Review: Paranoia Quest

RATING: 4 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 2:07

Touting Indiana Jones inspired adventures, this venue promises an experience worth digging right into.

Story

You are part of a team of archaeologists searching for the entrance to a lost Aztec temple hidden in a Central American mine. Make your way through the abandoned mine shaft to discover all of the challenges, artifacts, and adventures that await you in the hidden temple below. But hurry – the local government caught wind of your mission and has sent the police to come shut you down! You have one hour to find the lost temple, retrieve the treasures, and escape.

Dust off your archaeologist shoes and traipse on down to Central America (a.k.a. Buford, GA). Your help is needed to find the entrance to a lost Aztec temple. What could be more exciting than to be the first group of 2-10 people in hundreds of … seconds to discover the mysterious hidden temple and all the unknown treasures it holds?

From the first moment to the last, The Dig pulled us into the story and held us tight throughout. The entire experience took us on the journey from ground level, down the old elevator shaft, all the way to the mysterious underground chamber, where we found more than just the exit.

Scenic

We have played many temple rooms where we begin the game deep within the structure. This is one of the few experiences where gameplay begins several rooms removed from the actual temple chamber. Our adventure started out topside, above the ground in a workspace just outside an elevator shaft which is guarded by a sealed, government door.

The scenery feels quite official and realistic in this initial area, complete with industrial theming such as electrical boxes, technology and other mechanical assets we’d find on an active dig site. Once we advanced and were ready to take the elevator ride down deep into the earth, we found one of the best, most effective faux elevator experiences out there. The motion and sound effects are very convincing, to say the least.

Further along, we encountered a secret passage of the amusing and curlicue variety. It’s not a passageway we’d typically use to get to an adjacent room, but let’s just say that even Indy himself would be tempted to say, “Weeeeee!”

When players finally make their way into the temple chamber, it is a very open, expansive area detailed in such a way that one can barely tell – and will not care – what is real and what is fabricated. As a solid, temple-themed room, the clean, accurate aesthetic and attention to detail brought us pure, unadulterated joy as experienced escapers.

Puzzles

When the game begins, the elevator power is out and needs to be restored before you can descend into the depths of the temple. If you’re lucky, one of the archaeologists on your team is an electrician. If not, it’s okay. There are some easily doable, entertaining puzzles that will help players solve the power issue without needing any electrical expertise. There are several other puzzles in this first room that are pretty well-themed.

Once we restored the power, the elevator convincingly transported us to the underground chamber just outside the temple room. We had to utilize resources we found in this area to get the sealed chamber door open. The challenge to accomplish this was very similar to one in another of Paranoia Quest’s rooms; however, because it was re-themed to fit this storyline, we decided to give them a pass.

When at long last we arrived in the main temple area, the culmination of our expectations for the puzzles in a room of this theme became a reality. There, players interact with beautiful challenges and well-designed tech and fabricated pieces. Though a few props might send a shiver down Dr. Jones’ spine, you and your proverbial Short Round should have tons of fun laying hands on everything in this cavern to complete the challenges within. A final journey down the right path led us back topside. This part really is just like that moment in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – without that danger of falling to your death part.

Overall

Paranoia Quest is one of our favorite venues, and we can’t wait to go back. We recommend keeping an eye on their room offerings and definitely prefer this location over the two Paranoia Quest sites. The parking situation is definitely much better and easier at this Buford location, which is at the Mall of Georgia. Note that it is not actually inside the mall, but rather just outside of the main mall structure in a standalone cluster of business spaces occupied by restaurants and shops.

We can safely say that we highly recommend planning a visit here, having played and greatly enjoyed other rooms at this must-see venue. Those reviews will be coming in the future, but for now … visit Paranoia Quest and dig in!