Category: Captured LV Allentown

Devil’s Den is one of the best escape rooms in Eastern Pennsylvania. Here are our recommendations for great escape rooms in the Eastern Pennsylvania area.

Damned if we do…

Location:  Allentown, PA

Date Played: July 25, 2021

Team Size: 5-8; we recommend 4-6

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $28.50 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: Brief moments of flashing lights and loud sounds

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

I’ll readily admit that I’m quite tired of cliche serial killer narratives, both in escape rooms and the entertainment industry more generally. That said, Devil’s Den had the potential to be an excellent escape room that happened to be serial killer-themed. With just a few small exceptions, its puzzle design was highly creative and smooth — among the best of the rooms at Captured LV’s two locations.

Where Devil’s Den fell short, however, was in the glaring inconsistency of its set design. Though it nailed the serial killer lair vibe overall, with blood-splattered walls and creepy morgue doors, a number of elements in the room felt out of place. Unless our psychopathic serial killer-kidnapper was also a novice scrapbooker, these elements felt both cheap and immersion-breaking.

We played Devil’s Den right as it was opening to the public, and I truly hope Captured LV will go the extra mile to patch these issues. Having played Captured LV’s The Island, The Haunted Theatre, and The Mayan Temple, I know the company is fully capable of building awesome sets, and with some extra attention to detail, Devil’s Den could quickly become a regional standout.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Horror fans
• Any experience level

The Soul Collector is one of the best escape rooms in Eastern Pennsylvania. Here are our recommendations for great escape rooms in the Eastern Pennsylvania area.

Soul Proprietorship

Location:  Allentown, PA

Date Played: July 5, 2021

Team Size: 4-8; we recommend 3-5

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $28.50 per player

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Soul Collector transported us to a beautiful antique shop full of character and mysteries.

Compared to the local Eastern Pennsylvania escape room market, The Soul Collector stands out for its high-quality set design and gameplay. The room felt both homemade and polished, and it was clear that the creators really care about what they’re doing.

We enjoyed how many layers of puzzles and challenges were packed into The Soul Collector. With so much to do and discover, this room can easily keep an enthusiast team busy for quite a while, and provide a substantial but achievable challenge for newer teams.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Antiques enthusiasts
• Best for players with at least some experience

Murder of 89 is one of the best escape rooms in Eastern Pennsylvania. Here are our recommendations for great escape rooms in the Eastern Pennsylvania area.

Retro Inspection

Location:  Allentown, PA

Date Played: June 25, 2021

Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 2-3

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $28.50 per player

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

I may be a 90s kid, but I still enjoy a good adventure back to the 80s. Murder of 89 began with an intriguing narrative premise: murder victim Roxy Warner suspected her life was in danger and, as an aspiring journalist, hid the secret evidence she’d uncovered behind an intricate sequence of puzzles in her bedroom. In order to fully win the game, we needed to not just solve all these puzzles but also identify the correct murderer and murder weapon.

This game was all about the puzzles, hidden throughout various decor and toys you’d expect to find in an 80s teenager’s bedroom. There was a nice variety of puzzle types, and I particularly enjoyed a few puzzles which creatively utilized found objects. The room had lots of padlocks and minimal tech, though this made sense diegetically (and I loved that the story-within-a-story is that Roxy basically built a gen 1 escape room to hide her stuff!). The puzzle sequence felt a bit structurally aimless at times — especially since the game is fully contained in a small, static space — but a light meta element and incrementally revealed evidence about the suspects helped keep things anchored. While the set and props were fairly well maintained overall, I was disappointed to find an enticing ghost puzzle on a prop that shouldn’t be too difficult to modify or replace.

Murder of 89 did an admirable job of worldbuilding, conveyed with just the right amount of reading. It felt a bit like a physical embodiment of a tabletop murder investigation game. I’d hoped the evidence we’d accumulated throughout the investigation — compelling motives and purported alibis for our top 3 suspects — would get used for some final step of deduction, but the final puzzle, though fun and thematic, ended up being more of a straightforward puzzle. Nonetheless, this is a fun game for a lean team of enthusiasts or a slightly larger team of newer players.