We’re here to check in
You have booked a room in a Motel for the weekend, a perfect plan for adventurers! But when you arrive at the place, everything is deserted, except for a very peculiar person who welcomes you…
Soon you discover the presence of a hooded man lurking in the dark alley that runs through the neighborhood. Talking to him is impossible: he doesn’t speak, he only shouts and goes after you with his rusty chains. What you thought was going to be a weekend with friends in a poor quality motel turns into something else: this mysterious disturbed man wants to collect you.
You must stick together and find out what is going on in that place, as time is running out and that mysterious man is after you in a hurry through the sinister alley that runs through the motel.
Will you be able to escape with your life as the collector stalks you?
Let yourself go, get into the role, role-play and enjoy this adventure where tension, adrenaline and fun are guaranteed!
On our final day of escape rooms in Valencia, we had lined up three games that had great reputations. First was Mad Man in the Alley by Colours Escape Rooms. Swiftly followed by two games over at X-Door: The Last Dragon and The Hairdresser. We had heard a little about Mad Man in the Alley, but not much at all, so we had no idea what to expect when we arrived at the non-descript door.
When booking this game we had two options; Tension mode, and Suspense Mode. The difference being that Tension mode has scares and actors, while Suspense doesn’t. Of course wanting to get the full experience, we opted for Tension. Worth noting that this game also comes with a minimum age limit, which probably gives an idea of what is to come!
Stepping inside the entrance from a very bright Valencian street was quite jarring and it took a few moments for our eyes to adjust – although this is still a very dark experience. Before we could even really see or work out where we were, a voice appeared in the darkness and questioned our presence. We hoped this was the voice of our gamesmaster, so naively perhaps we followed her instructions and went to the reception area.
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
When we played Mad Man in the Alley it was at position 201 in the TERPECAs, which is not high, but still respectable and a worthwhile play. At its peak, it was in the awards in 2022 where it debuted at a very respectable position 24. So that gives an indication of the level of quality in this game.
Stepping into the world of darkness that we had just entered, it was hard to get an idea of the quality of this game and the set. But once we started exploring the areas, and slowly adjusting to the low brightness level, we could see that this game was really well put together. Combining the set with creepy music, jump scares, lighting and special effects made for a truly enjoyable experience.
Well I say enjoyable, as ‘enjoyable’ as any horror experience can be really, but we’ve played games that are much more intense, and I’d say this was erred on the side of tension rather than full-blown sh*t your pants horror.
The set was well thought out, giving plenty of spaces for running, and hiding, and making everything just that little bit questionable when it came time to explore. Spaces felt distinct from each other, while still staying on theme, and yes, there was an alley, and yes, there was a mad man in it.
PUZZLES
I’m not sure if ‘psychological’ pressure can be classed as a puzzle type, but dealing with it probably can! The puzzles are a solid mix of classic searching, cognitive logic, and environmental manipulation and solving them saw us interacting with the spaces around the ‘motel’, the alley, and subsequent areas.
I wouldn’t go so far to say as the puzzles were easy, but they were made more challenging by the fact that there was always that presence in the background, just to keep you on edge. The only issue we found was that it was possible to fail one of the early puzzles if you were exploring how things work. We did this and used something before we should have and this could have caused us problems. Fortunately a spare did materialise, but I gather they only have one, so if you do it wrong twice you could have issues.
Solving the puzzles resulted in combinations for padlocks, or it triggered some tech, or sometimes it just made the housekeeper appear to add some extra narrative.
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
Our ‘house-keeper’ was Sandra and she did a great job. So good in fact that when we entered we weren’t completely sure how we were supposed to respond as she was very much in character and we felt like we didn’t know our lines. She remained in character throughout the whole experience, only when we made our escape did she finally return to normal. After the game we were able to have a little chat, and see a little of the behind-the-scenes which was lovely.
I can’t really comment on the live actor, we spent most of the time running away from him! So I’m going to assume that is a good sign that they played their part well.
If we needed any clues, there were two systems in place. First was a phone, then a walkie-talkie. Nothing ground breaking, but both worked well.
ANYTHING ELSE
This felt like more of a light-horror experience, so I would definitely recommend playing it with the live actor present – it really does add to the game. The set was spot on, the puzzles were decent, and the ending ramped up the adrenaline!
Success/Failed
Final Rating:
Operation Puzzles Room Design GM/Clues Excitement
Team: 4 Players
Address: C/ de Guillem de Castro, 123, Extramurs, 46008 València, Valencia, Spain
Website: https://colorsescaperoom.com/valencia/experiencia-negra-escape-room
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