Review: Denver Escapes - The Haunted Escape

RATING: 3 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 8:37

Should we investigate a haunting scream or continue to stockpile candy? Life is full of tough choices.

Story

It’s Halloween night and you and your friends are out trick-or-treating. As you begin to walk by the neighborhood recluse’s house, you hear a loud scream and decide to investigate. As you and your friends enter the stranger’s house, the door slams behind you, locking you in. You and your friends must now find a way to escape before you are trapped forever.

Being the classic nosy neighbors, we decide to investigate a scream we heard coming from the house of a known hermit in the neighborhood. Although it is literally Halloween night and screams are kind of the whole point, we’ve decided we must put aside our quest for candy and inspect the home in case something is actually amiss.

While the story of The Haunted Escape seems rather weak and self-serving, the Halloween theme, as promised in the story, is present during the entire experience. Though the plot could have been a bit stronger, Denver Escapes did deliver an enjoyable Halloween-themed room from start to finish.

Scenic

The Haunted Escape at Denver Escapes

Once we had trespassed into the mysterious and solitary soul’s house, the interior décor seemed to be well decked out for Halloween. The homeowner apparently has decent taste, judging from the spooky, seasonal furnishings that occupied the room, complete with some mood lighting.

Festive string lights and skeletal accent pieces adorn the room, adding to the atmosphere and mystery of our quest. This experience spans two chambers, with the second area being more sparsely decorated than the first. The skeletons of various critters – road kill from the neighborhood street, perhaps – are littered about this darker space.

The theme stays present in the visuals throughout the adventure, although there could have definitely been more “house” in this home.

Puzzles

The first room’s puzzles consist heavily of the discovery phase, mostly containing locks and keys with a dash of tech. Most of the puzzles are very straightforward and keep in line with the story. Our favorite challenge featured a spooky-themed painting by the venue, which was very well-done and tied in nicely to the story.

The second area put us to work making use of the animal skeletons we located and some other items we found in the low-light setting. A little teamwork on a few more haunt-themed tasks secured our way to the finale of the game.

While we really didn’t figure out the source of the screaming, we did enjoy our time spent in this stranger’s house and did manage to escape whatever was actually going on.

Overall

The Haunted Escape was a good room for all guys and ghouls, regardless of whether or not you prefer adventures with a tilt toward the horror genre. Being more festive and fun than scary, this experience is ideal for a family night out or date night. It is not overly challenging but delivers a solid hour of fun.

While some elements could have been tightened up and polished, Denver Escapes delivered a grab bag of entertainment, resulting in an experience that was more ghostly than ghoulish.