Review: ESCAPEability

RATING: 4 Keys RESULT: Loss REMAINING: X:XX

It’s one thing to have to break out of a prison, but to have to do it during one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in history takes it to a whole new level!

Story

Travel back to the time of the ancient Roman Empire. You and your group are gladiators who find themselves imprisoned in their quarters during the most prolific volcanic eruption man has ever known. You will need to work together to escape the city of Pompeii. Will you be able to flee the wrath of Mount Vesuvius and rise from the ashes?

It’s always nice to play a game based off of historical events and I’m really starting to like them more and more. Using the eruption of Mount Vesuvius leading to the soon-to-be destruction of the city of Pompeii is one I hadn’t seen before, until now of course. It’s definitely a clever concept and well executed for sure.

I also like the use of what I like to call a “split agenda”. What I mean is that you not just have one “mission” to deal with, you actually have two. The first one here is you and your fellow gladiators have to break out of your prison cells (yes I’m being literal here and yes I said cells). Then once you’re all out, now you need to escape the city before it’s too late. Sometimes having more than one agenda can get the adrenaline pumping even more than usual making it twice as exciting!

Scenic

There’s only so much that can be done to a game visually when your venue is a rented office building. With that said though, the owners here really made the best with what they had to work with. Their creativity and ingenuity really shine through as you make your way through each room, which range from gladiator prison cells to a Roman market to…well I’m going to leave that last one a surprise because that’s what it sure was when I first saw it. Don’t worry, it’s a good surprise!

Roman details are there as well. The use of neutral colors like golds and browns make for traditional looks, as well as props that fit the style nicely. Lovely nautical touches and lighting effects for the last area bring the climax of the game to life.

Puzzles

There was a really nice balance with the variety of puzzles that we encountered in our race against Doomsday. All of them were intuitive and relevant to the story so that’s always a plus. There were the traditional key and combo ones (which were not excessive, thank the Roman Gods!) as well as some nice tech-based ones, including a few that I hadn’t seen before in any other game I’ve played.

One puzzle that really stood out to me actually had to do with the Roman Gods. I took Mythology in high school and I’ve always had an interest in it, so it was really nice to see that it was incorporated. Don’t worry, you don’t have to have any prior knowledge of this topic, all the information you need is given to you. I’ve heard of games that don’t do that so was very glad to discover they did.

As we all should know when playing escape room games, communication is key. That couldn’t be more true here, that and teamwork. Just keep this in mind especially when you start this game…

Overall

Unfortunately we pershed in the rubble and ash thanks to Mount Vesuvius, but that didn’t stop us from having a really great time.

There is a special place in my heart for small business, especially “mom and pop” style ones. ESCAPEabiliy is another perfect example of that and they literally just opened not even two months ago. The owners are an awesome couple who decided to pursue a dream and open their own escape room. In talking with them, you can see the passion in their eyes and and hear it in their voices when talking about their work and their plans they have for future games. Keep in mind that they create, design, build, and run their games by themselves. They also have extensive knowledge in customer service, something that sometimes can be overlooked in these type of places. They’ll welcome you with warm smiles, good conversation, oh and awesome retro video games in the lobby that you can play for free while you wait!

The escape room industry in Las Vegas is growing and the addition of ESCAPEability couldn’t have come at a better time. Their third game is now ready to play with two more coming soon, but Pompeii is definitely one you don’t want to miss! If you do, you might as well have missed the ship to freedom!