Note: Review was done when playing in 1st Avenue, but it applies to other branch as well
This time I played The Vampire Chronicles at Escape Room 1st Avenue with my nieces and nephews. There were about 8 of us, 2 of which were kids under 12 years old.
It was a very simple room with pretty easy riddles and puzzles.
My nephews and nieces enjoyed every bit because trapdoors, hidden keys and scary doll in the corner of a room were all new to them.
Ok, the scary doll wasn’t actually really that scary but because of the theme, we kinda thought we were in a haunted house and the doll might suddenly come alive and jump at us. All of us except for the two kids know Chucky. If you know Chucky, you’ll understand. “Wanna play?” So basically, we were scaring each other more than the doll scares us.
The Vampire Chronicles’ gameplay was just like most of the other rooms in Escape Room. Figured out the puzzles and riddles to unlock the combination locks. However, there’s one piece of puzzle that’s worth mentioning in my own honest opinion. It had to do with a piano. Yup, there’s a piano in the room and yes, you’ll have to play the piano to figure out the code. So, if you are tone deaf, you are practically the vampire’s feast for the night.
You know what could have been even cooler? It’s a pipe organ and the exit door opens dramatically once you played the correct note. I know, I’m asking for too much. But hey, who knows which rooms could blow our minds in future.
I do find one or two of the riddles were a little bit obscure. It’s like giving you a pile of haystacks and asked you to find something in it. So, if you never heard of the phrase “looking for a needle in a haystack” you won’t know it is a needle that you need to look for.
Lastly but not least, I seriously think that 1st Avenue branch in Penang might be under staffed at that time or they just weren’t alert. We had to pressed the help button numerous of time and it took them a long time before help came. At the end of the game, the staff just breezed through the solutions to the riddle and we felt like we were being chased out of the room.
Overall, The Vampire Chronicles room was all right for beginners or first timers although, it was much more fun scaring the kids 😀
Theme: 3/5
Story immersion: 2/5
Puzzle difficulty: 2/5 (5 for musically untrained people like me)
Props/set: 3/5
Search amount: 3/5
Physical activity: 2/5
Featured image by Escape Room’s website
The Vampire Chronicles, Escape Room
Pros
- Had fun with trapdoors
- Music Puzzle
Cons
- Pixel Hunting~!
- Under staffed during our play