Summary
A linear and very uncomplicated game which would serve as a good introduction to the genre for new players. Experienced players won’t get much out of it.
Review
Currently the only game in town – Cork’s We Escape is owned by a Hungarian, somewhat unsurprisingly. On a trip to my home town of Cork, a trip seemed indicated. I rounded up two cousins and my sister, who were joined by her two friends. On average the six of us had played just over 3 games each… formed of five zeroes and my 22 😀
Slight slip to start with as there was some confusion over the booking so we thought we were starting half an hour later than the host did. We were hanging around the area — which to be fair isn’t hard in Cork, it’s a small city — when she got a voicemail from the host wondering where we were, 10 minutes after our booked time but 20 minutes before when we thought we were due. No real problem; we went straight there and there was no game after us so no time deductions.
Our friendly host welcomed us and we locked up our stuff in the lockers before hearing the brief explanation: stuck in a serial killer’s room whilst investigating a disappearance of a member of the public, we needed to gather the evidence necessary to prove his guilt and make our way out. Not a very nuanced premise, but easy to understand and do. We didn’t get told things that I sort of assume to be true, such as that you use any clue once… let’s leave that one there. The hint system is not one I’m in favour of: hints were to be requested verbally, to a limit of three, and each request would result in the deduction of 5 minutes actual play time – yes, actual time, not a notional time penalty for leaderboard purposes.
The room was almost entirely linear with a reasonable balance of search and logic puzzles, a little dexterity, and a fair number of red herrings. One tech item was something I hadn’t seen before but then wondered how it had taken me so long to come across one. A couple of word puzzles would require reasonable English (and led to the “oh duh” outcome when we solved one). But very little in the way of taxing or difficult.
That meant that we troubled the game master very little in terms of hints; it’s a nice little game and as I mentioned already, a good first escape. As a 23rd… not so much.
On the debit side, we have a fairly dark room with only one torch and no real reason for it, and another one of my pet room hates of the number 1 being written in the continental style of an upside-down V.
Outcome
We finished in 27 minutes with no need of any hints and having barely broken a sweat. Only one of the puzzles took more than a few minutes to get through.
In numbers
Overall: 5/10
Difficulty: 2/10
Theming: 6/10
Host: 7/10
Wow: 1/10
Other details
Accessibility: Third floor, stairs only.
Alerts: UV, dark (and only one torch), fake body parts, time deducted for hints
Capacity: Each of the three different rooms onsite takes 2-6 people.
Cost: We paid the flat rate of €60 which doesn’t depend on number of players.
Photo: None.
Getting there: St. Patrick’s Street, a short stroll away, is served by most city buses whilst the bus station on Parnell Place is 10 minutes on foot. Kent Station is the nearest railway station and that’s around a 20 minute walk or take bus 205 to St. Patrick’s Street. Coming from abroad, the 226 bus from Cork Airport takes you to the above-mentioned bus station, though most locals would use a taxi.
Website: http://www.weescape.ie