RATING: 2 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: 9:06

It’s our first time traveling to outer space, where they say no one can hear you scream – no matter how this game made us want to.

Join us in a flashback way back to a time where we hadn’t seen what feels like dozens of different outer space themed games yet. We visited CAPTVT, a venue now permanently closed to experience something that was at the time, to us, at least, unique.

The story is one we’ve heard before in countless different movies. We’re in a ship spiraling out of control in the black recesses of space. The control system is offline, leaving us two options: find a way to fix it or spend our last moments watching the planet we call home float away on the horizon.

The funny thing about a story you’ve experienced a million times since is it was always original to you once – and as such, we were excited to tackle The Spaceship.

One thing CAPTVT did really well was their scenic presentation. Even in all the outer space-themed games we’ve played since that day, The Spaceship sits near the top in terms of level of decor and attention to detail. The world was both beautiful and inspiring while simultaneously cold and souless – which is meant in the most positive of ways in this context as it’s exactly how we’d imagine a ship floating lost in space would likely feel.

The lighting was dramatic and theatrical. The decor was on point with its authenticity. Yet, The Spaceship was missing, something.

Have you ever imaged watching a great movie without an orchestral score to accompany the high points of the action? Try it and you’ll realize almost instantly how important that background music is the second you lack it. This was a fundamental issue with CAPTVT’s show; You can create the greatest sets in the world, but if their background music is pure silence, they’re going to feel awkward. And this Spaceship absolutely suffered for it.

The Spaceship’s puzzles were, sad to say, its weakest merit. Although some meshed with the theme, others clashed.

Bigger problems hindered them further. Many of this game’s steps were illogical. It was difficult to make connections from one item to another without being told via a hint, and even then, some still left us confused.

Worse than that, this game was very, very linear – which in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, until you factor in that the majority of its puzzles were a single player affair. So much time was spent literally watching someone work on something that the rest of us could in no way impact or help. And that’s not ok.

CAPTVT showed some potential with their original – and what would also become their final – two games, though The Spaceship was definitely their weaker offering. It’s difficult to walk out of a room feeling like you had fun when half of your time is spent questioning logic leaps and the other half literally spent watching someone else play a game.

The Spaceship earns merits on its scenic quality. That alone was the saving grace to help it to a “just ok” 2 Key score. However, we always make it a point to rate a game based on its total package product, and the rest of The Spaceship was clearly lacking.

We firmly believe CAPTVT could have been something great given a little polish – but sadly they never quite figured out how to get that polish in before it was too late for this venue. Shortly after our visit, CAPTVT permanently closed. This story does have a happy ending, however, as a new venue has since moved in to the same space and really written all of the proverbial wrongs of the past owner. And while we will intentionally not name them here so as to not tarnish their high quality product with someone else’s negative review, they show that nothing is truly too late to save, and given the proper guidance and experience, the CAPTVT brand somehow managed to find an afterlife where it got the polish it always needed.

Show your support for Escape Authority and get social with us:

Venue:  CAPTVT

Location: Los Angeles, California

Number of Games: 2

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 45 minutes

Capacity: 6 people

Group Type: Public  / You may be paired with strangers.

Cost: This venue has permanently closed.