RATING: 4 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 17:33
Who would have thought disarming a nuclear device could be such a blast?
The players are a team of agents who have successfully located the hideout of the nefarious Professor Manifestus, Doctor of Mad Science. He has set his Experimental Spatial Collider And Particle Entanglement (E.S.C.A.P.E.) Reactor to overload, which will cause a chain reaction wiping out half the city! Players will need to use their wits to uncover clues within the Professor’s lab, utilize the high tech and oddball equipment inside, and disarm the reactor before it explodes! Save your team, and save the city!
Finding the secret lair was the easy part. Figuring out exactly how to disarm a device set to destroy the city in just one hour is where the real challenge lies. Thankfully, for a team of well equipped special agents, avoiding catastrophic disaster is what they do best.
The story here is minimal. We suspect agents may get more out of the narrative if it was easier to make out the recorded ramblings of the mad doctor that play as soon as the count down begins. Regardless, all that really matters is that the city is about to blow and somebody has gotta do something, and soon!
The secret hideout of Professor Manifestus is a dark, dingy chamber. The walls appear to be a collection of metallic paneling held together by nuts and bolts. Air vents, pipes, buttons, wires and a whole host of flashing lights are found intermittently attached to the surroundings. Sitting squarely in the center of the room is the nuclear device to end all nuclear devices (and, humanity, of course).
In this economy even the aspiring world destroyer can’t afford a cleaning staff. It looks as if there is a solid layer of grime covering all surfaces. The end result is a space that feels authentically lived in. Combine that with some dim, reactive, mood lighting and this secret lair is foreboding enough that a secret agent wouldn’t want to spend too much time there, lest they contract tetanus or perhaps a nasty case of nuclear explosion induced lack-of-life-itis.
There were two downsides to Meltdown’s scenic elements. First is that it is often an environment that is better observed, not touched. What at first appears to be realistic metallic paneling is often revealed, upon tactile inspection, to be flimsy plastic. This flaw isn’t world-ending, but it is one that holds the experience back from being truly immersive.
The second is the space is rather large given the relatively low number of puzzles found within. We would have loved to see the space broken up into multiple chambers or feature a couple more eye catching set pieces. The cavernous space does allow for groups of up to 10 agents, but with a mostly linear puzzle flow, we anticipate large groups would find several members relegated to look out duty.
Every puzzle in Meltdown feels thoroughly accurate to the storyworld. From finding a power supply to correcting reactor core temperatures and pressurizing tanks, every action that must be taken by agents comes directly from the How To Save The World From Nuclear Disaster playbook.
Agents are rewarded nearly as much for their ability to search and find as they are for their deductive reasoning. With the exception of one puzzle that involved a little too much blacklight searching for our taste, the puzzles flowed smoothly and intuitively in a linear fashion all leading up to the ultimate task of disarming the nuclear device.
The final act of shutting down said device requires a steady hand and plenty of concentration. For us, this single puzzle was a nail biting experience that provided as many nervous laughs as it did jumps, even when we failed enough times to know what was coming next.
Upon entering the room, agents are verbally given information on where they can best focus their energy once the countdown starts. Although this helped to streamline the start of the adventure, we felt that some in-game clues directing infiltrators to the first task would have made for a tighter and more immersive experience.
Meltdown is a simple (albeit overused and therefore unforgivable) premise, done well. A clear objective with a logical time constraint effortlessly provides the necessary sense of urgency to keep the action moving swiftly. The puzzles struck an even balance between rewarding searching skills, critical thinking, and deductive reasoning. This all leads up to a final puzzle that was satisfying and appropriately climactic.
What prevents this one from being truly great is the lazy storytelling that all but disappears once the countdown starts. Additionally there is just plainly a lack of surprise or sense of discovery. Once agents have entered the room, they have seen pretty much all there is to see. The set dressing is nice, but we wished everything went deeper. However, while there aren’t many surprises, what ensues is a straightforward adventure that kept us engaged and on our toes the entire time.
#AndyForgotToTakeAPic
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Venue: Lara’s Labyrinth
Location: East Haven, CT
Number of Games: 3
GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
Duration: 60 minutes
Capacity: 10 people
Group Type: Public / You may be paired with strangers.
Cost: $33 per person