The next level of escape rooms?
Players assume the role of a band of medieval thieves who have entered the cursed tower of Dragon’s Spire in order to find a legendary mystical artifact that holds the key to the salvation of the realm. The guards have been drugged but will only be unconscious for an hour, so the players must move quickly, or all hope is lost!
We had done some mediocre rooms in Palm Springs so we really needed something good to raise our spirits. This room kept on coming up in enthusiast groups as one being a little different and worth doing, so we drove down to The River and gave it a try.
The company feels very professional and everything pre-room was smooth and pleasant, including the free water and the nicest escape room restroom I have ever seen.
We were checked in by the owner, Charlie and had a good chat with him like we did the day before when we did their other room The Forgotten Pharaoh. You know this room is going to be special when you just look at the effort they’ve taken to even make the entrance door look good!
Into the room we went, and immediately we were struck by how pretty it was, there wasn’t much in it but there was enough to get us started and it was immediately obvious where we needed to start.
The first puzzle took us a while (we were warned) big that wasn’t because it was bad, it was because we always miss the obvious and will try the same thing 50 times before realising that perhaps we’re doing something wrong.
Once the first puzzle was out of the way we got into a decent rhythm and truly got immersed in the world we were experiencing. We struggled on a later puzzle but if your brain is wired in a certain way you’ll probably get it straight away.
I’m not going to give any away but there were some real wow moments in this room, reveals, effects, decor. Just everything came together to make a truly enjoyable room. The ending was also great, we didn’t see it coming and it was so much fun.
If I have one upset with this room it’s simply that we’ve done it and can’t do it again.
PUZZLES
This is one of those rare rooms where you will not find any numerical padlocks. A lot of the puzzles in this room are what I would class as logic based. If you struggle with logic puzzles then you may have a hard time here.
Looking back at the room I don’t think any of the puzzles were too challenging and we’re set at a good level. One puzzle we struggled with until we very much fluked it, the GM explained it after the game and as always we were just over complicating things.
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
Beautiful. Just a beautiful room, everything about it felt right and everything had a purpose. They have done an amazing job in creating this room and I’m not afraid to call it a bit of a masterpiece. If immersion is what you want then this is the room for you.
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
The GM was on the ball and if we ever looked like we were struggling then they chirped in at the perfect time with a nudge. If we were really stuck we asked for a clue and it was promptly delivered.
The clues were delivered via a ‘magic’ mirror so no immersion was lost by looking at a 42” plasma tv – top marks!
ANYTHING ELSE
We did this room as a two and it was perfect. I could see how in bigger groups you may struggle to keep everyone occupied but if you’re doing it as a two then you’ll be kept busy.
These guys seem to be getting the brunt of an annoyed enthusiast review but their experience couldn’t be more different to ours. Reviews are subjective and not everyone will agree, but we loved this room and this company.
We were fortunate enough to meet Charlie the owner and he went out of his way to make time to talk to us and get our views on the room, what we liked and didn’t like. He has a passion for this and he really wants to improve and keep people happy. After the room we spent about 30 minutes in there chatting with him about the room, his plans for their company and just the world of escape rooms in general.
Success / Failure
Final Rating:
| Operation | |
| Puzzles | |
| Room Design | |
| GM/Clues | |
| Excitement |
Team: 2 people
Address: 71800 Hwy 111, Suite A-210, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
Website: https://escapegamesattheriver.com
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