Singapore Discovery Centre / Black Lake Facility - "The Research Lab"

LOCATION:  Joo Koon, Singapore

Photo above is property of Singapore Discovery Centre

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

Date Played: May 12, 2022

Genre: Sci-Fi, Investigative

Difficulty (Based on 4 PPL): 5/10

Total # of Players: 4-6 PPL (Ages 12+)

Length of Time: 60 Minutes

Price: SDG30/PP

Booking Type: Private

Escaped? Yes

📖 THE STORY

The Black Lake Facility, is Singapore’s top secret facility for multi-dimensional experimentation and research, and home to the Black Lake Relic. Named ‘Operation Onyx’, five of the facility’s soldiers were sent through the relic’s portal, and only four have returned with a single artefact. On top of that, CCTV from the facility’s armoury, medical centre, basement, and the research lab showed disturbing footage of the returning soldiers and the artefact they brought back just before the facility’s emergency evacuation. With only one hour of communication available between you and the facility’s communications, will you be able to find out what happened to the missing soldier and information about the artefact before communications goes dark?

Video above is property of Singapore Discovery Centre

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

• The setup to the room was exciting. With the introduction of the lore of the rooms, the pre-show footage, and the immersive environment, our team entered with high hopes. Even the setup for a group photo was written into the pre-show!

• Unlimited hints were helpful but it did not give the puzzle away - hints were given through a phone and communicated clearly enough to progress the game.

• Puzzles here do not need too much of a leap of logic to solve the moment we get to them. Therefore, it makes the puzzles themselves rather accessible across difficulty levels.

• There were some creative takes on puzzle building, such as using sound to activate doors, or magnets to unlock boxes.

• This room (or set of rooms) had a lot of potential to expand in terms of the story and story-puzzle alignment. Therefore, we will be looking forward to seeing how this location grows.
  

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

• From a mechanical and detailed standpoint, some of the puzzles needed work - we had an incident of asking one of the room’s staff to enter the room because one of the mag locks was not functioning well. At the same time, there were cases where the puzzle process could be smoother if there were points of reference within the room, without relying on external or general knowledge from the players.

• There were a few logic leaps in getting to the puzzles, especially since there was little to no link between the puzzles and the story in the room’s sections. In the end, some of the puzzles ended up being accessed by accident, brute force, or only through calling for a hint.

• While the puzzles worked well on their own, they felt like IQ tests thrown into their environment - for example, puzzles that were there as mechanical barriers to the end - rather than puzzles that led to the final objective of the room. Which led to the next point…

• There was a lack of closure or pay-off at the end of the room. After solving the final puzzle, we were expecting a conclusive epilogue that linked our activity in the game to the lore of the location. However, it turned out to be just us getting informed that our game was just one of four chapters that could be played in any order, with no indication on what happened to our final objectives.

• For players with issues with night vision or seeing in a dark environment, there can be safety concerns while exiting the game rooms. For our room, we had to go from a lit environment to the darker lobby, and down a flight of stairs. While there was a staff member available to ensure safety, it never hurts to be careful here.
  

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

Go for this room if you’re a beginner for escape rooms or you're not as concerned about the lore of the escape rooms you visit. In terms of costs, people who have family memberships to the Singapore Discovery Centre can also give it a try, especially if you’re looking for an experience with puzzles.

However, I would personally give this a miss for now. The buildup to the room was great, but the weak link between the puzzles and the story, together with a lack of closure at the end of the game, were its downfall. The accumulated costs needed to play all four (4) chapters to get through the location’s lore (up to SGD120 per person) with no clear process of each room’s conclusion is also, unfortunately, too high for the experience provided.

Regardless, the buildup and back story behind this room still has a lot of potential for improvement and immersion. Therefore, I would not discount returning after a major revamp.

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

This room is located next to the entrance lobby of the Singapore Discovery Centre. Parking is available outdoors, via a short walk from the main Discovery Centre building. However, mobility and accessibility issues will come into play, as stair-climbing and crawling might be involved in play. This room, "The Research Lab", is one of four story chapters in Black Lake Facility, forming an overarching story. Take a look at their web page to keep updated on new rooms or room updates.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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Disclosure: We thank Singapore Discovery Centre for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.

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