The Lost Tomb is one of the best escape rooms in San Antonio. Here are our recommendations for great escape rooms in San Antonio.
Monkey around
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Date Played: August 8, 2019
Team size: up to 8; we recommend 3
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $30.99 per player
Ticketing: Public
Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
The biggest disappointments are aesthetically beautiful, high-budget games that do not play well. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again.
The Lost Tomb was gorgeous and had some fantastic moments… but the puzzles and gameplay felt incomplete. This was made worse by wear that rendered some puzzles especially difficult to interpret.
After playing and loving Extreme Escape’s The Cursed, we went in fully prepared to be enamored with The Lost Tomb. It didn’t work out that way.
If you love a beautiful set, there’s still an adventure in The Lost Tomb. If you feel that a high-quality escape experience necessitates strong puzzles and gameplay, then your relic is in another tomb.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Scenery snobs
- Players with at least some experience
Why play?
- Cool effects
- Nifty set design
Story
Our archeological dig had angered the ancient Mayan gods. We had to restore the artifacts to their rightful places or suffer the gods’ wrath.
Setting
Extreme Escape’s The Lost Tomb was a good-looking game. There were loads of details that gave it that classic Indiana Jones vibe.
The lighting and effects helped to sell the setting.
With the exception of one small late-game space, the build quality was quite high.
Gameplay
Extreme Escape’s The Lost Tomb was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.
Analysis
➕ The set looked good and, at its best, the tech felt magical, in that cursed-tomb type of way. Together, the set and tech made a charming combination.
➕ Extreme Escape added effects to The Lost Tomb that engaged multiple senses and enhanced the experience.
➖ Most of the puzzles were almost fully designed. A few too many of them required some amount of trial and error, given the possible different ways of interpreting the clues. In many instances the cluing wasn’t quite refined enough.
➖ One segment of the game required expert night vision. We had to discern detail in the dark without a portable light source. This whole segment felt like it was the result of a massive oversight. From set to interaction, it was amazing that this corner of the game existed at all.
➕ Extreme Escape is one of the few companies that doesn’t freak out about players using cameras in the games.
➖ There was significant wear on crucial props and set pieces.
➕/➖ One set piece solved into an especially satisfying and surprising response. That said, the gamemaster had to give us specific instructions for how not to act with this set piece, putting a damper on the moment.
➕/➖ Another clever puzzle might have been a little too clever. It required us to act in a way that felt counter to the instructions given to us at the beginning of the game. This could have been mitigated with extra in-game cluing.
Tips For Visiting
- There is a parking lot.
- They are on the top floor of the plaza.
Book your hour with Extreme Escape’s The Lost Tomb, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Extreme Escape comped our tickets for this game.
