The Escape Game: Ruins Forbidden Treasure (Online)

I have not played many online games and was debating whether I should play any rooms that were converted from a physical escape rooms to an online one.  Would I be doing myself a disservice by playing a top notch game (in-person) that was reduced for a virtual audience? Given the current state of affairs, I decided that I would play The Escape Game's latest room online with some friends who have not played many escape rooms before. From The Escape Game's site:

"You’re on a relaxing aerial tour of a remote jungle when everything suddenly falls apart. You’re stranded at the foot of ancient and mysterious temple ruins – home of a massive fabled treasure. Adventure has come knocking and the treasure could be yours for the taking! Fortune favors the bold. Will it favor you?"

Set Design, Technology & Puzzles 

This game was played via an in-game actor with a webcam. The actor would take directives from our group to solve various puzzles in a similar fashion to other online games we played. The main difference here was that once you entered a room, you had access to a 360 degree photo of it and could peruse the space at your leisure in order to determine what was important. That made a HUGE difference in terms of not getting motion sickness which basically forced me to quit games in the past. Having everyone search through this virtual interface was fantastic and an amazing way to recreate the escape room feeling at home. There was also a virtual inventory box where items would appear when the in-game actor found something, and then disappear when it was no longer needed. 

The set looked amazing, and did make me feel that I was missing out a bit on the immersion by not playing the physical room. There were some fun tactile puzzles and room transitions that would definitely have been better to play in real life but playing them virtually was still a great experience. 

The use of the technology was excellent, just like in their Special Ops game. We really did feel like the game took place on a movie set. Some enthusiasts might find the puzzles to be less challenging but for 98% of players, including myself, they were perfectly fine for the theme. 

If you are able to play this game in person, I would highly recommend that you do, otherwise playing this game online would be the next best thing.

Memorable Moments 

I love how The Escape Game perfectly immersed us into the world of adventure and the journey from room to room was seamless and exciting. Some of our teammates were in awe about what actually happened before our eyes!

Room For Improvement

One of the puzzles towards the end would have been much easier to perform in-person with multiple hands. Given this was adapted for online play, there wasn't much that could have been changed so it's understandable given the circumstances.

Overall Thoughts

I would think that this room is up there with one of the tops rooms I have played at The Escape Game (the other being Special Ops). I might actually even replay this room in person if I ever get chance!

• Set design: Excellent
• Difficulty: Average
• Price: $28/person
• Number of players: 3-8, (we recommend 3-4), private
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Overall Rating (For Online games): ★★★★★

See their website here: https://theescapegame.com

Disclosure: The Escape Game comped the tickets for this game