RATING: 6 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: 13:35

Alright Director, we’ll take on your secret mission – but we’re gonna need about tree’fiddy.

From the moment agents report for their mission, it’s crystal clear that The Bureau is anything but an average experience. With no exterior signage, and no ‘escape game’ business to be found, getting inside is quite literally the first puzzle. With such an important purpose behind The Bureau, it should come as no surprise that a neutral façade would be required to protect the secrets that await within for those cunning enough to choose the proper path of travel.

It is for this reason that we start our narrative before the story, because that is quite literally what The Bureau does. It’s instantly apparent that this experience is about to bring immersion to a whole other level.

The Bureau for Multiversal Interventions, also known as “The Bureau,” is a private business venture founded in 1946 to do the multiverse’s dirty work – anywhere, anytime. Interventions include activities such as, but not limited to: object retrieval, timestream adjustment, private investigation, research, and creature control.

Today, The Bureau sets out to save an endangered species. And while that seems straight-forward enough – perhaps even a bit drab – the impending massive caveat should be expected from such an agency. This is not just any endangered species; this is a creature many never even knew existed in the first place.

It’s not unusual for operatives of The Bureau to be sent on sensitive missions, entrusted with information few beyond them could ever comprehend. Today, the Cosmo Multiverse Transducer opens a portal to Scotland, and into the heart of a secret underground lab tasked with one important goal: save the Loch Ness Monster.

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking; “But the Loch Ness Monster isn’t real.” Well that’s where you’re wrong – or, perhaps more aptly, that’s where you lack the proper security clearance to know. Not only is this infamous prehistoric Plesiosaur real, but it’s a mother – and thanks to a rogue scientist’s nefarious plot, her eggs – and the very future of this important species – are now in danger. But once again, The Bureau is here to save the day!

The Lab at Loch Ness is a top secret facility that requires the highest of security clearances. To many, this place – and the creature it exists to protect – simply do not even exist. As such, it should come as no surprise that despite its infinite amounts of technological gadgets, this facility is hardly the most elegant of settings.

Seemingly built in some type of underground – or perhaps underwater – bunker, the Lab at Loch Ness is a drab, sterile environment. Unpolished concrete floors are surrounded by grungy off-white tile walls. The faded avocado green finish of the many scientific gizmos and doodads evoke the sense that this place has existed far longer than we could have imagined.

Exposed pipes and wires crisscross the walls, at times passing through them to connect unseen additional labs. Deeper within, the main observation room has walls lined with glowing incubators. Beyond each glass door rests delicately a massive egg of the Loch Ness Monster – some cracked and ready to hatch. At the center of the room, a large pool of water provides the perfect means of transport between the newborns and their legendary mother hiding in Loch Ness’ blackened waters.

Lab at Loch Ness begins with operatives split between two different examination rooms. After all, when time is of the essence, it’s always best to divide and conquer. The Bureau embraces the split start dynamic by creating a flow that allows both halves of the team to progress without ever really waiting for the other side to “figure something out.” Make no mistake, the opening tasks are still challenging – but they’re structured in a well-balanced manner that allows equal progression at all times. Naturally, communication between rooms is key; luckily, the vintage old radio still works.

Once teams reunite, the race to save the Loch Ness Monster intensifies. With dozens of eggs waiting in incubation, there simply will not be time to save them all. The key to the survival of this critically endangered Plesiosaurus species lies in identifying the one egg that scientifically stands the highest likelihood of hatching.

Scientists will need to race back and forth between machines, embracing technologies they likely have little to no experience using. Advanced scanners record each egg’s weight, while others monitor temperature and even x-ray the hatchlings within. Picking the right subject is crucial to the survival of this legendary species, but doing so won’t be easy.

Lab at Loch Ness is jammed full of intuitive and story-driven tasks that crank this game’s level of immersion well past eleven. Its flow has operatives constantly rushing about the space, tackling puzzles that require both logical thinking and physical accomplishments, making this game one of the most engaging to be found in all of Central Florida.

Let’s start at the beginning; we actually drove past The Bureau’s entrance. We had to turn around. Upon our second attempt, when we found the GPS dot in Google maps (yes, it is accurate) we looked at each other, confused, and said “this can’t be right.” But it is.

For any other venue, this would not be good news; difficulty locating the business can cause understandable frustration. But as we’ve said before, and it bears repeating, The Bureau isn’t any other venue. The instant realization of just how different this experience will be is palpable from before opening the front door – and the surprises just keep get better and better from there.

It’s difficult to imagine that Lab at Loch Ness is actually the venue’s first game. It’s flooded with tech-driven puzzles, effects and surprises that make it feel as polished as a major theme park attraction – including some incredibly cool image-mapped projections that quite literally bring the Loch Ness Monster itself to life. Beyond the bells and whistles, Lab at Loch Ness also embraces a dedication to its storyworld, while crafting a series of puzzles that immerse agents into it in such a way that it’s impossible to not believe it’s real.

Each game within The Bureau is a completely different multiverse destination that needs saving. Although Lab at Loch Ness is the first, the venue has continued to aggressively expand with a series of world-class games that exist each within their own storyworlds. The super villain-themed Dr. Braingood offers the perfect foil to this superhero agency, while the online remote played Paranormal Panic gives a peek into the supernatural happenings at The Bureau’s HQ when no one else is around. A third brick and mortar game with an incredibly unique theme debuts this week, and we’ll be first to raise our hand and volunteer to take on the mission.

As we’ve stated previously, The Bureau is the venue that lives up to Orlando’s hype of being home to the greatest world-class attractions. These are the first games in town that measure equally – if not exceed – some of the best we’ve seen elsewhere in the country’s hottest escape room markets. The Bureau is so immersive – and so fun – that it stands out as one of the more compelling things we’ve seen come out of the industry in some time, making it an absolute destination attraction. The Bureau, like the iconic Loch Ness Monster itself, is the stuff of legends.

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Venue: The Bureau

Location: Orlando, FL

Number of Games: 4

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 60 minutes

Capacity: 6 people

Group Type: Private  / You will not be paired with strangers.

Cost: $34.99 per person

We thank The Bureau for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.