Escapology Escape Rooms (Holmdel) - "Mayday"

Updated: Apr 23

LOCATION:  Holmdel, New Jersey, USA

Photo above is property of Escapology Escape Rooms (Holmdel)

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Mayday
📅 DATE PLAYED: December 2, 2022
🎬 GENRE: Adventure
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 8/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-8 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: $31.99/ pp
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: No

📖 THE STORY

The engines are down! Air Force One is under attack! The flight crew has been kidnapped and each of the four engines on the Boeing VC-137C stopped. Luckily, the emergency security override has put the plane into a controlled glide towards the surface. You are Secret Service agent Jack Lanman, personal bodyguard to President Ronald Reagan. Your mission is to restart the engines and safely land the plane. You must also determine which of the crew is not a Secret Service agent, but a spy attempting to destroy the United States.

Video above is property of Escapology Escape Rooms (Holmdel)

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

One thing that we have to commend Escapology on is their customer service, cleanliness, and décor. The friendliness and hospitality is always top-notch at all the locations we've been to so far (Garwood, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, and Las Vegas-Town Square), Escapology is known for their iconic steampunk-vibe from the lobby throughout the venue and it always transports us to another time as soon as we step foot inside.
The props you see in this room are actual plane parts from an old Air Force One. How cool is that? "Mayday" started off inside the First Class cabin on board Air Force One. Not only were we immersed, we were comfortably seated in our recliners with our footrests up ready for takeoff! There were a total of 6 seats w/ overhead compartments for each. The set design was impeccable as it reminded us of the days we traveled (pre-Covid). The only thing missing was our pre-departure drinks!
The storyline for this game was intense and definitely had a sense of urgency! Especially with the added sound effects.
The puzzles were coordinated closely with a flight experience. You were able to experience things you would do as a passenger, flight attendant and the pilot!

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

Being that "Mayday" is a fairly newer game that opened to the public this year, there were some minor things that we felt could've been updated. Some of the objects needed to replaced and retouched upon as one of the missing elements did hinder our thought process with regards to a puzzle.
The game flow for "Mayday" was a little bit off. There were parts of the games that we bypassed which only made it more confusing. We also didn't get to experienced the full motion effect of the plane because of that.
There was a puzzle where we had to be thinking like a pilot in order to get to where we needed to go. That's definitely a reach for most players.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

If you are looking for an action/ adventure game with a conspiracy storyline, you might have found your match. How often can you step foot inside an escape room and get a taste of what it's like onboard Air Force One? The puzzles were all uniquely crafted with an added "Whodunit" deductive reasoning objective. If you can't travel on a real plane right now, why not live vicariously through this one?

🔎 HINT

When the sun comes up, you must...

Additional Info

Lobby area with seats
Located in the Bell Works Center
Event space available
Parking lot available

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 Escapology Escape Rooms (Holmdel) for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.