City Mazes: Subject 11 (Bristol)

Perhaps ‘Subject 12’ will show improvement…

Have you got what it takes to venture into the depth of the Upside Down? You and your friends must work together to try and help this sleepy American suburb catch whoever, or WHATever, has been stealing children in the dead of night! Your journey begins in a seemingly normal living room but it may end up taking you to the STRANGEST of places…

After reading the description of Subject 11 on CityMazes’ website, it shouldn’t be a great surprise to anyone familiar with current pop culture as to what the theme of this room is. And the company has actually done a decent job designing an immersive space – the room was a fairly accurate rendering of a 1980’s era American basement/den. Sadly, the rest of the experience didn’t really live up to visual appeal, and this room could have been so much more than it was.

PUZZLES

Credit where credit is due, CityMazes did really try to get inventive with some of the puzzles. That being said, there were a few issues with them, with two in particular that stand out. The first stumbling block was a puzzle involving a game board, which just didn’t work. In fact, after discussion with our Games Master over the radio, it actually became necessary for him to come into the room to show us how the puzzle worked, only to be foiled by it himself, at which point he overrode it for us. The second puzzle, while visually striking, was just frustrating and overly complex. So complex in fact, that when we were discussing the room with our GM following completion, we were told that he, the creator of the puzzle, couldn’t figure it out without help when the staff were BETA testing. To me, that indicates this puzzle needs some re-thinking.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

As mentioned, the room was visually appealing, and I can’t fault them on the appearance or design. Whoever designed this clearly had a lot of fun watching a certain television series on a popular streaming platform. Sadly, they were let down some by things that just didn’t quite work, and some of the immersion was lost when the technology failed.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Clues were delivered via walkie talkie, and you were given a hand held timer to keep track of your time. I certainly can’t fault our GM, as he was attentive and helpful when needed, and pleasant to chat with after our game.

ANYTHING ELSE

Like other rooms at this particular location for CityMazes, it is housed in what appear to be a series of converted shipping containers. Rather than repeat myself, if you’re interested in reading more about their set up, check out our review of The Runner.

We were invited to do this room for free after smashing the record for The Runner. Subject 11 was a new addition to City Mazes Bristol, and as such, some of the issues mentioned may have been rectified. But they may not have been.

Success / Failure

Final Rating: 

ADDRESS: The Clanage, Clanage Road, Bristol, BS3 2JX

WEB ADDRESS: https://citymazes.com/bristol/