Review: 60 Minute Escape - Pharaoh's Chamber

RATING: 5 Keys RESULT: Loss REMAINING: X:XX

With an adventure this good, friends should disappear more often!

Story

It’s been a while since the final correspondence of your friends. Something must have gone terribly wrong. You and your companions have arrived to find their dig site abandoned. As you take your first step into the halls, you hear a rattling behind the walls as if crawling beneath your skin. Overwhelmed with fear, you turn to flee, but a stone descends from the ceiling, crushing your exit. You are now guests of the Scarab King, and the only way out lies in the darkness ahead. Find your friends and seek out the Jewel of the Scarab King. Only then will you escape his fate.

Following in the foreboding footsteps of our friends whom we haven’t heard from in ages, we decide to investigate the last location where they were known to be excavating in hopes of learning their fates – perhaps at the peril of our own. Deep within the darkness of the Egyptian king’s tomb, the reason for their mysterious disappearance will be revealed.

This room is a breathtaking sample of what can be achieved when an escape experience envelopes players in an exquisite marriage of story and gameplay. Not only did this adventure grip us from start to finish, it managed to surprise us at every turn and presented us with a slew of creative, enjoyable and memorable moments.

Scenic

To say that the scenery in this adventure took our breath away would be an understatement. What equally took our breath away is the fact that the stunning visuals in this room are only part of what make it such a wonderful locale for a game. If we had suddenly found ourselves inside this experience without knowing how we got there, we would have genuinely felt that we could have been anywhere. The transformation of the layout and three-dimensional use of the space are both jaw-dropping and exciting all at once. We certainly were not expecting some of the scenic twists and turns we encountered in this room.

To be perfectly honest, we could not tell what was genuine and what was not. Textured stone walls adorned with beautifully painted hieroglyphics and authentic set pieces create the perimeter for this exciting adventure. While the presence of a sarcophagus is hardly unique in similarly-themed rooms, the one in this instance is like none other we’ve come across so far and is much more than it seems. Ambient lighting throughout greatly enhances the mood and setting, with natural-looking lights and a lantern our only source of shedding glow to the mysterious darkness.

It should come as no surprise by now that we really love secret passages, and of all we have seen thus far, this one might be one of the best. And, as if surprising us with a passage we totally didn’t see coming wasn’t enough, 60 Minute Escape did it TWICE. Each time we thought we had seen all the journey had to offer us visually, we would enter another space and be equally floored at the level of authenticity and detail that went into everything we encountered. The chamber where the finale took place was the perfect setting to wrap up this wonderful trek back in history.

Puzzles

Given that the Egyptians invented hieroglyphics it was only fitting to include some deciphering challenges, though they were not the standard, run-of-the-mill kind. In addition, there was a wonderful plethora of physical tasks and object manipulations that required teamwork and concentration enough for us to break into smaller groups in order to divide and conquer.

One particular physical challenge involved an enjoyable element of teamwork and required excellent communication from different areas of the experience. Again, splitting up was advantageous to help us continue moving forward in our journey.

While some puzzles tested your problem-solving skills and coordination, other challenges tested your courage – all within safe boundaries, of course. At some point, one brave soul had to volunteer himself to be entombed so the entire group could be enlightened with the knowledge to progress forward.

Players should be prepared for some light reading, as a detailed journal was left behind as a reference guide that is needed throughout for challenges encountered along the way.

A cleverly hidden chamber exists in the final part of the game. Only those who are truly worthy – and use their time wisely – will make it here and succeed, because Pharaoh’s Chamber is very challenging with a lot of things on the to-do list.

Overall

Pharaoh’s Chamber may be one of the best Egyptian-themed rooms to date. We did not know what to expect going into it, since we have played so many similarly-themed games.

As soon as we entered the well-decorated 60 Minute Escape lobby, we learned that the owners are very open to feedback and equally enthusiastic about the escape room industry. It was also pretty impressive to find out that they did most of the craftsmanship themselves.

Oh yeah … weren’t we supposed to be looking for someone? Oh well. We’re glad they disappeared, because we had a wonderful time at their expense!