Adrenaline: Labyrinth (Wigan)

Twisty and turny

A recent archeological discovery beneath the Palace of Knossos in Crete has revealed a maze of underground tunnels believed to be part of the great Labyrinth – home to the Minotaur from Greek mythology.

However, the sudden disappearance of the expedition’s lead archaeologist, Professor Ernest Longshaw has fuelled speculation that the Minotaur may be more than just a legend passed on from generation to generation for over 3000 years.

You and your team have been assigned to explore the last remaining passageways of the Labyrinth and reveal the true legend of the Minotaur.

Do you have the skill to navigate your way to the heart of the Labyrinth and the nerve to reveal its hidden secrets? Will you escape with knowledge and understanding or will you suffer the same fate as those before you, forever to be entombed within the Labyrinth?

Thanks to Amy from Brit of an Escape Habit, we had heard about Adrenaline in Wigan, so when we planned our road trip we had to make sure that they were one of our stops. Adrenaline was on day three of our road trip and was our evening activity having just played all the games at Extremescape (it was also my birthday, but that’s irrelevant).

Adrenaline must win some kind of award for ‘largest venue’ as they technically have an entire shopping mall to themselves. Ok, they don’t use all the shopping centre, but they do have a massive space for their rooms, and also have enough room left over for a sizable reception area and coffee shop.

We parked in a car park not too far from the venue and then walked through Wigan, fortunately the venue was easy to find. Once inside, we were greeted by a number of staff, Stuart, Emma and Sarah who instantly made us feel welcome (Northerners really are welcoming people). For Labyrinth, there was a separate briefing area that Stuart gave us the health and safety briefing in, and then he switched over to a TV screen for the room specific briefing.

With all the formalities out of the way, and our mission clear in our head, it was time to enter the Labyrinth and work out what the deal was with that pesky Minotaur.

Covid-19 Procedures: All staff wore masks, as did we. Plenty of space for social distancing and lots of hand sanitiser dotted around the place. Track and trace was in place for the venue. We only saw one other team on site and were kept sufficiently far apart.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

We would have been very disappointed had we entered a room called ‘Labyrinth’ and it was just one room, fortunately that wasn’t the case here and the room had a very maze-like feeling. Exploring the space was an adventure and we didn’t know which way we were going to go next, or what we may find. I think there was an ambient soundtrack to add to the atmosphere, but honestly, we were so focused on the game and puzzles that we can’t remember.

As you would expect from a Labyrinth, this room was dark. A torch was provided which certainly helped with this darkness, however it would have been nice to have one torch per person as with only one torch it meant we couldn’t really work on things independently. Although later on in the game darkness wasn’t an issue at all.

Although there were some tight spaces here and there, Labyrinth is totally accessible for those with mobility issues, with step-free access from the street to the game, and within the game itself. Wheelchair users will find it easier to navigate the space with the assistance of a friend, but playing with someone is part of what makes an escape room fun, right?

The Labyrinth was decorated well and each space we entered felt different to the previous which helped with that sense of exploration. We probably spent longer in the first room than we should have as it took us a little while to get our bearings and work out what we needed to do, but once we were off from there, things seemed to click much better. We particularly enjoyed the final space that we encountered, it was very different to the other spaces, both in terms of style and puzzles.

The room culminated in a satisfying ending and certainly one that befitted a room with the name ‘Labyrinth’.

PUZZLES

For the most part this game played out in a linear fashion which helped to push us through the Labyrinth with little opportunity to deviate. However later on in the game, this structure changed and it became much more open which enabled us to split up and work on things simultaneously.

We discovered a number of different puzzle types; basic maths (don’t over complicate), observation, pattern recognition, searching, and a few tactile puzzles too. The searching was actually like a secondary mission in the game (more on that in clues), and this would give some extra excitement to children if they weren’t into the puzzle solving aspect. Most of the searching was fair, but there were some very sneaky hiding places. A notepad and pen were also provided which made some of the tasks a little easier.

Most of the puzzles resulted in combinations for padlocks of varying types, but there was also a bit of tech in the room too. Because of the way the room was designed, we were never confronted with too many padlocks at once, so it was easy enough to work out what code went where.

One word of advice, make sure you do thorough searching of the rooms, the darkness can make it hard to find everything you need so make sure you use the torch well and check all the corners! It’s easier to solve the puzzles when you have everything you need.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Clues were delivered over a speaker system, in character, by our games master. We understand that the character they take depends on who your GM is, so our clues were delivered by Zeus.

In order to get clues you have to collect coins in the room (that’s the search element) which you then exchange with Zeus to get his help. There are plenty of coins to be found so don’t worry about not getting help if you need it. We found that Zeus was a kind God and was still willing to give the occasional nudge free of charge. Or perhaps he just enjoyed taunting the mortals. We liked this clue system as it gave an incentive to find the coins and offered a nice little reward for doing so. We found all but a couple of the coins as they were sneakily hidden, but we didn’t have to cash any in, so we’re ok with that.

As you would expect from a labyrinth, there was no timer in the room (or screens of any form), but we were given regular ten minute warnings so we knew how much time had passed.

ANYTHING ELSE

This room certainly felt like a labyrinth, with twists and turns meaning we didn’t know which way we would be headed next. With decent puzzles and a good flow to the game, we enjoyed our time in the Labyrinth. Add an extra torch and we’d have probably enjoyed it a little bit more.

The team at Adrenaline Wigan are lovely and we can’t wait to see them again when we’re next on an escape room road trip!

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 2 players – escaped in ?? (forgot to record, probably around 40/45mins)

Address: 34-36 Marketgate, The Galleries Shopping Centre, Wigan WN1 1JS

Website: https://www.adrenalineescape.co.uk