RATING: 6 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: 2:30

A mission of global importance requires the highest qualified field operative. Wait, what? We’re sending in that guy? Crap.

Operation: X-13 is a remote play version of an existing, physical escape game at the venue’s brick and mortar location – retrofitted to be offered as a live, online experience. Although altered slightly to better flow in this new medium, the game is, at it’s core, essentially the same as what guests will find should they visit Trapped! in person. To read our Pro-Tips on how to best enjoy this new Remote Play genre, click here.

You have discovered the enigmatic Cybortek corporation has been developing a formula, known as secret formula X-13, which they plan on using to genetically engineer normal people into killing machines for mercenary groups around the globe. You have discovered the president of the Cybortek has formula X-13 hidden in his office. Can you sneak into the high security headquarters, avoiding the alarms and lasers, to blow up his wall safe with C-4 explosive to get the formula while there is still time?

Being high ranking members of the Resistance keeps us busy, and as such we can’t be everywhere at the same time. Luckily, we’ve got a trusty Recruit with boots on the ground, wired to communicate directly. Also he’s not very trusty. Also he’s kind of terrible at his job. But he’s all we’ve got.

The Cybortek office is surprisingly easy to get into; perhaps a little too easy. A known front for villainous mad scientist-types, it’s believed their latest chemical formula, code-named X-13, is capable of turning regular people into mutated, murderous super soldiers. Intel believes Cybortek’s president, Carlos Alverado, plans to auction the X-13 formula to mercenary groups around the globe, with the intention to sell it to the highest bidder, no questions asked.

Enter: an immediate sense of urgency, followed shortly there after by our bumbling Recruit, late to his mission, and still on a rather embarrassing phone call with his, ahem, home base superior (read: over-bearing mother.) Within a fraction of a second, it becomes instantly obvious that Operation: X-13 online will play out in an entirely different, completely hilarious tone than one could have ever suspected.

Operation: X-13 is a mission based inside the Cybortek corporate office. Beginning in a modest, rather plane reception area, it’s clear that this evil company puts far more time into their villainous schemes for world domination than they do decor.

A large reception desk dominates the small lobby, framed by a far-too-pleasant Cybortek logo hung on a metallic backsplash. Doors surround the space to evoke the sense of a working office building.

Behind the first, agents find the security room of Walter Wiggins. A console lined with flashing buttons sits under live surveillance monitors – one of which shows easter egg footage from Trapped!’s sister game, Sector 13 in Upland, CA.

The final door leads into the President’s private office. Equally modest in its furnishings, a large executive desk sits front and center, with an adjacent bookshelf full of some of Alverado’s personal collectibles. At first glance, finding X-13 isn’t going to be easy – but saving the world never is. [cue heroic music]

Operating under cover is always a daunting task, but in this case it’s amplified tenfold by a completely unqualified Recruit hindering us every step of the way. Upon entering the Cybortek office, he attempts to disable a security alarm, only to accidentally set the timer on a bomb he isn’t qualified to disarm in the process. Ok – I guess we really do need to get the heck out of here in under an hour. (It’s so hard to find good help these days.)

With little hope from the Recruit on location, remote operatives will need to study every last detail from own secure computer screens. Secrets to unlocking Cybortek are abound, but piecing them back together will require some real detective work and, thanks to our Recruit, every last shred of patience.

Hacking computer systems and taking over the security mainframe is only part of the mission; Remote operatives may need to have one-on-one conversations using undercover identities to trick Cybortek staff into giving the Recruit proper security clearance required to proceed. What results is a brilliant sequence of character interactions easily as satisfying as some of the very best immersive theater attractions we’ve experienced around the world. And like all great immersive theater. Operation: X-13 will give you what you’re willing to give it – so come ready to play your part.

If successful, the mission ends with a bang and the world is saved in a truly cinematic climax. That is, of course, if our grossly under-qualified recruit can manage to follow instructions and evade Cybortek’s roving security detail, without arousing suspicion. Let’s just hope he at least knows which way to point the gun.

Our team had actually played Operation: X-13 in person previously, but we were promised a “different experience” with the Remote Play version. Different, in this case, is an understatement. Trapped! has expertly added such a layer of immersion with its online execution that it easily (and almost instantly) jumped from a 4 Key game in person to a solid 6 Key Remote Play experience, no questions asked.

Operation: X-13 pans out online like a live action movie, and remote operatives have the ability to direct it live, in real time. The bumbling Recruit character adds charm and non-stop hilarity to what would otherwise be a serious-toned game. Doing so can sometimes be a risk, but in the case of Operation: X-13 online, it comes with great reward. The additional layer of interactions between the Recruit and Cybortek security adds not only a tangible sense of urgency, but the ability to turn actors into puzzle pieces in such a way that would likely be impossible in a brick and mortar experience. From start to finish, Operation: X-13 is a profound mission accomplished.

Trapped has long been a favorite venue, and in fact they placed third in our nation-wide 2020 Readers Key Tournament. We’ve always been drawn to their originality and home-grown ingenuity – but simply put, Operation: X-13 online sets a whole new standard for their storyworld immersion. We’re excited to see what the future may hold for this new subset of our industry, and after our experience guiding this Recruit’s mission inside Cybortek, we fully hopee Trapped! continues to help lead the way down this new rabbit hole. But for now, it’s time for our Recruit to get home for dinner. His mom made chicken nuggets.

*Montu, Escape Authority’s VP, Dog Business™ and lead home game correspondent endorses the opinions found within this review.

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Venue: Trapped!

Location: Remote online play at home, broadcast live from Las Vegas, NV

Number of Remote Games: 1

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 60 minutes

Capacity: 6 people

Group Type: Private  / You will not be paired with strangers.

Cost: $59 for two connections and $15 for each additional connection.

We thank Trapped! for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.