Escape Reviewer

Area 51 is a thrilling 45-minute escape centered around finding your lost friend in Nevada who went to find help after your car broke down. The first thing that players will notice right from the start is the excellent room design. It's clear that Lockdown put a lot of tender loving care into creating an immersive and creepy theme. The progression of theme and decor throughout this escape is fantastic, as it keeps getting better and better until the finale. The mystery and intrigue of what will come next really motivates players to keep pushing forward. There aren't too many surprises in the traditional sense, however the decor and theme integration themselves act as surprises with some players left gawking at the surroundings.

 

Although we can't say enough about the superb room design found in Area 51, the puzzles are a bit of a mixed bag. There seemed to be quite a bit of emphasis on searching and gathering, with a little less focus on actual puzzle solving. The most interesting and creative puzzle is found about halfway through the escape and requires careful manipulation of objects. However, most of the other puzzles are a bit less intuitive. There's also quite a large number of red herrings in the latter half of the escape making it difficult to understand what needs to be done. Most players will likely end up trying any solution that seems somewhat reasonable before either settling on the answer or using a hint. It would be nicer if there was less guesswork but instead more player direction involving some interesting and creative logic puzzles.  

 

Overall, Area 51's room design and theme integration is one of the best in the city. The puzzles are decent and by no means terrible, but some alterations in puzzle structure may help create a much more fun and satisfying experience. Nevertheless, we had a fantastic time playing Area 51 and we highly recommend it to all escape enthusiasts in Ottawa!

Reviewed by Mitch on October 6, 2015