LevelUp Escape Rooms: The Shrewsbury Express (Shrewsbury)

What on earth did we just experience?!

After a wild night out in Birmingham, you’re desperate to make it home to Shrewsbury. Your golden ticket? The Shrewsbury Express—a train so iconic, so reliable, it’s never missed a departure in its history. Until now…

At New Street Station, pandemonium erupts: trains screech to a halt, announcements spiral into nonsense, and the vending machine explodes with sparks. Onboard the once-proud Shrewsbury Express, disaster strikes – doors slam shut on their own, alarms echo through the carriages, and the conductor is hurled off somewhere near Wolverhampton. But the real threat looms in the shadows: Transport for Snails, creeping ever closer, ready to seize your route if you don’t restore order. You have 75 minutes to save the Express, outwit the slimy invaders, and reclaim your journey home – or risk crawling at a snail’s pace forever!

We had been hearing good things about the games at LevelUp Escapes, so when we found ourselves in the area for a little break, it was inevitable that we would end up playing a game or two. Or, as it actually happened, four games and dragging Amy, of Brit of an Escape Habit fame, along for the ride.

We started the day with Mystery Manor, and then made our way through Operation: Overload, and Abducted, and were impressed by the games. But it was The Shrewsbury Express that I was perhaps most intrigued by. I knew very little about it; only that it had started life as The Snowbound Express – a Christmas game. (And historically, we here at Review the Room have not had the best experiences with Christmas games.) But that wasn’t going to dissuade us.

After a quick break to have a drink and chat with Nathan, the owner of LevelUp, following our escape from Abducted, we realised that we didn’t have much time before the Shrewsbury Express was due to depart. But before we could even get started, we needed to actually find the platform and catch our train. And so, with our “ticket” in hand, we left LevelUp Escapes with only a few clues as to where we might be headed…

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

Getting to The Shrewsbury Express was a bit of unexpected fun, but once we found it, well, that’s when the fun really began. Our journey on The Shrewsbury Express was completely chaotic…and utterly brilliant. Once we found our way to the correct location, we were shown to the platform, and that’s when all hell broke loose.

The set of The Shrewsbury Express was impressive, as we walked along the platform to enter the train. On board the train, there was plenty to explore, as we moved from carriage to carriage, uncovering new and wacky elements of this truly bizarre train. Immersive is a word that gets thrown around almost casually when talking about escape rooms, but The Shrewsbury Express was just so random it was hard not to be drawn into the insanity.

The ambient noises, effects, lighting, and of course, the train crew, all came together to make this an experience one isn’t likely to forget. Some of the spaces onboard the train were quite tight, and in one instance, I’m not convinced Gord would have comfortably fit in the space. Fortunately, for some of the more ambitious train carriages, only one member of the team needed to actually go into those spaces, but unfortunately the Shrewsbury Express is definitely not the most accessible game for anyone who struggles with mobility. (But if you do have any questions about this, LevelUp have some very handy accessibility guides in the FAQ section of their website.)

PUZZLES

There are some games that are about the puzzles, and others that are about the experience. Shrewsbury Express falls pretty firmly into the latter category for me, but that’s not to say that the puzzles are lacking. Far from it, actually. It’s just that they are overshadowed by everything else happening.

But there are puzzles on board The Shrewsbury Express, and they are good puzzles too. Clear, logical, and fair with excellent sign-posting. Not only that, but the challenges were full of variety, with some tactile/physical tasks, a bit of searching, and a wide variety of more traditional escape room type puzzles to appeal to every member of the team. The puzzles weren’t overly challenging, making this an excellent option for families, but they are engaging enough that puzzle enthusiasts won’t feel short changed by the experience  – although I’m not sure how you could feel that way with everything else that happens on this completely mental train ride.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

It’s rare to have a game in the UK with one actor, let alone three. (And to be honest, looking at reviews from other teams, some games may even have more.) But Shrewsbury Express defies all logic, and we met character after character throughout our time onboard. Please don’t let the fact that there are actors here put you off; they aren’t scary by any means, and the character interaction is what makes this particular game special. Take that away and it would probably still be fun, but definitely not the same.

The LevelUp team were nothing short of spectacular throughout the entirety of The Shrewsbury Express. Both their hosting and performance skills were on point, down to making a cup of tea just the way we like it.

ANYTHING ELSE

I feel like the less I say about The Shrewsbury Express, the better. Just know that it was exceptionally fun, fair, and well worth a visit to Level Up for. It was also, for lack of a better word, totally bonkers – in all the best ways. I’ve played a great many escape rooms now, but only a tiny percentage have left me wondering, “What on earth just happened?” upon their conclusion.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 3 players

Address: Unit SU33, Middle Level, Darwin Shopping Centre, Shrewsbury SY1 1BW

Website: https://levelupescapes.com