Brighton Asylum Escape - "Subway Escape"

Updated: Apr 14

LOCATION:  Passaic, New Jersey, USA

Photo above is property of Brighton Asylum Escape

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Subway Escape
📅 DATE PLAYED: August 10, 2022
🎬 GENRE: Heist
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 6.5/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up To 10PPL
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins
💰 PRICE: $34/PP
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

You and your group of friends received a text message from one of your friends - Tony Calzone requesting that you meet him on an abandoned subway platform. You decide to find out what Tony is up to when you realize that he's not even there. Instead, he's gathered you and your friends to participate in his treasure hunt to find the famous "Rockefeller Ruby Apple". Rumor has it that this priceless artifact was hidden on an abandoned train at this subway station...

Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

It's always a fun experience being inside a train-themed escape room, especially since we were born and raised in NYC and it's quite a familiar experience for us. It was also nice to have a little twist this time as the creator decided to add a heist element to it.
The starting point was on an abandoned subway platform. From there, we had to figure out a way to get onto the actual train. Being inside of a warehouse, the high ceilings really helped facilitate the true size of a train and the surrounding areas.
Once you are on the train, you can actually feel the train "moving". The closing of the doors and the minor vibrations were very nicely done.
There was one puzzle where the creator utilized props in order to maneuver a certain puzzle that we haven't seen designed elsewhere before. It was a unique teamwork type of puzzle.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

We spent a good amount of time trying to figure out a simple puzzle at the beginning. It was confusing to us as the props could be read in various ways and there was no clear indication as to what type of input was required for the solution, so we had to try a couple of different ways.
Some of the props were cleverly hidden, but it had us questioning if we needed to use force or not. It definitely required more than 2 fingers and some "wiggling".

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

"Subway Escape" is different from the other two escape rooms we've played at Brighton Asylum Escape - "The Tomb" and "1408 Escape", since it was build in-house. We feel like there's definitely been an improvement for this game versus the previous two. Although, some of the puzzles still needed some work, the set design and storyline is much closer to an escape room versus a random puzzle vibe. If you think you got what it takes to retrieve the famous "Rockefeller Ruby Apple", then you better not miss getting on that train!

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

Free parking lot right in front (might be hard to find, please call the location if you get lost).

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

BOOK NOW

(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank Brighton Asylum Escape for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.