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Review: E.P.I. Centre - Escapologic, Nottingham

Room Story - from Escapologic

Buildings are collapsing. Fires are raging. People are screaming. And you're trapped inside the Edward Palatine Institute, watching it all happen on your screen. With just one hour to save billions of pounds worth of chemical research, every decision you make is critical.

show more.... Epicentre is your chance to answer the question that nags at the back of the mind during every disaster movie. If the world ended, how would you react?

As a vital part of the Institute's disaster cleanup crew, you'll have to walk a tightrope between weighing the consequences of your decisions, and making them fast enough to survive. As the crisis deepens outside the installation's walls, and anarchy begins to rule the streets, terrifying updates flash through the news channels. There isn't much time left, and your luck is running out...

Epicentre was the third of our Nottingham escape rooms to be brought into existence. Its unique atmosphere of urgency has flustered even the coolest of disaster recovery experts! Can you keep your cool while the world outside collapses into chaos, and the vital machines within the building begin to shut down?

What happens when the systems we rely on to keep us safe stop working? How do you reverse a shutdown in an unfamiliar space, when every second is bringing you closer to the worst possible outcome?

Epicentre is the most 'real world' of our Nottingham escape rooms. It asks questions that real people have to answer in real situations. You've got just 60 minutes to avert calamity. What are you going to do?

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Key Stats

Room NameE.P.I. Centre
VenueEscapologic
LocationNottingham, UK
Date2017/02/21
Escape TimeDidn't Escape
Team Size2
My Recommended Team Size3 - 4

Review

As always with Escapologic the host gave us an enthusiastic rendition of the rooms story and our mission – to rescue a chemical compound. They then explained that at the beginning of the room we’d be split up, although we would be able to see each other and communicate.

Upon entering the room, we were confronted with a scene of much disarray – very on trend with the disaster theme. I was in the main part of the room and Julie was locked away. The initial part of the room requires quite a bit of searching and a sequence of events to free the separated member of the team. They’ve been very creative with some of the hiding places.

This initial search took up the largest amount of our time in the room and ultimately led to our failure to escape. I took me too long to find all the required bits to free my team mate. It was only on receipt of a clue, delivered via a screen in the room, that I found everything. On reflection, I could have done with an extra pair of hands to help with the search. Hence my recommendation that for most teams, a team of 3 minimum would work best in this room.

One I’d freed my team mate, we had a very short amount of time to complete the rest of the puzzles. Working our way into the next part of the room, there was an impressive looking centrepiece puzzle that held the chemical compound within a messy science lab setting. We quickly solved a series of puzzles to release the compound. I really enjoyed the quick flow of these puzzles and the logical sequence of steps required to progress. It did take quite a bit of physical effort to release the compound – so expect a slightly aching arm at the end of the process.

With the chemical saved and alarms surrounding us, we dashed for the exit only to be confronted with one final and comical challenge that made us both groan and laugh! We didn’t have enough time to complete the final challenge and frustratingly failed to escape with the exit in our sights.

Overall we really enjoyed the game. There were a good variety of puzzles to complete, lots of drama and quite a few amusing moments. The disaster setting can be quite distracting, searching through the mess to find what’s relevant in the room. The main frustration was the fact we were so close to escaping – but close isn’t enough!

The team were Julie and Daniel.
Ratings

Overall It’s a really fun game with a realistic feeling of disaster throughout. There are a good variety of puzzles to keep you entertained.
Difficulty The puzzles are reasonably straightforward, but there’s quite a bit of searching and the team are initially separated which slows things down.
Fun It was fun with plenty of things to see and interact with in the room. Given the disaster theme, there’s a lot in the room to search through which did become a little frustrating.
Puzzles The majority of the puzzles are good physical puzzles with satisfying results. There’s a big centrepiece in one of the rooms that really fits the theme.
Immersion The sound and lighting, coupled with lots of well themed puzzles gave the room an immersive feel and a bit of a “panicked” atmosphere.
Surprises There’s a few nice surprises in the room, with one particularly amusing one at the end of the game.