Review: Room Escape USA - Dr. Ensaine

RATING: 3 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 1:09

What’s an escape game facility to do when times are tough? Rent out a spare room to a suspiciously named dentist, naturally.

Story

Dr. Ensaine is renting the space out from us to run his dentist practice. We’ve heard a lot of weird noises and frankly, we are too scared to check it out. You are here for your 60 minute appointment and we need you to let us know what is going on. As you take a seat in the waiting room, don’t mind the screams, Dr. Ensaine’s current patient probably has a cavity.

Dentists and escape games seem like molar opposites. Yet here we are, an oddly named dentist has rented out the back room of a struggling escape game facility. Soon enough muffled screams are being heard within. Should the facility brush it off, or has Dr Ensaine been up to something rotten? You and your team of dental detectives have been hired to investigate. As a seasoned pro, you know the drill. Get in, extract the truth, and get out before your appointment is up and the doctor returns.

Brace yourself, what ensues is nearly as terrifying as a root canal.

While the existence of space stations, medieval castles and ancient tombs located down the hall of a neighborhood office complex is often explained away with vague hand-waving, we loved that the existence of Dr. Ensaine’s office is justified so naturally. The unique explanation not only works from a story level, but it also helps to soften some of the scenic shortcomings.

Scenic

When dental detectives first step foot inside Dr. Ensaine’s waiting room, there isn’t much to behold, even by waiting room standards. Chairs line the walls, there is a small table with a radio, a clock, a magazine stand and not much else. But, with the exception of some window panes that bizarrely reveal the wall directly behind them, it works within the storyworld. Would a dentist that resorts to renting out the back room of an escape game facility have a large budget for decorations? Probably not.

The beauty of Dr. Ensaine is that it knows exactly what it is. Choosing a theme that is accomplishable with modest budget and, in fact, benefits from the expectations set by the backstory makes the less-than-stellar scenic elements believable and almost necessary.

Thankfully, as undercover patients explore the actual dentist’s office the scenic elements improve, mirroring the intensity of the story that is slowly revealed as detectives make their way through a series of clues revealing the true intentions of the not-so-good doctor.

One of our favorite elements was the hint system that was integrated seamlessly as if it was Dr. Ensaine’s secretary making routine announcements. Several minutes into our exploration, we realized there wasn’t a ticking clock on display and wondered aloud how much time we had left. Seconds later a slightly staticky voice announced “paging Dr. Ensaine, your next patient will arrive in 48 minutes”. Small touches like this can elevate even the most modest of games.

Puzzles

Detectives will work their way through a series of tasks involving items commonly found in a orthodontist’s office. Patient records, dental x-rays and even a toothpaste tube are all fair game as the team of undercover patients work to reveal the diabolical true intentions of Dr. Ensaine.

One of our favorite puzzles involved a clever real-world task that felt so obvious that we nearly overlooked it, sparking the greatest “ah ha!” moment of the game.

Unfortunately, some puzzles had no discernible material connection to the dental world. As a result the flow occasionally felt clunky. Thankfully as the game progresses these concerns started to fade away.

Overall

What makes Dr. Ensaine work well is the deliberate pacing found within. What first seems to be a bland and, quite honestly, disappointing dentist’s office, slowly reveals itself and becomes more sinister and, dare we say, fun as the story progresses.

It would be hard to talk about what makes the game so exhilarating without giving away some of the twists and turns revealed within. The way the story unfolds makes for such a compelling adventure that it was easy to forgive some of the scenic shortcomings. We truly felt as if we were discovering something horrific as we moved from one task to the next. The finale left us breathless and ready to book a follow up exam.