Escape Challenge St. Louis - "Stranger Times"

Updated: Apr 9

LOCATION:  St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Above photo is property of Escape Challenge St. Louis

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Stranger Times
📅 DATE PLAYED: July 11, 2021
🎬 GENRE: Sci-Fi
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 5 PPL): 5/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up To 8ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins
💰 PRICE: $25/PP
☎️ BOOKINGTYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

In the year 2021, the creatures of the “upside down” have ravaged the world you live in. Thankfully there is a time machine to send you back to Hawkins IN in the year 1984. It is up to your team of adventurers to stop upside down from being breached and make it back to the present day alive.

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

This room sells itself when it comes to the amount of detail they put into it. The set pieces and locations all felt familiar and reminded us exactly what decade we were sent back into.
There were a lot of different puzzles and most were integrated into the room well. Some of them included classic 80s action figures, Eggo waffles, and blinking lights all seen within the show.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

The puzzles didn't feel like they had a strong connection with the storyline. They were good puzzles but developing the story to try and get rid of the creatures from the upside down did not occur.
The very first puzzle was a major logic leap, expect to get a hint. We talked to the game master about this puzzle after the room and she mentioned that most players can't figure out this puzzle.
There is an excellent final room that was well done but when we solved the last puzzle the game master just came into the room and told us that we saved the world. A stronger ending would make this game feel a lot more conclusive.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

If you are a fan of "Stranger Things" this room does a good job at recreating some of the scenes in the show. It has some fun puzzles and great scenery that is sure to satiate the escape room fan. Playing this game with five people, we were able to complete it in ~45mins. The non-linearity of the game made it so that our party members felt like they were participating. If you love the show and want to relive the major moments while solving some puzzles at the same time, this is the room for you!