, we see opportunities for Level99 to better cater to the repeat players, and especially the traveling player who might visit multiple Level99 venues. Their website lacks basic information about what games are where. There is no way to check my player stats unless I am at a Level99 location. And even when visiting, they don’t put the information I want front and center when I tap into a game (i.e. how many stars I’ve already earned on the room, whether this room exists elsewhere).

Level99 is well worth a visit – to Natick, Providence, or to see the location you haven’t been to yet. If you’re new to the Level99 concept check out our original review from 2021 and our update from 2022 for more in-depth coverage. Whether you prefer mental challenges or physical challenges, there’s a lot to enjoy. Even after multiple visits, and even if you’ve already fully unlocked Natick, I recommend a 4-hour ticket to Providence. There are so many weird worlds to enter and solve here.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Athletes (for some challenges)
• Any experience level (but experience certainly helps)

Why play?

• A balance of old favorites and new challenges
• Something for everyone
• A beautiful, designed environment that’s fun to explore
• A comfortable place to enjoy Night Shift Brewing

Setting

Level99’s Providence location was in the Providence Place mall. I assume it was previously an anchor store because it’s a big space.

The entry looked pretty similar to the Natick location with kiosks in rows, where we signed in once we’d received a wrist band from the staff. There was a locker area to the right.

The games were in the middle of the space, to both the left and right, as we walked in. Like in Natick, they were clustered by theme. The new games were interspersed with the ones we’d already played in Natick.

The duels were spread throughout the space, again, with some new and some favorites from Natick. The scavenger hunt wove through the space, embedded in all the art.

The restaurant area was in the back. There were standard and hightop tables with chairs (rather than just benches) set apart from all the games. The windows let in a lot of natural light, and offered a pretty nice view.

Level99 looked great from floor to ceiling and front the back. The art was dynamic. It was a fun space to hang out in. The natural light in the restaurant added a lot.

Gameplay

We scanned an RFID bracelet to enter each game, called a room.

The games presented a mix of challenges: some physical and others mental. Either way, the challenges were room sized with big buttons, balls, or other more unusual props, and lots of colored LEDs.

The first part of playing any game at Level99 is figuring out what the win conditions are, and how to play. With each new game, once we understood how to play, we had to figure out how to execute (or, in some cases, admit that we didn’t have the required upper body strength.)

Level99 also featured duels throughout the space where two players battle against each other at a challenge and scavenger hunts in the art installations.

Analysis

➕ Providence was more comfortable than Natick. In Natick, there was no natural light, and the restaurant set up was cafeteria-style. While we appreciated the views of the duels from the tables, the seating in Providence was more comfortable and the natural light added a lot. We enjoyed playing hours of games and then relaxing with the excellent food and beverage from Night Shift. The whole aesthetic and vibe of the place was great.

➖ The soundproofing was non-existent. We purposely arrived when Level99 opened so that we could enjoy it at its emptiest. As it filled up during the day, however, it became uncomfortably loud. In most of Level99’s games the noise level doesn’t matter, but some of them become miserable to play when you can’t hear your teammates.

➕/❓Providence had a nice mix of familiar and novel games. We were worried there wouldn’t be enough new material to warrant the 4-hour ticket, but there definitely was. Level99 had ported over some of our favorites, and we enjoyed the new games we played. (That said, if you’ve been to Natick more recently than we had, this might not be true for you.)

➖ Players without full color sightedness may struggle with a lot of the newer challenges.

➕ Each player has a single profile that is accessible across Level99 locations. We’ve visited Level99 in Natick half a dozen times, and with this visit to Providence, we were able to earn more stars in new games. When we scanned our bracelets, we could look up how many stars we’d already earned at each game.

➖ Having visited as often as we have, we saw new opportunities within the UI where players can see their stats. We wished the UI told us which games were at which locations. We also wish that we could see how many stars we each already had on a game the moment we tapped into it, without clicking into the detailed stats and pulling up the specific game in question. Other opportunities included showing the ideal group size for earning 3 stars in any game. (Some games adapted to different group sizes better than others.)

➕ Level99 has changed their prize structure for the better, swapping out an email for a sticker. This location had all the prizes we’d earned readily available.

➕/➖ We appreciated being able to buy tickets online, however we struggled to figure out what ticket to buy. The website lacked basic information… like which games would be at each location. We didn’t know whether we wanted 2 hours or 4 hours! There was an opportunity to do more for returning players, especially those returning to a new location, to email them their stats ahead of time and give them more information about what’s new. We also wished for better parking instructions because it turned out that it’s not easy to find the entrance to parking at Providence Place.

➖ Level99 still didn’t have an integrated system where we could tap our bracelets to purchase food. We understand that they have two separate POS, but it’s still annoying to go back to the lockers for a wallet. In addition, we couldn’t order food prizes at the restaurant when we were ordering the rest of our food. Prize food had to be redeemed at the prize redemption area. Minor point of friction.

➕ Level99 remains high value for the price, even after having visited many times. Additionally, we noticed the option to pause our time (to eat, I presume) and then return to playing. That option makes the pricing by time an even better value.

❓ We had the impression that Providence had fewer physical challenges than Natick. We aren’t sure about that, especially since we aren’t especially skilled at physical challenges and spend less time playing them. We were very happy with the new challenges, but your mileage may vary.

Tips For Visiting

• There is parking in the mall. Make sure your gps is directing to you to the parking area.
• Food and drink from Night Shift Brewing is available inside Level99.

Book your session with Level99, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

If you enjoy Level99 we hope you’ll check out our interview with CEO Matthew DuPlessie on The Reality Escape Pod.