Exitus Escape Rooms: Coco Loco (Cardiff)

“Oompa loompa doopity doo”

It’s time to take over the family chocolate factory. What will you give up for the perfect chocolate?

It feels like a long time since we first visited Exitus in Cardiff to play Virus Tinkerers, and strangely the record we set for that room was only just broken (and then again in the same week) – so we took that as a sign that we needed to return to play their two other games, The Curse of Senutep and their brand new game, Coco Loco.

Exitus are quite possibly our favourite venue in Cardiff, not just because they have great games, but the owners and staff are lovely people and Watson, their dog, is a true delight. Oh, and they have a fully functioning bar on site too – bonus!

After a long weekend in Wales we decided to detour on our way home to play the games, and it was worth the detour. When we arrived we were warmly greeted by Ellie and Ceri, our hosts for the day. As expected we went into the first room a little late as we got distracted talking about all things escape rooms. The Curse of Senutep is apparently their hardest game, and it shows, we struggled on that one, so we were very much looking forward to something a little easier with Coco Loco, a family friendly game.

Ceri was our GM for this game, and after checking if we had any allergies (always an interesting question before an escape room), she took us up stairs to an area of Exitus that we hadn’t seen before. Ceri proceeded to give us the room briefing and explained our mission (in character) and then when she departed, we had 60 minutes to complete our mission.

It’s worth noting that this room was still being tweaked when we played so there’s a good chance that things may have changed a little when you play it.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

I’ve seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but have never actually visited a chocolate factory before so I can’t say how genuine this room felt. But, it had chocolate related items in it, and perhaps felt like a more high-end type of chocolate establishment.

The space was big, really big and could easily accommodate larger teams (at least in terms of physical space), and if you’re playing as a family then there is plenty of room for kids to run around. In a weird way it felt like the space was a little too big for the game and like it needed more things added to it to bulk it out a bit.

I think one thing that I appreciated with this room was that everything in it felt like it was made well and was of a certain quality – the main table was certainly built to last! Of course we played this game when it hadn’t been open for long, so time will tell how the room holds up.

For a room that has pretty much everything on show from the start, there were still a few areas of surprise to keep things interesting. One of these surprises was certainly pretty but it would have been nice to have seen it play more of a role in the game itself, as a puzzle. After speaking with Ceri at the end, it sounds like it was going to be a puzzle, and may still be one, but for our experience it just became a bit of the story and not much more.

I’ve probably been influenced by films like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but I also feel like chocolate should be made in fun and quirky environments. Coco Loco was fun (in terms of puzzles etc) but it just needed ‘something’ to make it more upbeat. I think some form of soundtrack would be good, whether that’s just playing fun chocolate related music, or some other form of ambient noise, just something to take away the silence.

PUZZLES

After playing The Curse of Senutep, this game felt like it was much more geared towards families, and that’s ok. We found the puzzles in Coco Loco clicked with us and made complete sense. The only issues we had, were self inflicted as we didn’t realise Exitus had built in a clever little light cue so we knew when we had unlocked something.

The game played out in a linear fashion, where one puzzle led onto the next. Before leaving the room Ceri did give a pointer as to where to start, but I think most teams would work this out as the starting point right away – it just made sense.

There was a good mix of puzzles and probably something for everyone in your group: observation, minor searching, logic, and some minor maths were all present. Thinking back, I’d probably say the logic puzzles took up the most time in this game as there was more than one. Being picky, one could argue that one of the puzzles required some outside knowledge but it is knowledge that most people would likely (hopefully) know.

As I mentioned, before we entered the room we were asked if we had any allergies and the reason why became apparent when we progressed through the game. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that this is a chocolate themed game, so if I said there was a taste puzzle, you could probably work out what that involves. Taste puzzles in a time of Covid can be a bit dodgy, but Exitus did this in a way that felt safe, and hopefully there was enough difference in the tastes that players should have no issues.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Ceri did a great job of giving us our mission briefing (make sure you listen to what she says), and then we pretty much gave her a nice bit of time off. We found that the puzzles generally clicked with us so I don’t recall actually needing to ask for a clue. Had we needed any help, Ceri was watching us closely and would have chimed in over the speaker system to get us back on track.

This was another game at Exitus that had no timer in the room, but I assume that’s done to make it more immersive, as really why would a chocolate factory have a countdown timer in it? This also adds to the pressure as you really don’t know how long you have left to play – does anyone else find that escape rooms are like a weird place where the regular concept of time goes out of the window?

ANYTHING ELSE

Coco Loco was a delight for pretty much all the senses, and is a perfect family friendly escape room in Cardiff. Just when we thought the game was over, Exitus surprised us once again! Often you’ll get a card, or a badge to take away from an escape room, but that’s not good enough for Exitus – what a treat!

If Exitus could add a little more excitement with some noises or music, and maybe even add a couple more puzzles then this game would be even better. Still, as it is, it’s great fun and the perfect game for groups large or small – and did we mention they have a bar on site too?!

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 2 players – escaped in 43 minutes

Address: 1st & 2nd Floor, 90A Queen St, Cardiff CF10 2GR

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

*Disclaimer: we weren’t charged for this experience, but this has not influenced our review.