RATING: 6 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: +16:47
X is missing. Occam is still dead. The Evil Genius remains at large. And there’s a sociopath who thinks he’s a monkey lurking in the shadows. BUT THERE’S PRIZES.
It’s hard to escape the feeling of finality when standing in a place where bodies get prepared for their eternal rest. All of your decisions have lead you to this point, yet it hardly feels like you had a choice. You were destined to be here.
You enter The Morgue, which has obviously been abandoned for some time. Ivy crawls along the walls, the pipes drip, leaves and dead bugs litter the floor. And that smell. You wait in the dark knowing that there is something, or maybe someone, out there. Your final test…
The fate of Bill Occam – and subsequently the future of the world as we know it – has masterfully unfolded one chapter at a time over the course of several years to form an epic trilogy. Entering as friends and confidants into Occam’s Apartment, we find ourselves framed for his murder. The trail runs cold in the Norcross Art Gallery, despite discovering an entire hidden wing dedicated to the art of evil.
The path to this moment has taken many unexpected twists and turns, but perhaps none are more surprising than what lies ahead. Why would the Evil Genius want us to go to a morgue? If you think you’ve got the Evil Genius figured out, you’re forgetting one thing: he’s smarter than you. (Also evil.)
We haven’t been lured from the confines of our safe house just to see a few cliché corpses; You should know by now that the Evil Genius has far more flare than that. This time the stakes are even higher. This time… there’s prizes. Stickers, stuffed animals, and maybe even the life of our trusted informant, X. But that is – if you survive… the Bonus Round.
Mr. Giggles, tell them what they’ve won!
The notion of entering a morgue conjures up some pretty consistent mental pictures: cadaver drawers stacked to the ceiling, grungy white tiles lining the walls, stains of who-knows-what all over the floors and an autopsy table taking center stage. Flickering lighting to enhance the horror movie motif, and the possibility of something lurking in the shadows.
The Morgue delivers on all of those fronts, before taking a… decidedly unexpected twist we could have never imaged – one that sounds so bizarre on paper, but works so well. Remember that Bonus Round we mentioned?
Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to The Morgue, the new hit game show from the people who brought you Occam’s murder, the end to freedom as you know it, the kidnapping of your trusty informant and soon, the destruction of the world itself: the Evil Genius!
That’s right folks; stepping into this human meat locker will bring you anything but a clichéd experience; The Evil Genius himself has converted this long abandoned Morgue into the set of a Game Show – one he plans to use to prove his superior intelligence over you once and for all, while taking every last thing you have left away from you.
There’s something completely off-putting, yet entirely amusing in the awkward juxtaposing of such a dark and foreboding setting with flashing lights, colorful prizes, lighthearted theme music jingles and yes, the elusive BONUS ROOM. It’s all brought to life through a multitude of pre-recorded video messages from our host, the Evil Genius himself – with the help of some, ahem, past contestants. And everyone knows any good TV host needs a sidekick! (A friendly word of advice: Watch out for Mr. Giggles. He’s crazy.)
This setting-swerve is far from the only unexpected surprise hidden within The Morgue. The entire structure of its gameplay is unlike anything we’ve encountered before. Contestants begin with just 40 minutes on the clock. However, at key moments throughout the Game Show, access to the BONUS ROOM becomes available. This small second space remains locked for most of the game, only presenting itself when a bonus puzzle is ready to be tackled.
The majority of these bonus puzzles are intended to be solo experiences, creating a scenario where teams of contestants must willingly separate, leaving some to continue the existing puzzle tracks within the main Morgue space itself, while a brave one or two enter the BONUS ROOM to try their luck. These bonus puzzles carry strict – and short – time limits, adding a whole new layer of pressure to the already solid sense of urgency.
And even if a task calls for one brave contestant to enter solo, don’t worry! Mr. Giggles loves to play games, so you’ll never truly be alone. Unfortunately, he’s also a sociopath, so it’s entirely possible that you may also die first.
Successfully completing a bonus round will add an extra 8 minutes to your game time. With four bonus rounds in total, it is possible to extend your visit to The Morgue up to a total of 72 minutes. Just know that in order to reach X, your trusted informant, alive, contestants will need to successfully complete the bonus rounds.
But The Morgue has far more going for it than just the elusive BONUS ROOM. A highly non-linear structure allows teams of contestants to split up, working on multiple different puzzle tracks simultaneously in hopes of winning the show’s grand prize. Tasks are equal parts macabre reality of a classic morgue’s severed corpses and autopsy procedures with a surprising twist of dark humor offering both a welcome comic relief and unique storyworld twist that makes this experience truly one of a kind.
Every challenge on this Game Show, from its various rounds to its bonus puzzles, feel in-world – one way or the other. They make sense, while creating an entirely logical and intuitive flow. The Morgue is a challenging room for all the right reasons; it’s entirely attainable for newer players while still a striking challenge for experienced ones, with plenty to do to keep contestants of all backgrounds constantly moving.
And as if that alone doesn’t make The Morgue one of the most unique games we’ve seen – it may actually be the very first TASTE puzzle we’ve encountered. You read that right. The Evil Genius’ twisted game quite literally encompasses the use of all five senses.
Our long-awaited visit into The Morgue came with lofty expectations. Evil Genius Escape Rooms has continuously – and more important consistently impressed us with their unique, immersive approach to gameplay. Each chapter of their story is structured in such a way that guests become the lead character, intertwining them in an almost comic book-style conflict of good versus evil so successfully that there’s instantly a tangible sense of both urgency and consequences.
The Morgue’s “everything you know is wrong” approach at twisting its narrative caught us completely off guard – but to be clear, we did seek permission from the venue to share that tidbit in an effort to ensure we weren’t spoiling anything for others. It turns out this swerve wasn’t entirely meant to be a secret, per se, but rather just the next nuanced layer in the Evil Genius’ twisted plot.
We should also address the elephant in the, err, review. You no doubt noticed the escape time listed for our visit to The Morgue as being nearly seventeen minutes beyond the allotted game limit. To be clear, this should not be interpreted as “the game is too hard;” Due to scheduling conflicts while traveling, I had no option but to play The Morgue solo – something that has never previously been done, and something the attraction is absolutely not structured for. Feeling that it’s important to be hands on with every aspect in order to cover the full experience for our review, this resulted in me – alone – playing all puzzle tracks and bonus rounds – intended to be otherwise done simultaneously by multiple people. Even with the added workload, at no point did The Morgue lose its momentum – and perhaps above all, this is its biggest credit.
Unfortunately, outside circumstances have necessitated the doors be closed to this great venue on June 17, 2019, leaving you, our readers, barely a week to check out some of our favorite games in the strongest market in the country. Like any great book that you never want to end, we’ve reached the final chapter in the epic Evil Genius saga – but even its end comes with surprises, including the ability to personally craft its outcome – for good or evil. No matter your choice, just like that great book, the story of the Evil Genius ends with an epic climax that far surpasses all pages that came before it. The Morgue is that culmination; the perfect finale to a narrative that has captivated us for several years, ending with a bang in its strongest offering to date.
The end…?
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Venue: Evil Genius Escape Rooms
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Number of Games: 3
GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
Duration: 40 minutes guaranteed; up to 72 minutes possible depending on Bonus Round completions.
Capacity: 8 people
Group Type: Private / You will not be paired with strangers.
Cost: This venue has closed.
We thank Evil Genius Escape Rooms for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.