Room Escape Artist

Who is Douglas??

Location: Plymouth, England

Date Played: April 4, 2026

Team Size: 2-8; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: £15-25 per player depending on team size

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: None

Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

After marveling at the overwhelming cleverness of The Rubicon, I knew I had to learn more about how Roomsmiths began. A few days later, we returned to tackle Roomsmiths’ earlier game, The Naked Eye, which had opened way back in 2017.

In many regards, The Naked Eye showed its age. While no maintenance issues affected the gameplay, everything felt quite old and weathered. Furniture and purchased props were somewhat randomly scattered around the space. It looked like the sort of scrappy second-hand selection more common in the early days of escape rooms.

And yet, there was far more to this game than first met the eye. At the core of the gameplay, a classic escape room sin was twisted into an unexpected design feature. It was satisfying to feel like we were led to break a rule… only to discover that The Naked Eye was a few steps ahead of us. Amidst a patchwork of other now-questionable tropes — partial disassembly of furniture, strange notes written in strange places, somewhat arbitrary searching — we encountered a distinctive and compelling voice already starting to emerge throughout much of the gameplay. Once we acclimated to its unique style, The Naked Eye flowed smoothly and offered an enjoyable collection of puzzles.

This idiosyncratic design philosophy was developed and polished substantially further in The Rubicon, yet for puzzle enthusiasts visiting Roomsmiths, The Naked Eye would make a stellar warmup. This game has a few tricks up its sleeve that are sure to amuse even the most experienced of players.

Who is this for?

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

Why play?

• A creative twist on a classic escape room
• So much charming quirkiness

Story

We paid a visit to RoomCorp Enterprise to investigate some strange occurrences happening there.

Setting

The Naked Eye opened in a weathered detective’s office. A heavy wooden desk and filing cabinet were surrounded by an assortment of chairs. A portal-esque painting adorned the wall.

Gameplay

Roomsmiths’ The Naked Eye was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

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

Analysis

➖/➕ The Naked Eye looked and felt like an old game, though this aesthetic may have ultimately been to its advantage. While the set wasn’t the most visually compelling on the surface, it effectively evoked the feeling of a detective’s office that has really seen some things. A later set, while still minimalist, utilized simple lighting to create a sense of absurdist dread.

➕ In sharp contrast with the unassuming space, it was all the more surprising to find elements of gameplay that were still innovative by contemporary standards. The gameplay satisfyingly layered upon itself as the experience progressed. One particular puzzle mechanic offered some witty commentary on a commonly frowned-upon escape room behavior and had our heads spinning.

➕ While The Naked Eye showed years of wear on certain set pieces, it was sufficiently maintained such that none of the gameplay was hindered.

➖ While most of the gameplay was reasonably clued, we also encountered certain archaic escape room tropes, like random searching and cheeky notes written in places we probably needn’t have looked. A relic of times past, these elements eroded our trust around otherwise fair and thoughtful game design choices.

➕ There was a strong sense of dark humour throughout the gameplay, both in substance and interactivity.

➕ Multiple puzzles were essentially interactive Dadaist art pieces, leading to puzzle solutions that were rather visually striking in their simplicity.

Tips For Visiting

• Street parking is available nearby.
• We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Cosmic Kitchen.

Book your hour with Roomsmiths’ The Naked Eye, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Roomsmiths provided media discounted tickets for this game.