RATING: 6 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 17:33
Wait, it’s the HAND of Life? Holy cow! We were this close to making fools of ourselves doing a Lion King pose with the puppet!
From the moment agents report for their mission, it’s crystal clear that The Bureau is anything but an average experience. With no exterior signage, and no ‘escape game’ business to be found, getting inside is quite literally the first puzzle. With such an important purpose behind The Bureau, it should come as no surprise that a neutral façade would be required to protect the secrets that await within for those cunning enough to choose the proper path of travel.
It is for this reason that we start our narrative before the story, because that is quite literally what The Bureau does. It’s instantly apparent that this experience is about to bring immersion to a whole other level.
The Bureau for Multiversal Interventions, also known as “The Bureau,” is a private business venture founded in 1946 to do the multiverse’s dirty work – anywhere, anytime. Interventions include activities such as, but not limited to: object retrieval, timestream adjustment, private investigation, research, and creature control.
A notorious mob boss has hired The Bureau to carry out a high-stakes mission: steal the ancient relic known as the Hand of Life. Your team will be accompanied by Melvin, a two-foot-tall daredevil, who has already made his entrance just outside the warehouse you’ll be breaking into. Melvin’s unique abilities as a puppet will prove to be a crucial element in the success of your mission, as he can perform tasks beyond the realm of what is possible for humans in the Puppetverse.
Not everyone will be able to complete this mission! The Director is looking for Operatives that are able to work effectively amongst a team… with a puppet sidekick and out the box thinking, you will use his skills and abilities throughout the mission. Operatives should also have the following skills: problem solving, creativity, spatial awareness, resource utilization.
A mob boss’ puppet – ain’t that the breaks? Who hasn’t found themselves in this position at some point or another? Well, for Melvin, it’s a daily occurrence. Because he *is* a puppet. So really, by its very definition, no one could be more a qualified sidekick for this mission!
Operatives immediately join forces with Melvin upon accepting this highly important mission – and, it’s a good thing they did. He’s not found in the proudest of positions. From here on out, Melvin IS a part of the team. Despite being just two feet tall (we aren’t heightists, we swear!) and made of fleece (we aren’t fabricists, we swear!) Melvin has a very particular set of skills that no human agent could ever employ.
Intel indicates the artifact in question, the Hand of Life, is a highly valuable relic that dates back to the Pup’tet Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian Puppetverse. The Bureau’s reconnaissance shows it’s currently secured in a storage faciality with many other items unearthed from King Pup’tet’s tomb – but don’t worry, now that they’re removed, they can’t possibly be cursed any longer, probably! And hey, if they are, just send in Melvin! Everyone knows that puppets are impervious to curses, and can’t feel pain! Well, one of those two things is true, anyway.
This isn’t your grandmother’s Sesame Street. Well, unless of course your grandmother was also a plush mobster puppet. There’s no sunny days here, and the air isn’t so sweet either; but missions like this one aren’t meant to be glorious. The big Heist begins in a back alleyway between two non-descript warehouse buildings. It’s narrow, made to feel even smaller by the looming brick structures on each side. Windows lining one are brought to life by puppet guards performing their routine patrols, not to be disturbed.
Those guards, like Melvin himself, are actual Muppet-styled puppets, custom created to bring the world of Puppet Heist to life. Young or old, these characters are so instantly endearing that it’s impossible to not suspend disbelief and accept them as living beings, albeit comically small and made of fleece (again, we’re neither of the aforementioned -ists.)
While the guards appear on screens integrated seamlessly into the building’s windows, Melvin is live and in color (blue.) Not only will he accompany the team in physical form, he’s also been specially trained to interact with the environment in some very unique – and useful – ways. What results are not just entertaining interactions, but often show-stopping moments that inject drama, excitement and genuine comedy throughout the mission.
Melvin’s skills will be put to the test early on, because no human agent is small enough to break into the warehouse. Once inside, there’s no glamor to its setting. Walls are fairly plain, and the floor is cluttered with shipping crates recently received from the unearthing of the Pup-tet tomb. Ahead, sightline center to the warehouse’s entry point, sits the scared Hand of Life – secured in an impenetrable glass museum-like display case that will make simply stealing it, well, a lot more complicated.
The decision to take a more subtle approach to scenic is an interesting one, because, typically speaking, it wouldn’t play to the game’s overall favor. Puppet Heist, however, is a highly notable exception to that rule. The drab, almost mundane real world warehouse setting juxtaposed against the colorful, cartoony puppets makes them the clear and constant focus. At the same time, it blurs the lines between which ‘verse (puppet or human) that agents are exploring, only further bringing the beloved characters of this storyworld to life in an organic and tangible way.
Have you ever worked on a team project where one individual ends up doing the majority of the work? Well, this time around, that individual is a puppet. Melvin is anything but some cute prop made for photo ops; he’s a full-fledged agent of The Bureau, and this mission to capture the Hand of Life is truly his time to shine!
Puppet Heist is full of puzzles like no other. The success of this mission requires some of the purest form of logical and organic integration of puzzles into a storyworld that may ever be found. Every single step along the way is in perfect synergy with Puppet Heist’s narrative, and always comes across as actions that would absolutely be taken ‘if it were real.’ In a great escape game, there can perhaps be no higher compliment.
But human agents can’t take any of the credit for this mission’s success. Melvin does all the heavy lifting. And crawling. And climbing. And flying. Far from just a prop, Melvin is sometimes a puzzle, often a tool and always an actual part of the real-life team, putting his skills to use in ways one may have never even imagined.
Puppet Heist: The Hand of life stands alone as one of the most uniquely outside-the box escape games anywhere to be found. Equal parts delightful, funny, silly and surprising, it’s a shining example of creativity in its purest form. And you may think there’s nothing that could make it any more memorable.
Well, think again. What if we told you there was a secret variant version of Puppet Heist? That’s right, grab every loose coin you can find from those couch cushions, because you’re going to need them for the swear jar. Puppet Heist has an entirely unadvertised – ahem – much more adult version available only after hours as part of The Bureau’s VIP Marathon Experience. Not only is it the perfect way to have a curated experience back to back through the majority of the venue’s games, but it comes with unlimited coffee in take-home souvenir mugs and some of the most foul-mouth puppets this side of Avenue Q. It’s a f#@king blast!
What isn’t a secret is the brand recognition The Bureau has built for itself in the competitive Orlando market. They constantly stand out as the most fresh, original escape games in town, and there’s simply no wonder why Puppet Heist: The Hand of Life is the mission most synonymous with that brand. While we don’t know what The Director is paying Melvin for all of his hard work, we can say with certainty that it just isn’t enough.
♫ It’s the Haaaaaaand of Lifffffe! And it moves us all! ♫
What? I said we were close; I never said we succeeded! Hakuna Matata, Melvin!
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Venue: The Bureau
Location: Orlando, Florida
Number of Games: 7
GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
Duration: 60 minutes
Capacity: 10 people
Group Type: Private / You will not be paired with strangers.
Cost: $41.99 per person
We thank The Bureau for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.
