LOCATION: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Photo above is property of Cryptic Characters
📝 ETR DECODER
🔑 GAME: Dungeon of Despair
📅 DATE PLAYED: December 29, 2022
🎬 GENRE: Fantasy
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 4 ppl): 6/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 4-8 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: CAD $35PP/$24.50PP (Students)/$20PP (Ages 12 & Under)
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes
📖 THE STORY
After some recent magical attacks in the kingdom of Edoria and the kidnapping of the heir, the king and queen have declared that all magical practitioners are to be arrested and executed. Unfortunately, that includes you and your friends. After getting thrown into the dungeon, your group has one hour to escape before your execution. Can you make it out and, possibly find out who is behind all the attacks and where the heir has been taken, along the way?
🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE
The room was designed with such detail that nothing stuck out as being out of place. The walls and props looked authentic and even down to the padlocks, wooden boxes and aged paper, everything belonged in the room.
The story was simple but gripping and detailed enough that even afterwards, we felt that there would need to be a sequel to the game.
A bulk of the puzzles were tech based but blended into the room seamlessly. A few times we did feel like there was some magic at work here.
The ending was a fun and clever eureka which had us talking all the way home and the next day.
The fantastic GM we had that took us to the room and interacted with us afterwards, added another level of immersion with the acting and costume.
🧩 MISSED THE MARK
One puzzle we felt could have been a little clearer in the instructions and it took a few iterations for us to solve.
🏹 TAKE A SHOT?
"Dungeon of Despair" was a beautifully designed room and the attention to detail to make sure everything kept you immersed was amazing, down to the padlocks and even the GM. We, ourselves, felt like the most out of place thing in the room. The game also allowed for an additional side quest which was well thought out. If you do take the full hour to escape, you will still have the pleasure of finishing the room with a good ending but if you do have additional time, you can enjoy the side quest and get more story out of the game. The story and how it played out was fun and though simple, very effective in keeping the game exciting. The puzzles did promote a lot of teamwork and working together to complete. Anyone who is into the fantasy theme and beautiful sets would love this room, but this is a must play escape room for anyone and everyone.
ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO
Free Street Parking
Lobby with Seating Area
Wheelchair accessible, First Floor
(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)
