Review: Escape Rooms HQ - Corporation of D.O.O.M.

RATING: 3 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 1:55

What do you get when you mix an office with an Egyptian tomb? Two overused themes for the price of one!

Story

Welcome new interns to the head offices of Daniel, Orin, Oscar, and Michaels LLC ( D.O.O.M for short). Today is your first day but things seem a little off. Like the bone chilling cold you felt when you signed the work contract, or the weird obsession this company has with Egyptian artifacts. First day jitters right? You just finished the orientation video and were asked to wait in the lobby with the other interns. You were told you only have 60 minutes left. Surely they don’t mean that’s all the time you have left to live….. right. You get the feeling that figuring out what’s going on here and why there are so many Egyptian artifacts might be a matter of survival.

Most jobs feel like they are sucking out your soul, but this one just might do it…

Corporation of D.O.O.M mixes two overused escape room themes into one game. At its heart, it is an office game. However, it also happens to be an office game… with an Egyptian motif. The artifacts are still possessed by the Pharaohs, so it is our job to break the curse.

Escape Rooms HQ has created a twist on the typical Egyptian game. Instead of exploring the depths of a tomb, we are tasked with surviving the first day of a new job, so they are able to include some things that would not make sense in the context of an ancient pyramid. In that sense, everything is able to tie directly back to the narrative.

Scenic

We have seen plenty of Egyptian tombs that simply look like offices decorated with hieroglyphics and Pharaoh statues. However, Corporation of D.O.O.M is one of those rare instances where it works because it is not trying to be a tomb. Instead, it takes place inside a corporation with questionable motives. Some of the items decorating the room may still be possessed by the Gods.

The main area looks like the lobby of a company with an odd obsession with Egyptian artifacts, so it is consistent with the story. The room is fitted with office furniture surrounded by a heavy dose of hieroglyphs and sparsely decorated walls.

A smaller adjoining room has jagged hieroglyphic stones resting on the floor along with an obelisk in the corner. Again, it looks like an office decorated with Egyptian memorabilia.

The final area has a large sarcophagus in the center… surprise, surprise. There are also a few small, handheld Pharaoh statues decorating the space, but most of the attention is given to the sarcophagus.

Puzzles

Corporation of D.O.O.M has a wide variety of puzzles, and they can be accomplished in a non-linear fashion. The steps vary from being quick and easy to being difficult and time consuming.

Many of the activities are common escape room tropes such as perspective puzzles, hieroglyph decoding, and black lights. While all of the steps taken were intuitive and made sense with the narrative, none of them were particularly memorable or unique to the experience.

The final actions were the most exciting part of the entire game, and the conclusion was satisfying. Corporation of D.O.O.M definitely ended on a strong note, something we truly appreciated.

Overall

Corporation of D.O.O.M gives us a twist on the Egyptian genre, though not one that we’re necessarily hoping is recreated anytime soon. While we are used to trekking into pyramids, this was, at its core, an office game with Egyptian puzzles. None of the actions taken in the game really stood out as being unique, leading to an otherwise forgettable experience. Thankfully, our adventure was somewhat redeemed by a satisfying conclusion.

Escape Rooms HQ consistently creates good games that the entire family can enjoy. Corporation of D.O.O.M is one of their more challenging experiences, but it is still approachable for beginners and difficult enough for enthusiasts alike – provided you can survive your first day on the job!