RATING: 5 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 4:00
To zombie, or not to zombie? That is the question.
Cure for the Common Zombie is a slightly modified version of the existing, physical escape game at the the venue’s brick and mortar location – retrofitted to be offered as a live, online remote play experience. Although altered slightly to better flow in this new medium, the game is, at its core, essentially the same as what guests will find should they visit Improbable Escapes in person. To read our Pro-Tips on how to best enjoy this new Remote Play genre, click here.
The zombie apocalypse moved surprisingly fast.
It’s been months since a nuclear accident created a mutated strain of the common cold, unleashing an undead epidemic that spread like wildfire. Billions are undead, society as we know it is gone, and the last survivors huddle in colonies where every day, the living learn to envy the dead. One by one, the last bastions of humanity are being overrun.
But there are rumours of a cure. Wandering madmen, insane with desperation spread word of a research facility that might be mankind’s last hope, hidden in the most frozen reaches of the deadliest place on earth.
Canada.
You and your team are the human race’s last chance. Infiltrate the polar outpost, find the cure, and release it to save humanity.
But be quick. Zombies eat your brain in 60 minutes.
…They’re reliable like that.
It’s a tale as old as time. An apocalyptic horror story of death and societal collapse. A story of heroics in the face of unimaginable adversity. Quintessential good vs. evil.
With the ever looming threat of consistently reliable zombies waiting to feast on the team’s brains, time is of the essence as the hunt for the cure races onward. A possible salvation awaits deep in a frozen research lab, but this abandoned facility won’t make it easy for mere mortals to retrieve the antidote.
The Cure for the Common Zombie begins outside a remote (get it? Cause this is a remote play review…) scientific research lab. This facility is located in the frozen tundra somewhere in a mysterious world known only as… Canada. Weird place. Very cold.
The team of non-zombified humans finds themselves in a snow covered and icy landscape. The lab is securely locked, and items from previous visitors are strewn about. A dark ice cave begs to be explored. Some high tech, expensive looking equipment seems to have been left unattended in a rather hasty manner. I wonder why?
Inside the research facility a complex control center awaits. Buttons, flashing lights, and lab equipment spring to life once the power is turned on.
Full size sample specimens sit ominously in sealed tanks at the back of the room. Are those zombies actually secured safely?
The actual Cure for the Common zombie lays even deeper inside the lab, in a dark and potentially hazardous vault. In all likelihood there isn’t a zombie in there waiting for the next dumb human to enter, but there’s only one way to find out for sure.
The adventurous explorers must use their brains… mmmm braaiiiiinnnss… to investigate the area surrounding the secured lab in search for a way to gain access. Digging through snow and ice covered landscape, they may be able to piece together the equipment that will help them unlock the sealed door.
Once successfully inside the secretive building, it becomes abundantly clear that whoever created the antidote didn’t want any random person to be able to just casually stroll in and steal it. Locked in a vault, behind a door, hidden away in the back recesses of the lab lies the one hope that humanity has of surviving this little zombie problem.
In order to get their hands on the invaluable serum, survivors will need to activate the systems that have lain dormant for far too long. Piecing together the different steps needed to deactivate the security measures will require teamwork, keen observation, and quick thinking,
With each step being an intuitive progression towards the ultimate goal, a successful mission comes down just how well the yet to be eaten brains are functioning under unimaginable pressure.
Improbable Escapes previously wowed us with Seven Dwarfs: Mining Mission and Neverland: Heist on the High Seas, so we approached this apocalyptic adventure with the loftiest of expectations. While that can sometimes put an attraction at a disadvantage, Improbable Escapes once again showed that a quality game paired with a well thought out remote play production can immerse even the most jaded adventurers into another world entirely.
The scenic in Cure for the Common Zombie takes on a decidedly more serious tone than the whimsical nature of the two fairy tale themed games, but still manages to delight in the smallest details. From the frozen tundra, to the inner depths of the secured facility, at no point does the game space not work to further the storyworld and immersion. A series of logical and fun to complete challenges pairs with the story and scenic to result in a well rounded, exciting game that can be enjoyed by all.
Show your support for Escape Authority and get social with us:
Venue: Improbable Escapes
Location: Remote online play at home, broadcast live from Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Number of Remote Play Games: 3
GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
Duration: 60 minutes
Capacity: 7
Group Type: Private / You will not be paired with strangers.
Cost: CAD$25 + tax per player
We thank Improbable Escapes for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary access was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.