Outerlife Studios: Scorched (St Petersburg, FL)

Flaming hot fun!

Deep reds. Warm shades of yellow.

No two ever the same, but each, as familiar as a friend.

A poem. A short story. An Entire autobiography perhaps but the only entry in an old journal whose pages are as yellow as the fire those words describe. Words written by a then, young Jon Doren, a loner raised in a fatherless home by his mother though rarely did she act like one, always insisting that he ‘grow up’ or ‘stop acting like a child’.

You will be inside the childhood home of Jon Doren, and he knows you’re there… the door is locked, a match is struck.

You have sixty-minutes to find and use these clues to make your escape before you too end up… SCORCHED.

It was our first full day in Florida, after a rather long transatlantic flight that deposited us in Tampa International Airport late the night before. We had a decent night’s sleep, but thanks to jet lag, found ourselves raring to go at about 5:00am. Now, we were long overdue for a visit to some family down in Cape Coral, but it seemed a bit extreme to be knocking on their door at 7:30 am, so we decided to have a leisurely breakfast and delay our departure long enough to allow us to break up the journey with an escape room.

St Petersburg, and Outerlife Studios, were very much en route to Cape Coral, and while it didn’t break up the journey much, as it was only 30 minutes from our hotel, we just wanted the excuse to make the pit stop. Prior to leaving the UK we had actually debated whether to commit and pre book our game, or just see how things played out and take the risk of booking on the day. In the end, we decided to risk it and were able to book just prior to leaving our hotel. We chose to do this for two reasons: One, we weren’t sure how we would be feeling after the drain of transatlantic travel, and Two, Outerlife Studios still do public bookings – unless you want to pay extra for the privilege of a private game. Now, we have no problems playing with strangers, but we do prefer to play on our own or with people we’ve preselected. We figured if the slot we wanted was still available then there was less of a chance of someone joining us in our game at 11am on a random Thursday if we booked last minute than if they had a couple of days to think about it, and we happened to be right.

When we arrived in St Petersburg we were still a little too early for our game, so we took the opportunity to have a stroll around the area. It was quite cool and bohemian and we found plenty of quirky little shops and cafes, a couple breweries, and even a young man taking his rather large and fluffy rabbit for a walk. But it wasn’t too long before we made our way back to the car and parked just across from Outerlife Studios in their dedicated space. We had booked the 11:00 slot, which would be the first game of the day, but our GM, Hayley, was already there, ready and waiting for us when we stepped into the comfy waiting area. We had a bit of a chat, but then it was time for the obligatory health and safety/rules of an escape game video. The cute little animation of the video put a slightly different spin on it, and it was short and sweet. With our belongings safely stored in the lockers, Hayley ushered us down the hallway, and through the door into Scorched.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

The door clicked closed behind Hayley, and it was up to us to explore the childhood home of Jon Doran and find the evidence we needed. At first glance there actually wasn’t much to explore. The story indicated that the house had been abandoned, and it certainly felt that way. The space felt dark, dingy, and like it had already been ravaged by a fire, rather than the imminent threat the fire was meant to be. There was almost no furniture in the space, and very little else in the way of set dressing, giving the game a general air of creepiness about it.

Smoke and  lighting effects added to the immersion, as well as what felt almost like a labyrinth as we found ourselves traversing back and forth through the spaces we discovered. Although the actual footprint of the game was likely quite small, it felt open and sprawling, as we encountered different levels, and moments where we were crawling and scuttling. Despite this, the majority of the game would actually be accessible to those with limited mobility and even those in wheelchairs, provided everyone on the team is good at communicating.

Additional effects helped to push the story forward, and give the game a sense of urgency as we solved the puzzles, uncovering bits of story here and there, ultimately discovering the evidence we needed, and escaping in plenty of time.

PUZZLES

Not only was the set of Scorched rather sparse in terms of set dressing, but the puzzles were equally sparse, and it was tricky to find a starting point. Once we did though, the game had a good flow, with one task generally leading straight on to another in a very linear fashion. We found ourselves practically flying from one task to another, only stumbling when we encountered our usual search fails.

Searching, logic, decrypting codes, and a few moments of just not overthinking it and doing the most obvious thing on the planet comprised most of the puzzles. I wish I could write more about these, but we found the game was just lacking any substantial content. In reality, the difficulty here comes from simply finding the things you’re able to interact with, and remembering where they are located within the twisty set when their use finally becomes apparent.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Hayley was a lovely host. She seemed happy to have our little last minute booking and warmly welcomed us into the venue. She was even willing to look after a bag that I didn’t want to leave in the car (Florida and chocolate do not mix). While the rules and health and safety briefing came from a little video, Hayley did give us a nice little bit of background story just inside the entrance to Scorched before making her exit and leaving us to it.

To avoid any confusion, clues could only be requested if the entire team agreed and then requested one together. I assume this is a rule in place for public bookings where one party may feel stuck and want a clue, but another may not. Either way, it’s a decent system, and when clues are requested they will come through a loudspeaker system and are clearly able to be heard.

I honestly can’t remember if we needed any clues, although there were definitely points where we were close. Although my memory has failed me in one respect, I can definitely remember that if we did request any assistance it was entirely down to a lack of searching/observation on our part. But whether she chimed in with a clue or not,  it was clear that Hayley was on the ball and paying attention, as she did pipe up a couple of times to let us know we were right, but just not firm enough, and also to warn us about a broken prop that didn’t need further investigation.

ANYTHING ELSE

Scorched is a decent game that offers everything I expect from an escape room: an enthusiastic host, reasonably immersive set design, and fair, albeit few, puzzles. With the game lacking in content, however, it felt like it was over almost as soon as it began.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 2 players – escaped in 27:51

Address: 1942 2nd Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712, United States

Website: https://outerlifestudios.com/