RATING: 3 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 18:53
Grab your sword and slay some dragons, it’s time to claim your spot on a pointy throne.
Within the largest continent of the world, known as the Seven Kingdoms, there exists seven noble families. In the heart of this Kingdom lies the Iron Throne, the main source of conflict between everybody in the land. Whoever sits on the Iron Throne rules the entire continent, a position desired by many, a position in which people will go to extreme lengths to hold. News has quickly spread over the land suggesting that the new King is not the rightful heir to the throne. The discovery has caused an eruption throughout the Seven Kingdoms and a battle for the throne has broken out. You must find out who is the rightful heir to the throne. Who are you going to support? Which house are you going to fight for?
The Iron Kingdom is set in a story world straight out of a fantasy novel. Which one you ask? It’s pretty similar to something that many people can identify quickly in today’s pop culture market. But don’t be fooled, this is a small twist on a medieval themed room to capitalize on a pop culture phenomena.
We are thrust in to ancient times to solve puzzles, riddles, and fight a dragon or two to untangle the web of conflict in this world. Equipped with no weapons, armed only with our wits, can we find the proper family that will come out on top in this all out war?
Though it sounds like we can choose our own destiny and which noble family we support, there are no such choices here. All we know is the kingdom is in chaos and we are thrust in to medieval times to figure out who is the rightful heir.
For what appears to look like your standard office space game at first glance, Escape Reality does a great job with immersion in the room. The dark walls and ceilings make us feel as if we are in a castle.
Candle and torchlight lines the walls, with everything you’d expect to see in a castle and dungeon kind of settles. Suits of armor, medieval weaponry, wooden doors with iron gates, it all fits our theme perfectly.
The quality of props and scenic elements carry well through the whole room. Transitioning from a deep part of the castle, to a dungeon of sorts, to the throne room, each scenic change follows in line in quality.
The puzzles here are, for the most part, straightforward, with a solid mix of tech and locks. Though due to the tablet based hint system, all puzzles are numbered in what seems like sequential order. Hints can be frustrating, as the tablet can give you a previously generated hint that does not apply to the current part your team is on.
Early on the puzzles unveil a little back story about either a particular family, or the continent in general. Which all chime right back to a particularly popular fantasy novel. Fans of said novel may see a one to one correlation between a few puzzles here and solve them without even reading instructions. Outside knowledge isn’t necessary, but it can speed things along.
While most of the puzzles landed on the logical side of the spectrum, a certain math puzzle sticks out as not only hard to see, but hard to mentally calculate at the same time. Frustrations can run high when the steps on a puzzle are immense.
Escape Reality gives us an outlet to explore popular movie and book story worlds in a similar but different story line experiences. A strong start immersed in story telling gives way to a transition to puzzles for puzzles sake. But the ending of the room does draw a solid conclusion as to who should sit upon the throne.
With this room running on the easier side of the difficulty spectrum, it does favor set design over puzzles. At least you can have some outside the box fun in this game. Grab a sword and shield off the wall and take a sit on the throne. Which in its own non-puzzle way can be a fun interactive break in the room.
Show your support for Escape Authority and get social with us:
Venue: Escape Reality
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Number of Games: 7
GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
Duration: 60 minutes
Capacity: 6 people
Group Type: Private / You will not be paired with strangers.
Cost: $32 per person