“You’re aboot to die, eh. Soorry.”
Location: Tonawanda, NY
Date Played: September 2, 2018
Team size: 4-10; we recommend 4-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: from $28 per ticket
Ticketing: Private
REA Reaction
Over the Falls took us on a trip down the Niagara River on an old cargo ship beset by nefarious Canadian pirates.
The ship setting was expansive, varied, and beautiful in a worn and weathered way. Over the Falls was brimming with fantastic effects and memorable events.
While the challenges varied, and leaned a bit too heavily on search, Escape City Buffalo crafted an incredible environment to house an adventure. Above all else, adventuring aboard this vessel felt grand.
If you’re anywhere near Buffalo, this is a must play.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Scenery snobs
- Tourists to Niagara Falls
- Any experience level
Why play?
- The phenomenal set
- The water feature
- Tactile solves
Story
We had been traveling across the Niagara River when those infamous Canadian pirates seized our cargo ship, stole the goods, and abandoned the ship, leaving us on course to go right over Niagara Falls. We needed to avoid this impending disaster.
Setting
We began Over the Falls handcuffed to railings in the furnace compartment of an old cargo ship and worked our way to the bridge. The set was sprawling, magnificently detailed, and weathered. The bowels of this vessel felt lived in. It looked and smelled like a cargo ship.
Escape City Buffalo built some elaborate and impressive features into the later sets of Over the Falls.
Gameplay
Escape City Buffalo’s Over the Falls was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, and making connections.
Analysis
+ The set was incredible. Escape City Buffalo’s attention to detail created a gamespace that instilled a sense of adventure in us. It was a wonderfully fun environment to explore. It was gorgeous.
+ Over the Falls was well player-proofed. Escape City Buffalo’s epoxy game was solid. In this way they build detailed environments without leaving red herrings in their wake.
+ The initial furnace room set was especially fun to explore. We enjoyed the effects. A discovery felt like treasure.
– Over the Falls started with the team split between two different sides of the furnace room. This start felt uneven. One group had a lot more that they could accomplish than the other did.
+ There were a lot of captivating effects and memorable events.
– Over the Falls relied heavily on search challenge. We lost a lot of time retracing our steps, scouring for minute details. The most exciting gamespace asked us to search for small details with weak light.
+ Our favorite challenges required us to manipulate objects in the gamespace to achieve our goals. These were satisfying, tactile solves.
– It was difficult to understand the captain of our vessel when he spoke to us over the speakers. We pretty much never heard a word he said.
– Over the Falls lacked a finale. In the end, a door opened as we escaped the cargo ship. It didn’t make a ton of sense (Did we set the ship back on course? Did we find treasure?) and it didn’t punctuate the victory with any of the grand effects we’d seen earlier in the game.
+ The water feature. Wow.
Tips for Visiting
- Wear clothing and shoes that can get a little damp.
- There is a parking lot.
Book your hour with Escape City Buffalo’s Over the Falls, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Escape City Buffalo provided media discounted tickets for this game.
