Review: It's A Trap - Imprisoned Creatures

RATING: 1 Key RESULT: Win REMAINING: 13:10

Imagine if Mr. Rogers created an escape room (after suffering a severe concussion that resulted in his inability to think clearly.) This is one puppet that I’ll never allow to be my neighbor.

Oh good. It’s storytime at It’s A Trap! again.

“You are simple farmers from a small village experiencing a terrible plague, and as a last resort you begrudgingly go to ask the nearby evil Shadowcaster for help.”

(Yes – he’s very specifically “evil.”)

“Upon entering his cottage, you instead find a caged creature. It pipes up and says that the evil Shadowcaster has trapped it, and that it will help you cure your plague, but you must first free it.”

We’ll just have to take their word for it, because nothing in the room even remotely connects to that story beyond “dragon puppet in cage.”

I may be dating myself here, but when I was a child in the 1970s, my parents’ living room was lined with faux wood paneling.

I just want to be clear: my parents WERE NOT WIZARDS.

We did not live in a “Wizard’s Hut” – and as such, neither does this dragon.

The room is filled with the finest “wizard knick-nacks” Walmart stocks in their home decor section – prop books, candles and a zen rock fountain (running.)

And speaking of everyone’s supplier of low-quality escape room props, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also acknowledge the infamous ever-present centerpiece of the “Wizard Hut,” The Walmart Clearance Tree™.

The Cosplayer once again makes his return, this time as the hand up the Dragon’s you-know-what, which, incidentally is the same place they pulled this game from in the first place. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, we met … The Cospuppet.

One thing this game lacks is a single memorable puzzle. Among all the other things it also lacks.

The majority of the game was a poor-man’s scavenger hunt, burdened by forced interaction with the Cospuppet to get vital direction.

The closest things to any “puzzles” were mundanely deciphering symbols – a task that, though intended to be story driven is entirely dry and boring – and a run of the mill household jigsaw puzzle.

Because wizardry.

Freeing The Cospuppet from his cage taught us that things can always get worse.

Enter: The Cosplayer. Into the room. Where he insisted we join hands and chant a magic spell repeatedly.

Because escape room.

Overall

Has anyone ever told you that It’s A Trap! is just bad? They told me – and now I’m telling you.

It’s A Trap! is just bad.

The Cospuppet was the best thing about this experience – but that doesn’t make this experience an escape room, and it’s certainly not enough to even save it as an attraction. Interacting with The Cospuppet was less forced and awkward than the forced and awkward interactions with The Cosplayer, but still far more forced and awkward than I was looking for in an escape room.

I wish I could say this experience was forgettable, because it’s honestly the best word to describe its quality as an escape room. But the truth is I’ve tried to forget it several times and I’m still left with memories of how bad it was.

Please enjoy this photo of The Cosplayer, only allowed in our team photo because he complied to our demand to include The Cospuppet.