Escape Reviewer

The Gallery is an excellent showcase of the evolution of room design and puzzle mechanics that Claustrophobia has improved upon since creating their first escape nearly half a year ago. The design of this escape is a big improvement from all their previous games, causing our group to let out a couple "oohs" and "aahs" as we stepped inside for the first time. Details are higher in quality and fit the theme of being in an art gallery very well. In fact, there's one aspect of set design near the middle of the escape which really seemed like it took a lot of effort to create, albeit being quite fragile. It's a little unfortunate that this level of design didn't really carry into the latter parts of the escape, which seemed a little rushed.

 

One important thing to mention is that there's a really cool back-story on the website involving a creepy curator who locks players inside the gallery saying that they will find something "to die for". I implore Claustrophobia to take advantage of this story and really build it up before bringing groups inside! Unfortunately, we weren't told much about this story by the staff before starting, and if we didn't read about it online, all we would have known is that we were entering an art gallery. I also think that the background details in the latter parts of the escape could be reworked to incorporate the story elements better, in order to create something really creepy and memorable. There's so much potential for thematic integration here!

 

Puzzles found throughout The Gallery were all fun and logical. The difficulty level was appropriate and nothing was overly abstract. A surprise found about halfway through the escape was a nice added feature. Some of the puzzles were a bit more creative than others, requiring more than simple logic problems and brain teasers to answer. Comprehension was also a plus with certain puzzles incorporating items from around the whole escape.

 

Overall, The Gallery is definitely Claustrophobia's best escape to date! The design and puzzles are higher in quality than their previous efforts, with improved thematic elements. We recommend people in Ottawa go play this escape!

Reviewed by Mitch on September 6, 2015