RATING: 2 Keys RESULT: Loss REMAINING: X:XX
Sometimes I wish I really did have Amnesia.
The writing is on the wall–literally. Travel back in time to an eerie 1950’s mental hospital in order to discover the true identity of a patient suffering from severe memory loss in this Atlanta escape game adventure. Explore not only the inner workings of the human mind, but also what is really going on inside the treatment center’s walls. Unlock the mysteries of the amnesiac’s past and you’ll find the key to your freedom. Don’t let the mind-bending challenges get the best of you in this chilling, new room escape thriller.
At it’s core, Amnesia is another asylum game – except it’s sort of the theming-light version. We find ourselves trapped in the office of one of the doctors, which, admittedly is never the most immersively fantastical environment to be had.
Yes, there is the standard trope of “solve the mystery or the next patient/victim will be you,” but even with that threat taken into account, it’s difficult to find ourselves lost in this world, feeling like actual characters in the story. At times the flow flow feels on point, but in truth we found that there were plenty of other moments where Amnesia felt more like a lightly themed puzzle room than a narrative-based attraction.
Amnesia’s scenic was a bit on the basic side, even for an asylum-flavored game. It’s two rooms carry distinctly different motifs – the doctor’s private office and a hospital-ish patient room.
Starting in the office, we find decor as plain as one would come to expect from a room themed as such; a desk, a couch and a bookshelf, with not much else. Nods to famous doctors and psychiatrists hang framed around the room as an implied inspiration to our suitably more evil doctor here.
The patient room, which, for some reason is accessed via a secret passage is, again, scenically much of what you’d expect from a standard “asylum” themed escape game. A bed sits in the corner with minimal drawers and such to finish out the space. Naturally, bloody writing is on the walls, because escape room.
Ultimate Escape Game falls a bit short with the puzzle offerings in Amnesia. While some did their best to fit the theme of the crazy-patient-storyworld, their foundations were far less based in logic than one might expect in the office of a psychiatrist responsible for studying the human mind.
There were quite a few times in Amnesia where we found ourselves completely confused, with little to no indication on what we should be working towards – and in the moments where a puzzle was clearly in front of us, we often were just as confused as to what we were expected to do with it.
One of the fastest ways to hurt momentum in an escape game is to leave players standing around for even the smallest amount of time. A great game flows smoothly from start to finish, weaving both a narrative and puzzle arc that builds to a satisfying payoff. But to stand around – repeatedly – and need regular prompting for how to proceed – well, that’s just not going to leave the best taste in a player’s mouth.
We’re not quite sure what happened with Amnesia – because to be clear, it is the very antithesis of the rest of our experience at Ultimate Escape Game. This venue is truly fantastic, and their other rooms are top notch.
Submerged, their headliner game that drew us in to begin with quickly became one of our favorites in the entire country. Atlanta, the light-hearted game spotlighting what makes their hometown famous, while subsequently allowing us to steal the top secret Coca-Cola recipe was delightful family fun. But Amnesia frustrated us. A lot.
At the end of the day, a venue doesn’t need to be perfect to still be must see. Perhaps Amnesia’s biggest faux pas is existing next to a game as great as Submerged. It instantly puts more pressure on the venue to deliver, because you then know from experience just how solidly they can – especially if you played Submerged first (which may be another mistake we made.) Amnesia may not be their shining star, but that bares little hindrance on Ultimate Escape Game maintaining their spot as one of Atlanta’s very best venues!
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Venue: Ultimate Escape Game
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Number of Games: 5
GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
Duration: 60 minutes
Capacity: 12 people
Group Type: Public / You may be paired with strangers.
Cost: $28 per person
We thank Ultimate Escape Game for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.