Review: Locksmith Escape Games - What Happened in Raven Woods?

RATING: 0 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 12:12

What happened in Raven Woods? No, honestly. What the hell happened to make this game so terrible?

Story

It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly, you hear a scream.

What happened in Raven Woods?

Ok guys. I’m just going to level with you. The scream came from me. I’m not embarrassed to admit that I was afraid. Afraid of just what our industry has become that this is a game worthy of charging a ticket price.

Once inside, this experience becomes much less about story and much more about, well, not very much. Twigs? Disappointment? Now there’s the real story.

So, what really did happen in Raven Woods? After enduring this game, a better question is “does it actually even matter?”

Scenic

You know that old saying, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all?” If we prescribed to that logic, our scenic section for this one would literally be blank.

What Happened in Raven Woods? takes place over multiple different rooms, and somehow, each one is of a lesser quality than that which came before it. That statement is a profound one in any environment, but even more so here given how poorly thrown together things begin.

The adventure starts in a “tent” – a word which here means “painter’s canvas drop clothes stapled to office walls, trimmed with baseboards that cap a hardwood floor.” You know, typical outdoorsy-style stuff.

But from there, saddened explorers find themselves actually lost IN Raven Woods. ::insert heavy quotey fingers::

Black office walls, again trimmed with baseboards over a hardwood floor evoke “the great outdoors” (to no one) – while a sparse handful of literal dead twigs picked up from a nearby field create “the dense forest.”

Throw in a few inexplicable Halloween decorations and you truly have the recipe for something “special,” a word which here means “not at all special.”

Puzzles

By now, expectations for the quality of What Happened in Raven Woods? have been pretty solidly set. As such, it probably shouldn’t come as any surprise that this game’s puzzles are as bad as each aspect discussed before them.

A “healthy” mix of illogical, tedious, and drab, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario wherein anyone who stumbles into these “woods” (or twigs) could possibly enjoy themselves. Puzzles for puzzles sake do little to advance the narrative, while instead they further frustrate players to the point of wanting to simply… leave.

Overall

Locksmith Escape Games is one of the newest venues to call the greater Orlando area home. Situated just to the north in Sanford, they aren’t far from some of the world’s greatest attractions. Unfortunately distance not withstanding, they couldn’t possibly be further away when it comes to quality.

Perhaps even more unfortunate is the fact that each of the venue’s three games was purchased from a turnkey design company. Now, to be clear, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with buying an escape game for your venue; just be sure that you know what you’re getting. While we of course cannot be sure, it’s difficult to imagine these games were not purchased sight-unseen. Surely there’s no scenario where a prospective venue would actually play one and think they are the right fit for any venue who has hopes of succeeding long-term, right?

That, more than anything else, makes this review uncomfortable, even for us. The team at Locksmith Escape Games is enthusiastic, and genuinely seems to care about their guests. The problem is, people can only go so far when their product is bottom of the barrel bad. And in a market like Orlando, with several stellar venue options to choose from, Locksmith Escape Games stands strong in our opinion as not just some of the worst games in town, but some of the worst games we’ve ever played.

It is our hope that Locksmith Escape Games opts to phase out these experiences in the near future in an effort to evolve and improve their product. We never wish to see a venue close, but in its current state, it’s difficult to envision a longevity or bright future for this brand.