Shock Escape Room: La Santa (Madrid)

Holy Crap

Abbey of Saint Clare

The story tells of Sister Clara, who lives with the other sisters in the Abbey. A series of strange events lead the sister to inform the Church about what has happened there.

A demon has the clergy terrified. The Church contacts Father Eusebio, an expert demonologist, who immediately contacts the sisters.

Sister Clara warns her:

“Father, we need help, we see a sister who looks like us, but she is not one of us, it is something ungodly!”

Following the sister’s stories, Father Eusebio begins to investigate the story. He discovers a terrible fact: centuries before, a demon was walled up in the walls of the Abbey of Santa Clara.

Father Eusebio, worried because Clara is showing no signs of life, decides to ask the inhabitants of a nearby town for help, to find out what is really going on there.

Thanks to Jack’s Flight Club, we spotted a deal on flights to Madrid that was just too good to pass up, and thus, the idea for a sneaky mini break to fit in some of the best games the city had to offer was born. We had planned just one day of escapes, starting with the highest rated game (at least according to the TERPECA rankings): La Santa (or The Saint), by Shock Escape Room. In 2024, La Santa slipped to #24 on this list, but in 2021 the game debuted at #4, before dropping to #5 then #10 in ‘22 and ‘23, respectively. All that to say, we were excited, and hoped it would live up to the hype.

It’s a strange thing to sign up to be frightened first thing in the morning, but that’s exactly what we decided to do, making La Santa our first game of the day. Shock Escape Room is located quite a way out from the centre of Madrid, so we opted to book an Uber to get us there on time, and save our feet a bit. When we arrived, our driver looked slightly concerned as he pulled up outside the warehouse that is home to Shock Escape Room, but after we reassured him this was where we wanted to be, he shrugged and headed off, leaving the four of us outside the building.

Thanks to the light traffic, we were a bit early (which is never a bad thing).We approached what appeared to be the main entrance to Shock Escape Room, only to find it devoid of life. But there were instructions on the wall, so we took the time to use the toilets, and prepare for what was to come. Unfortunately, the English version of Father Eusebio’s message wasn’t working properly, so we stepped outside and made our way around the corner of the building none the wiser about what our purpose would be once inside. But thankfully the instructions directing us where to go were in English, but there was no mistaking that we were in the right place when we discovered the entrance to the abbey.

Of course, we took advantage of the all important selfie stand and posed for a team photo, which seemed totally at odds with the bright Spanish sunshine, and the ominous cemetery framing the entrance behind us. After getting the perfect picture, however, it was time. We approached the door, and stepped through into the dimly lit foyer, and entered the world of The Saint.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

Everything about La Santa is designed to fully immerse players within the world that has been created, and it works. The backstory of the game bears a striking resemblance to the film, The Nun, and the designers have an excellent job of ensuring that the narrative is revealed as players make their journey through the abbey. Every interaction, from paying the remaining balance for our booking to the debrief after we finally escaped the clutches of the evil within the abbey was done in such a way that it had us questioning what was real and what was fantasy.

But it was the set that really helped sell the realism of the game. The scale of what the Shock Escape Room team have achieved here is awe-inspiring, and had I not seen the location from the outside, I wouldn’t have doubted for a second that I had stepped through into a real church. The lighting and the sound design, combined with the incredible setting (not to mention the demonic presence terrorising us) to create an atmosphere of fear and oppression, all the way straight through to the adrenaline fuelled finale.

As an aside, it’s worth mentioning that, as with the majority of horror experiences we’ve played, La Santa is quite physical, with no shortage of movement (running, climbing, or squeezing into small spaces). I’m also immensely grateful I removed my very white jumper before entering the game, as I emerged from La Santa in a much dirtier state than I entered.

PUZZLES

La Santa started with strong puzzles, with a couple of clever and interesting challenges, but as the game progressed, the puzzles took a backseat to the scares and the horror elements. There were still puzzles present throughout, but they felt like they were there almost as an afterthought. As we approached the finale of the game, the puzzles seemed to get a little stronger, but not much.

Of course, this is typical of horror experiences, as players can often find it difficult to complete even the simplest task while under threat of demonic nuns, so it makes sense that the telegraphing of the puzzles would have to be so clear that the solution is the only thing that could conceivably be done. Observation and making connections between things is key, as is teamwork and communication. A keen eye for scavenging also doesn’t go amiss, nor does a healthy dose of bravery (if one can consider that a puzzle).

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

I will say that the in-game character interactions and performances from the actors in La Santa with us were fantastic. However, I personally find that the tension that comes from the fear of the unknown can actually make a horror game scarier, and once the demon was revealed, and the active scares started, we eventually became almost numb to them. But the theatre of some of the more dramatic “cut scenes,” and the choreography of some of the scares had us applauding the artistry of the performances.

That said, our biggest issue with La Santa stems not from any flaws with design or performance – the puzzles ranged from really rather good to perfectly fine, the set is impressive, and the performances were flawless. No, our issues were with the fact that the game was intended to be linear, and did play out in a linear manner, but as experienced players, we would often make connections between things and try to start them before the game intended us to. Now, had we been allowed to play the way we wanted, we would have swiftly realised we didn’t have everything we needed and moved on, but instead, we would occasionally hear a disembodied voice telling us to leave something alone, which we would then do. Unfortunately, this also meant that we then disregarded that thing entirely, only to discover that we were actually only meant to leave it alone for now, but come back to it later. Had we just been left alone to try things, and discover on our own that we would find more information later, the game would still have flowed well but been far less frustrating. However, I appreciate it’s a fine line between players who realise they’re on the wrong track and can pivot, and those that get hung up on something and waste 20 minutes with something they can’t possibly solve yet, which is likely why our hosts chose to nudge us the way they did.

Due to the way we were almost directed through the game, there were several instances where we actually needed a clue, except that clue was something that we already knew, but had assumed we were wrong about and abandoned, and therefore forgotten about, earlier. Add this to a bit of broken tech in one pivotal section which left us doing the right thing, but with only half the information we needed, and it was just a recipe for disengagement from the game.

ANYTHING ELSE

The set and atmosphere of La Santa are second to none. However, we finished the game feeling just a little underwhelmed and at times frustrated by the game play. Perhaps it was the hype that comes from so many people singing its praises that made the disappointment hit harder, or maybe I’m a bit jaded.But although I didn’t love it, I can objectively say that it is a world-class horror experience and players that specifically seek these types of games will (and do) love La Santa.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players

Address: C. Juana Francés, 2, Nave 18, 28522 Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Madrid, Spain

Website: http://www.shockescaperoom.com/