Not much ‘bang for the buck’
Professor Pottenger has been kidnapped and your team have located the hideout of those responsible. Gather your family together and race against the clock to solve the mystery kidnapping of the time-traveling super genius as you attempt to escape the room in 60 minutes or less!”
It was the weekend of my birthday, it had been months since we’d had enough time off together to play an escape room, and since we first discovered their existence, no birthday celebration has been complete without at least one game. We also happened to be away for the weekend, celebrating the miracle of my existence with a trip to Center Parcs’ Longleat location.
Rather than find a game off-site, we decided to take advantage of the fact that Locked in a Room have a venue on site, which meant that it was just a ten-minute walk from our cabin. Of course, being on-site at Center Parcs meant that the convenience of that walk came with an eye-watering price tag of £90 for a team of two (since we actually had to book for three), and it’s actually increased in price since we played. Now, the only time we’ve ever paid even close to that amount was when we played Lab Rat, and with the exchange rate at the time, even that worked out cheaper. But it was a birthday, so we decided to live a little.
Locked in a Room have two games on site at Center Parcs, Longleat: Timelock and Parallax. After checking Escape the Review for others’ thoughts on the two games from their other locations across the UK, we decided to go with the slightly higher-rated Parallax, given the fact that we would be paying more than Central London level prices.
As with most locations on-site in the holiday park, Locked in a Room was just a short walk away from our cabin, or anywhere else within Center Parcs for that matter, and we arrived at the clearly marked entrance a little early. But despite that, the door was swiftly answered and we were welcomed inside to the warmth. The usual pre-game chat ensued while depositing our things in the lockers provided. The lovely GM that welcomed us then walked us through the usual health and safety things, before sending us behind a curtain to meet our actual GM (we think she was called Chas?).
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
As we stood outside the entrance to Parallax, (disguised as a time machine, of course) Chas delivered an energetic briefing that, when combined with our surroundings, helped a bit with the immersion side. But it wasn’t long before we knew everything we should and we stepped through that door and back in time. The space was silent, which wasn’t ideal as we could clearly hear the team that arrived a bit later for Time Lock, but soon it was easy to drown them out as we became absorbed in our puzzling.
Once the game began, we found ourselves in a space that felt somewhat like a wartime bunker. The room wasn’t large, and we didn’t take long to familiarise ourselves with our surroundings and find our starting point. Parallax unfolded in a totally linear fashion which didn’t allow for any deviation from the path, which doesn’t make it ideal for large groups of experienced puzzlers, but does make it a perfect fit for the vast majority of players that will play an escape room at Center Parcs: those new to escape rooms.
The puzzles within Parallax seemed to fit within the theme, or at least, didn’t stand out as not fitting, but the narrative was sparse, with little story to uncover (although there was a bit.) The game held a steady pace, but we never felt frantic. We never felt like we were rushing, and in fact, at times played at an almost leisurely pace, but we completed the game in what felt like no time at all, turning the key in the final lock on the exit door, spilling back out into the corridor.
PUZZLES
The puzzles in Parallax are nothing ground-breaking, and lean towards the standard sort of things that enthusiasts will be well acquainted with, making it perfect for the target market: Players that are new, or almost new, to escape rooms. These puzzles were solid and fair in their logic, incorporating a number of skills: teamwork, decoding, pattern recognition, tactile challenges, and of course, the ever-crucial searching of the space.
Padlocks abounded throughout Parallax, but they came in a variety of types to prevent monotony. These combined with a few instances of hidden tech to offer up a few surprises and moments of delight, keeping the game interesting. The puzzles fit well within the theme, and flowed well from one to the next, with no leaps of logic or frustrations.
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
The staff at Locked in a room were friendly and welcoming. The young lady who did our health and safety briefing was very enthusiastic, before she passed us over to Chas. Again, our room briefing was delivered with panache, and then we were set loose in the game.
Chas really only needed to chime in once, when a sneaky hiding place combined with our somewhat lazy searching led to a slight stall in our momentum. Thankfully, she didn’t let us languish too long, which sometimes happens when we’re well ahead of where GMs expect teams to be by a certain time, popping a little nudge in over the screen within the game. This got us back on track quickly, and from there it was smooth sailing. Though, to be honest, this might not even have been needed if we had not locked our phones away in the lockers at the start, or been provided with a torch within the game, as a little extra light might have gone a long way to making our searching less lazy.
ANYTHING ELSE
Parallax is a perfectly acceptable game, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend enthusiasts playing it at Center Parcs simply due to the price (unless of course, you’re really in need of a puzzle fix). However, the game is logical and flows well, making it a good choice for those that are less experienced with escape rooms. If you’re willing to accept the premium price placed on activities at Center Parcs, it could be a great option for those looking for something different to escape the forest for an hour.
Success / Failure
Final Rating:
Operation | |
Puzzles | |
Room Design | |
GM/Clues | |
Excitement |
Team: Team of 2 – completed in around 35 mins
Address: Center Parcs, Longleat Forest, Warminster BA12 7PU
Reads like a 2.5
🙂