C

Chris Burchellvia Google

29 days ago

Sadly another poor review for The Artefact room. Experienced group of 2 on our first attempt got stuck with malfunctioning tech that operator had to manually override (after wasting time trying to resolve and then calling for clues) but were determined to see it through. Booked again a couple of weeks later knowing half of what to expect - same tech appeared to have a slightly different answer but still seemed to malfuntion, then mid-way through trying again the door unlocked (guessing they were watching and unlocked, knowing it's badly designed). Continued on and got 'stuck' on a particular hand-drawn number which in no universe was the number needed for the lock (brute forced in the end), then got to the final puzzle and completed it but... the tech failed. This time the operator actually had no idea what to do, how it could have happened, or how to fix it... so she congratulated us for finishing the room and shuffled us off as quick as possible... no explanation, couldn't even see the actual end of the room and whatever tech / effects it was supposed to do. One mishap is fine, these things happen... but the staff can't even be bothered getting into character to explain the rooms narrative anymore... they're just bored / under trained and diminish the whole experience. Had tech issues in the egyptian room too where we completed and the timer didn't stop... 2 stars because this place started great and no one was specifically rude; but I'm glad we've done all the rooms now, as the lack of after-care with the rooms technology and staff training are showing pretty desperately after a few years in operation it seems. Needs a lot more love and attention on the customer experience, and by the looks of these reviews - an overhaul of all the faulty tech in Artefact.

C

Caramello Koalievia Google

about 1 month ago

Complete newbies, we had no idea what to expect and ended up having a great time. Good family fun. Lovely air conditioned room on a sizzling hot day was a bonus. We will most definitely be back! 🧭🗺️

C

Chelsea Kvia Google

3 months ago

Sophie and Tom were absolutely brilliant. They hosted a combined 9 and 10 year old party floor is lava and the caramel room. The kids had an absolute blast and I cannot thank Sophie and Tom enough because of how patient, attentive, caring and fun they were. Thank you so so much guys for such a memorable and fun experience.

K

Kimberley Armstrongvia Google

4 months ago

Went to play the Floor is Lava game and complete the Artifact escape room. Floor is Lava was very fun. A definite workout! Unfortunately, then going in to the escape room we were a group of 6 with decent escape room experience and as such did not want to use clues and invalidate our time. However, a key audio clue was malfunctioning and without it, further progress was impossible. This meant that we were unable to even engage with most of the clues in the room. We're also pretty sure 1 prop was missing for one of the early puzzles but this only cause a minor delay. Upon the time ending, the front staff, who was very lovely, explained that the malfunction was not uncommon. This room left a very sour taste in my mouth that due to no fault of our own, the room was impossible. If warning had been given before entering about a possible malfunction, perhaps we would have asked about it before bumbling around confused for half an hour. No compensation was offered for the room malfunctioning and being impossible to complete. Very disappointing experience.

A

Ashley Bennetvia Google

5 months ago

‘The Artifact’ was an extremely disappointing experience. As a group of two with over 50 escape rooms under our belt, this room was one of the worst we have ever completed (or not completed in this case!). No jump scares as detailed in the description and far from a 5/5 for fear factor. Several automatic puzzles malfunctioned throughout the game, wasting valuable time. When we questioned this, no offer was made to extend or compensate for the lost time. Why should we lose time for issues outside of our control? The room begins by splitting players into two separate areas — something not advertised — and unless you have night vision, good luck navigating in the dark. The puzzles themselves aren’t particularly difficult, but the room lacks logical flow. There’s little connection between puzzles, leaving players guessing and often working on locks that aren’t yet relevant, wasting valuable time. We found no enjoyment in this experience and left feeling very dissatisfied. We’ve never before been told to leave exactly at the time limit without any explanation of what was left unsolved. A big part of great escape rooms for us comes from the enthusiasm of the game master and those who have spent time creating and enjoying these rooms. Unfortunately, we didn’t feel any of this at Escape Zone.