It’s alive!
Black clouds sprawl across the evening sky as a cruel wind rips its way through Ingolstadt, Germany. The unsettled air grows thick and angry, looming over the town like an omen of death. The lull before the storm’ one Professor Victor Frankenstein notes as he takes heed from his tiny attic window.
The Professor is a young well educated man, ghostly and pale with a cough that rattles his core. Everyday the professor endures the toxic vapours, alcohol fumes, naked flames and the wretched stench of rotting flesh that fills his laboratory of horrors. Surrounding him is his grousome stolen collection of assorted body parts, bloody limbs and innards sourced from dissecting rooms, grave yards and slaughter houses.
Consumed with the desire to discover the secret to life Victor Frankenstein needs your help to finally succeed in his mission to cheat death. You too could become an evangelist of modern science by using a combination of chemistry, alchemy, and electricity; but you must work fast to unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation, your monster must be complete in time for its regeneration just as the thunder strikes!
Having spotted a rather tempting 50% off voucher for Trapp’d we decided to make the most of it by booking three rooms in Corby swiftly followed by three more in Kettering. Our first room of the day was Reanimation at their Corby branch.
We had a few minor issues finding the place but got there eventually and were greeted by our GM (Tyrone), just as he was opening up for the day. While he was making sure the room was ready to go we waiting in their perfectly adequate waiting room and stored our belongings in the storage units.
When Tyrone came back we had a decent chat about escape rooms and our plans for the day. As a bonus to us he was able to shift things around a bit so we would be able to actually fit in lunch (Liz was very pleased, she gets hangry!).
The health and safety briefing took place outside the room in the very dark hallway, then we were lead into the room where we were told a little about the story and what our mission was, basically reanimating a creature (think Frankenstein’s Monster). With that out of the way, Tyrone left and we were on our own.
PUZZLES
The room had a small amount of searching required but this was definitely not a search heavy room. There were a mixture of puzzle types including one that we hate: a dreaded word puzzle. Our issue with these are that if you don’t know the words then there is nothing you can do but ask for help, and we certainly needed help with this one!
Generally the room has a linear feel to it and things needed to be completed in a set order. But with good signposting on puzzles it wasn’t hard to see where to go next. There is also another item which you have for the room which gives an additional bit of help to point you in the right direction at times.
One puzzle required you to listen to something being played, which with an atmospheric soundtrack going on could have been tricky. Fortunately our GM was on the ball and as soon as he saw us reach that puzzle he turned the volume down slightly on the music, top marks.
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
This room won’t blow you away but most of the stuff in there didn’t feel out of place. It’s also clear from the start what you need to do and you can see what you are working towards. There are a number of padlocks dotted around the room but also some tech too.
Not quite the ending but the ‘big reveal’ was a bit of fun and added some light humour and excitement to the room. The ending however was a bit odd as it seemed a stretch to know what to do to actually leave the room – I’m pretty sure the GM gave some physical assistance here.
Despite being a dark room it was never too dark and only at one point did it become a challenge to see something but even then it was minor. They got the balance of ambience/creepiness and adequate lighting spot on.
A little bonus in the room was a small chalkboard so you could jot down anything you needed. With a memory like a sieve this was very much appreciated.
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
Tyrone, our GM did a great job. We needed one actual clue (stupid word puzzle) but when it came through it was just cryptic enough to make us think differently but didn’t give us the answer outright. He was obviously watching closely as he knew when to turn down the music, when to perhaps give a nudge, and was there when we escaped.
Clues were delivered when requested (our preference) and when they did they came in through a speaker system in the room. To keep with the theme, and apparently Trapp’d preference, there was no timer or screen in the room.
ANYTHING ELSE
The room definitely won’t blow you away but the puzzles are logical and for the most part enjoyable (stupid word puzzle). We did the room as a two and had no problems, and it’s big enough that you could comfortably fit a couple more people in there.
Success/Failed
Final Rating:
Operation Puzzles Room Design GM/Clues Excitement
Team: Two players
Address: 6 Priors Haw Rd, Northamptonshire, Corby NN17 5PH
Website: https://trappd.com
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