The X-Door: The Last Dragon (Valencia)

One for fans of Game of Thrones

Your queen needs you. Rumor has it that the enemy will soon have a dragon for the war. If this is true, there will be no hope and they will spread chaos from one side of the continent to the other.

Our last full day in Valencia and we had hoped we had saved the best for last, by visiting The X-Door. The ‘big’ game at X-Door was The Hairdressing, a game we heard a lot about when we were both in Madrid and Barcelona, and the highest rated game in Valencia in the 2024 TERPECAs coming in at a very impressive position 15!

We had planned to play all of the games at the venue, but due to a booking issue, we couldn’t play The Dark Years, so we just had to opt for The Hairdressing and The Last Dragon. First up, was The Last Dragon.

We arrived at our allotted time and were buzzed into the building and told to wait in reception until someone came to collect us. In the waiting area, there were benches, lockers and a TV screen that gave us the instructions to store away our items, use the bathroom (if needed), and when we were all ready, to sit on the benches. When we did this, a video briefing began that covered the usual escape room briefing stuff. When that video ended, our in-character GM, ‘Pretty Face’, appeared and escorted us, with our eyes closed, to The Last Dragon.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

I went into this room not knowing what to expect, and I was actually quite impressed. The set design was good, and the use of space was very clever. It seemed like we had explored everything there was to explore, and then suddenly new spaces appeared and took us deeper into the game.

We played as a team of four, but I believe the maximum capacity is six players and that would likely be quite cosy in a few areas – four was a good number though and despite a few tighter areas, we didn’t really have too many issues getting around each other.

The theming of The Last Dragon was decent, and if you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, you’ll probably get a little more enjoyment out of it as it felt like being in Westeros. Even if you’ve not seen the series, or have and didn’t like it, you’ll not miss out on anything and the game is 100% playable without any outside knowledge.

PUZZLES

This game starts with a split start, so it’s no surprise that communication is needed early on, but it is also useful later on in the game. Outside of that, you’ll need a little role-playing (not a huge amount), teamwork, observation, some spatial relations, pattern recognition, and logic.

All of the puzzles felt like they perfectly fitted the world that had been created, and solving them generally resulted in combinations for padlocks, or some tech triggering. Although solving one puzzle was particularly clever and didn’t utilise a padlock or tech – I can’t really say much more than that without giving it away, but we quite enjoyed the mechanic of this puzzle.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

We didn’t catch the real name of our gamemaster, just his in character name… Pretty Face. He was in character from the moment we first met him in the venue, right up until we completed our mission and exited the game. He was very much like how I’d imagine a medieval jailer to be, rude, angry, and generally just not pleasant to be around (that was just the character, the real host was much more pleasant).

We didn’t actively need to ask for any help in The Last Dragon so I’m not 100% sure on what the clue system would have been. But judging by the extent of the theming in the game, I would guess that it also wouldn’t have felt out of place.

Early on in the game we had a lot of interactions with Pretty Face, and he was pivotal to being able to escape our cells. There were a few moments early on where he was particularly helpful and I assume this was him offering subtle help to get us to do the correct thing.

ANYTHING ELSE

The Hairdressing is the show-stopper at The X-Door, but if you’re looking for a filler game then The Last Dragon wouldn’t be a bad choice – especially if you’re a fan of Game of Thrones. It’s got a good set, fun puzzles, and some fun interactions with both the host and the set.

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 4 Players

Address: Carrer del Literat Gabriel Miró, 25, Extramurs, 46008 València, Valencia, Spain

Website: http://www.thexdoor.com/