Escape Reviewer

Design: ✭✭✭✬✩ 3.7

     Idea: 4.5

     Details: 3.5

     Features: 3.0

Creativity: ✭✭✭✭✩ 4.0

     Novel: 5.0

     Comprehension: 3.0

     Surprises: 4.0

Puzzles: ✭✭✭✭✩ 3.8

     Challenge: 3.0

     Logic: 4.5

     Abstract: 4.0

Assassin's Code is one of Mystery Room's 'second generation' of room escapes and the overall improvement in quality really shows. This escape takes place in a hotel room where you play the role of Alex, who is looking to rescue his recently kidnapped fiancée. The design is nice and it makes you feel like you're really in a hotel room. However, we did find the occasional ripped wallpaper and broken baseboard. The props were nice but we couldn't help but wish for more objects and items to look through. Many of the items in this room had 'do not touch' stickers on them, and after a brief search, we had found everything there was to find. On the other hand, this is not always a bad thing! Assassin's Code tries to accomplish something very unique in ways we have not yet seen before. They sacrifice the search and gathering aspect of the escape to create a more immersive, thematic experience. The idea is very unique with some interesting features employed.

 

For most of this escape, you will find yourself moving along a pre-determined sequence of events that carry the story forward. The designers at Mystery Room aim to make players feel like they're actually in the midst of a kidnapping and ransom exchange. Solving the occasional puzzle will push the story forward to the next sequence of events. Even though there's a smaller number of puzzles in this escape, they're very unique and involve some really cool technology. No prior knowledge was required and there were some surprises along the way.

 

Unfortunately, we still had some frustrations and issues during our game. We found that the story sequences were quite long, and there was a lot more waiting than we would have liked. We were forced to sit through the same sequences several times to see a specific moment of interest that only occurred near the end. This could be improved with a fast-forward option for certain story sequences if they've been already watched once. Although the technology was really neat, sometimes it didn't work quite as intended. The puzzles themselves were pretty easy, with no major challenge until the end. We would have preferred more cooperative puzzles involving several team members at once, because many times only one player completed a puzzle while the rest of the team sat around. The ending was a bit confusing, and we weren't actually sure if the escape was over. We discussed possible ways to make a more climactic ending with the staff, and they seemed genuinely interested in improving this for future players. Finally, even though Assassin's Code was trying to be a unique immersive experience, I felt that a bit more could have been done to improve the thematic elements, including extra sound effects at specific instances.

 

Overall, Assassin's Code is a very unique room with a lot of potential. It doesn't quite reach the level of immersion that Mystery Room is striving for, but it's still fun to play. With some adjustments in the future, I can see this escape becoming a must-play in Toronto.

Reviewed by Mitch on August 18, 2015