July 2023
Prodigy Escape
The Lost Temple
Overview
We had waited for a number of months for Dan and Lisa to drop the announcement that The Lost Temple was ready to go and we couldn’t wait to get ourselves back after our enjoyable experience trying to solve the Clifton Manor. We were kindly invited back to try out the new room following a couple of tweaks after the first week live and it’s safe to say, the room is worth the wait. It’s comfortably one of the best decorated and immersive rooms we have played and you really do draw yourself into the theme of the game without much effort. The amount of time and effort Dan and Lisa have spent on making this room what it is is a huge credit to them and it’s easy to see why they are one of the best rated escape room companies in Devon.
Prodigy is located on the outskirts of Exeter but does have ample parking at the venue. The venue is an easy enough walk from in the train station in Exeter. The reception is a large spacious area with school styled lockers to put your coats and valuables in whilst playing.
After a quick catch up with Dan we were escorted into our room for the briefing video, given a bag of goodies by Dan and we get on our way.
As mentioned, the room was truly brilliant. It really was like stepping foot into a temple. The attention to detail and even a cheeky exposure to some water in the temple was a brilliant addition. As the game moved on, the theme improved. We were fully immersed into solving the mystery of the lost temple. The background music and sound effects throughout just added to the experience. The game is plenty big enough for larger teams without feeling too close together. There was no issues at all with lighting and was accessible throughout.
If you are a fan of puzzles, then this rooms isn’t for you. Luckily for us, we can take or leave them and more and more companies are now coming up with different ways of keeping people entertained without the use of good old padlocks. Having an abundance of padlocks in a temple room would have been quite strange so we were glad Prodigy came up with some quite unique puzzles that we haven’t seen before. The game was very linear which helped keeping us on track and apart from a couple of sticky points where we needed pointing in the right direction, the game flowed really well for most of us in the group. The great thing about this room is that you can chose the difficulty of the room before you enter and even during the game, if Dan or Lisa think you are really struggling, then the difficulty can be amended in the game. A really nice idea! The end game was challengingly brilliant. It was similar to old arcade game but it was something that really did finish off the whole game fantastically well.
Our temple guide was available through a walkie talkie, which made sense and was on hand if we needed it. There was a timer on the tv screen where we had the briefing to keep us on track and our guide popped up on the walkie talkie a couple of times when we were close to getting something but not quite hitting the mark. Dan and Lisa have a really good way of spotting if you need a nudge or will work it out on your own.
Round Up
The Lost Temple is certainly one of the better games we have taken on. Being invited back to try the room by the owners was unexpected but a really nice gesture and Dan even showed us behind the scenes and the making and design of the room. Even without the behind the scenes tour, you can tell that this room has had an awful amount of attention to detail and effort put into it. We can’t wait to try out future ideas that Prodigy are cooking up and they are must if you are visiting Devon.
Team: 4 Players
Time Escaped: 51:08
Success/Failed: Success
Company Details:
July 2023
Escapism Plymouth
Radioactive
Overview
This was our fifth room and third visit to Escapism in Plymouth after previously completing Wrecked, Forge, Missing and Legacy. Our host for this game owner Lauren and it was great to have a catch up about how the new rooms were progressing and any recommendations for further challenges in the local area. The waiting area is very minimalistic but clean and tidy where there are window benches to sit and wait but we have never been waiting that long to get started. There is a refreshment area and a big cabinet selling a lot of home escape games. Lauren was kind enough not to go through the health and safety and padlock instructions due to us being regulars at this stage.
You are taken into the main room where we were given our briefing by Lauren regarding mission and the impending doom if we did not complete in time. The room is very well lit, with still having a dark and eerie feel about it, which was actually quite impressive. The set up for the room and the extra little hidden extras was really smart and we all felt we were immersed into the theme very quickly. As with all their games, there are background noises to keep you immersed into the room and your mission and this is something that Escapism do really well.
This room has turned out to be one of our favourites that we have ever done. All of us in the team felt as if the puzzles had a really good mix of puzzles to compete and we could each go off in our own direction and complete different puzzles without having to rely on each other, meaning that often some of us are stood around watching. One word puzzle got our heads scratching for a while and Lauren did have to give us a couple of nudges on this one but I don’t think we would have figured it out on our own. There didn’t seem to be too many padlocks in this room which made it a nice change to use our brains for different type of puzzles.
Lauren was able to type on the tv timer screen to give us a nudge and she was happy to leave us to it as she has watched us on previous visits but when we did need the help in this one, Lauren was there to point us in the right direction without giving anything away. The tv makes a room themed noise if you do receive a hint to make sure you don’t miss it, which is a common but nice touch with Escapism. We only needed 3 hints in this room and from what we can remember, it was mainly focused on one particular word puzzle but they were definitely needed.
Round Up
Escapism continues to be a cracking venue and we are sad to be coming to the end of our games there. All the rooms are very different and there is something for everyone for every different difficulty level. Radioactive was our favourite room at Escapism and easily in our top 3 rooms we have done to date. Lauren and the team seemed genuinely happy to welcome us back this does go a long way in wanting us to return. Remember, when you book another room there and then, you also get a little bit of discount which is great for returning customers.
Oh and look out for the lizards!!
