Room Escape Artist

That escalated quickly!

Location: Available all over, played in Holmdel, New Jersey

Date Played: May 5th, 2025

Team Size: 2-5; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $35 to $39 per player

Ticketing: Private

Game Breakage: Yes – some players were dropped from the game

Accessibility Consideration: This is a VR game. A headset and controllers must be used.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Virtual reality is a technology that has exciting implications, but not everyone has access to VR equipment at home. Even fewer can support interactive multiplayer games in the same location. Thankfully, VR arcades like oasisVRX can take some of the up-front investment out of enjoying a fun but admittedly expensive hobby.

oasisVRX offered a wide variety of virtual reality experiences for their customers. We were there to play some of their virtual escape rooms including their newest title, Alien Infection. For clarity, the games were created by vrCAVE; oasisVRX licensed them and provided the space and the equipment to play them.

After we arrived and checked in, our team of three was led to a large roped-off space in which to free roam. There was ample space for all of us to move around and explore the virtual space once our headsets and controllers were brought over to us on a cart and fitted to us. Our space was in the middle of oasisVRX’s open floor plan and surrounded by other smaller VR stations.

Our experience was after hours, so there were no other games going on, but I did wonder about the potential for the sounds of other customers to bleed through. We did not get to test that factor out, but the oasisVRX employees assured us it wasn’t a problem even when the venue was very busy.

In the game, we were asked by an old woman in a dark and creepy forest to find her missing cat, Whiskers. We found Whiskers fairly quickly after an introductory level that helped us quickly acclimate to the virtual world. Very soon, though, the game began to make great use of virtual reality by abducting us onto an alien spaceship. The abduction scene looked great to the point where it might be troublesome for someone with motion sickness.

During play, we did have two tech glitches. Each time a different player dropped out into the VR lobby. These were remedied quickly, but they were still stoppages in play. The staff let us know it was a software issue, and something that is expected to get fixed in a patch. [Update: The player dropout issue did turn out to specifically be related to those headsets (VIVE Focus 3) and vrCAVE did put a patch out for that.]

Alien Infection featured some significant wow moments. Our initial abduction and eventual escape bookended our adventure, which included some gravity-defying puzzles, light body horror, and a fun-to-play but mechanically questionable boss fight. We were in a situation that could not be replicated in the real world, and that is the main advantage of a playing a virtual reality escape room. For another game aesthetically impressive game, with a more welcoming environment, I suggest Depths of Osiris, which we also reviewed. If you have a nearby virtual reality arcade, it’s worth gathering a group to go try something otherwise impossible.

vrCAVE games are available in locations around the world, check their website for availability.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• VR enthusiasts
• Sci-fi fans
• Best for players with at least some experience

Why play?

• Excellent use of the medium to put players in impossible situations.
• As a test of virtual reality to see if a home system worth investing in.

Story

Strange things had been reported in the local forest, and our crew of firefighters were asked to check these things out.

Things were, in fact, not ok.

Setting

Alien Infection opened up in a dark and creepy wooded area, but the majority of the game took place after we had been abducted onto a hostile alien ship.

Gameplay

vrCAVE’s Alien Infection was multiplayer virtual reality escape room with a high level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching and puzzling.

Analysis

➕ The opening level did a good job of teaching us – and potentially any players new to VR – how to interact with the world. It was both low stakes and relevant to the plot while being creepy and atmospheric.

➖ The lack of voice acting was understandable given localization concerns, but it still felt off to see an NPC ‘talking’ to us without hearing anything.

➕ The VR medium was well taken advantage of. The abduction, spatial puzzles, antigravity, and so on, were elements that could not take place in the real world.

➖ One mid-game puzzle had very tight tolerances, to the point where we convinced ourselves that we weren’t trying the correct solution. This was a known issue and we needed a hint to move past it.

➖ While I appreciated the change of gameplay mode the boss fight provided, it felt like there were no stakes and no real danger. Enjoyable, but I didn’t really see a mechanical point to it.

➕ The physical game space we played in was generous. We never felt cramped or that we were bumping into each other.

🐈 Being asked to find Whiskers the cat was the inciting incident of Alien Infection, and I fully support more cats being in more games. 

Tips For Visiting

• oasisVRX is located inside of Bell Works a mall that used to be the Bell Labs building. It is currently the space where Severance films. I encourage you to spend some time enjoying the unusual building.
• Parking is abundant and surrounding the oval-shaped building. It’s easiest to park near any entrance and find your way on foot.
• There are ample food options within Bell Works; they aren’t cheap.

Book your hour with vrCAVE’s Alien Infection, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: vrCAVE comped our tickets for this game.