Review: Escape Artistry - The Railcar

RATING: 4 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 3:17

Rescue a city, recycle an entire train car, escape… all in a days work.

Story

What starts off as a typical commute quickly becomes a race against time. Unravel the mystery, find the clues, solve the puzzles, stop the train, and save Chicago.

Set over 30 years into the future in a Chicago that was rebuilt after a 3rd Chicago fire, commuters board an average CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) train and head to the heart of down town.

Everything’s going great until suddenly the train screeches to a stop. Right away train enthusiasts realize they’re the only ones on this railcar and something just doesn’t feel right. Out of nowhere an unfamiliar and strange voiced friendly hacker takes control of the trains PA system to inform the group that something nefarious is going on.

Trip takers have to unravel the mystery and figure out how to make the train safe again and get home before it’s too late.

Scenic

The Railcar knocks scenic out of the park from the get go. Before even setting foot in the game there’s a wow reveal. The room that the game is in looks like an actual train platform complete with some graffiti and a booth (which cleverly disguises where the game master is stationed).

The whole escape game itself is set inside a full scale train car that was made of entirely recycled material. Since the third Chicago fire, the city had to be rebuilt using scrap and reclaimed material anywhere they could and the railcar itself is a perfect example of that.

Escape Artistry does a great job of hiding their puzzles as well so it doesn’t just seem like a bunch of random games to play sitting out on a train for some reason. There’s different ads set up inside the train, books and even some litter scattered throughout. By locking the door to the conductors area they’ve even been able to give a single room game a multi room feel.

Escape Artistry goes the extra mile by having the game master play a hacker who’s taken over the trains PA system. This allows commuters to receive clues without breaking immersion.

Puzzles

Escape Artistry really jam packs the space with plenty of interesting puzzles and most impressively (considering the fact that we’re just on a regular public train), none of them seem out of place. They have found a way to turn almost anything into a clever and intuitive game. One standout puzzle is made from various books you find hidden in left behind backpacks or behind locked compartments. There’s an excellent variety of challenges as well, some thinking tasks and even a giant overhead maze that requires solid teamwork to complete.

There was one puzzle that dragged on and felt like a bit of a time waster related to plotting a chart to get a combination needed to advance. Outside of that, everything was very creative and fun. The game also has an excellent logical flow allowing you to intuitively go from one puzzle to the next with ease. There’s plenty to do at the beginning so teams can branch out but everything eventually leads up to a bottleneck towards the climax.

The one drawback on the puzzles is that even though they didn’t seem out of place being on a train, they don’t necessarily relate to the narrative or advance the story until the very end.

Overall

Escape Artistry is a unique venue. They have two locations (but only a few blocks apart) but tell an interesting story as a whole. Their concept is that they’re a team of time travelers trying to find a lost agent. Our futuristic hosts were able to narrow down the possibly locations of the missing person to 6 different time periods. The staff is exceptional and really added to the entire experience through the individual characters each employee came up with for themselves.

Each game is set in one of those time periods and the game master stays in character the entire time which creates a really fun immersion aspect. The Railcar has the most visual wow factor and even though it’s an older game, it holds up really well and is a can’t miss game in the heart of the city.