Team: 4 Players
Time Escaped: 47:00
Success/Failed: Success
Company Details:
July 2023
Escapism Plymouth
Breadcrumbs
Overview
This was our sixth and final room on our third visit to Escapism in Plymouth after just completing Radioactive and hour before hand. Our host for this game was again owner Lauren after she had eased our way through the previous game. The waiting area is very minimalistic but clean and tidy where there are window benches to sit and wait but we have never been waiting that long to get started. There is a refreshment area and a big cabinet selling a lot of home escape games. Lauren was kind enough not to go through the health and safety and padlock instructions due to us just completing a room.
For this game you are split up to start. We were offered the opportunity to split up into pairs or one of us left the other 3. We opted for Tom to leave us and to be locked away. The rest of us were taken into the main room a couple of minutes later where we were given our briefing by Lauren regarding the mission. Even though we were separated, all of could see and hear the brief from Lauren and from the tv which was nice as when we were all together again, we didn’t have to explain anything to Tom. The room is set as an old fairytale kitchen and even though it’s got a dark twist to it, it is still well lit, and is very much much a family themed room. As with all their games, there are background noises to keep you immersed into the room and your mission and this is something that Escapism do really well.
This room started off with some decent puzzles that we could all do, even though separated and there was plenty enough for us to do. The puzzles stayed within the theme of the room, which isn’t always the case in some venues and there was enough for us to do separately. The room is also plenty big enough for big teams. Once we were all together, the majority of the puzzles were padlocks but there is a good variety of padlocks that you aren’t scrambling around trying a ton load of locks. The end game was different and got us all thinking and we actually completed the room without any hints as the room flowed really for us.
As mentioned, we didn’t require any hints with this room but we are sure Lauren would jump in and help if we needed it. The tv was only there as a timer for us but the games master can type out clues if needed. The tv makes a room themed noise if you do receive a hint to make sure you don’t miss it, which is a common but nice touch with Escapism.
Round Up
Breadcrumbs, we believe, is Escapism’s ‘easier’ room focused on families. However, this did not mean it was a walk in the park. As with all the rooms here, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and Escapism is a must visit if you are in the local area. All the rooms are very different and there is something for everyone for every different difficulty level. The owners Lauren and Joe have done a brilliant job in putting this place together and making it a pleasure to visit. Remember, when you book another room there and then, you also get a little bit of discount which is great for returning customers. We are sad that we have completed the rooms that are there, however, we will be back for their seasonal room at Christmas.
Team: 4 Players
Time Escaped: 40:00
Success/Failed: Success
Company Details:
July 2023
Escape Hunt- Exeter
The Fourth Samurai
Overview
This was our first visit to Escape Hunt. Escape hunt is well know across Exeter and with a number of rooms to chose from, we decided to give one of their more challenging rooms a try as our first attempt, The Fourth Samurai.
The location is easy to find in the middle of the city. There is some public parking nearby with a short 5 minute walk to the venue. You enter into a multi sport bar with axe throwing and darts downstairs. We approached the main desk and were escorted upstairs to the games area where we were greeted by our host for the game.
The briefing area and waiting area is actually quite small and compact for the number of rooms they have available. It is clear that the focus at Escape Hunt is quick turnaround to maximise profit instead of customer experience. Whilst we were receiving our brief in the corridor, two separate parties had to squeeze through us, interrupting the brief and this caused us to lose a little interest into the experience before we had even started. One of us was nominated as group leader where they were the only one who could see when walking in and we were taken into room where we began our mission.
The first thing to mention is larger groups will struggle in this room. We are a team of 4 and the beginning of the game was a real struggle for us. Only one of you can really start the game and it left us quite frustrated. Once we had a good look around the room, the background music and decoration did help us immerse us into the game somewhat but when we started going trough the puzzles and getting a closer look at detail, the room was actually quite tired and you could make out where old games had been adapted because of breakage etc. This did let the room down as it did have real promise and I dare say when it was new, it would have been quite an impressive room.
The first puzzle frustrated us, me in particular a lot. They gave us the option to just skip the puzzle and they would let us move on. This started the room off in a slightly negative tone for us and made us feel like there was no point int he puzzle if we can just move on. The puzzles had a linear approach where it felt as if there was enough for all 4 of us to do. There were a few sticking points that had us scratching our heads. Due to the theme of the room, padlocks were a no show with many combination locks and puzzles taking centre stage. The different areas of the game opened up different aspects of the story which was a nice touch and kept the theme flowing throughout.
There was no timer in the room so we were unsure how long we had during our game and a couple of times where we became stuck, there was a quiet voice that came over the room to point us in the right direction with a screen. There seemed to be a slight delay in some of the ‘happenings’ in the room after we had completed a puzzle so this did suggest to us that our game master was overseeing another room as well. We might be wrong but our previous experience in rooms does lead us to this conclusion. This isn’t the end of the world as long as the room flows properly, this felt a little sluggish at points.
Round Up
We have wanted to try out Escape Hunt for a while after other escape room owners have suggested we give this particle room a try. We would say the room was fun for novices and probably enthusiasts but for pro’s it might be a bit too sluggish and not overly challenging. The company is there to obviously make money but the churning over of customers and lack of customer interaction wasn’t really for us and this showed in the hosting. One to try and we would probably come back to try the other rooms as it was a decent room but there are better out there, particularly in Exeter.
Team: 4 Players
Time Escaped: 52:00
Success/Failed: Success
Company Details:
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