Video/Photos provided by Hourglass Escapes
Company: Hourglass Escapes
Game: Rise of the Mad Pharaoh
Country: USA 🇺🇸
Language: English
Type of Game: Remote Escape Room 🗣
Genre: Adventure
Date Played: 11/10/2020
Difficulty (based on 6 players): 5.5/10
Size of Team: 3-6 players
Time: 60 Minutes
Price: $33.33 pp (1-3 players)/ $30.00 pp (4-6 players)
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈
Dr. Carter has been trapped by an evil curse by the mad mummy during his journey in Egypt. It's up to you and your team of specialists to set him free and destroy the evil Pharaoh.
🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈
We've done immersive theater experiences before when we had to dress up as a character but this is the first time we had to do it for an remote escape room. It was quite exciting as there were 6 characters to chose from. If you have less players, one player will just have to take on more roles. The player packet will be emailed to you after you book the game. The leader should either let your team pick the role they want or assign the role prior to game day. It was a lot of fun for us to dress up according to the character sheet, set up our Zoom with the background provided and transform ourselves into that character's personality. I was the CIA codebreaker but rather than going the nerdy route, I went with a more "cool" look. So definitely add your own flavor to it and just have fun!
As the game does introduce various videos throughout the experience, it would be best for each player to play the game with headphones. After the initial intro video, we were joined as a team in Telescape. Just like in a regular remote escape room, we're able to ask the avatar to open, unlock and reveal items throughout the game. The difference with this game is the innovative ideas that's implemented into the inventory portal (Telescape). Each player has a different color and sound that's associated with their character. Every time when an item was discovered, it was only send to the "working station" of the character that pertained to that item. For instance, when we found a map piece it was send to the Cartographer only. As a player, you're able to enter the workspace of another player if you like to help them solve the puzzle at their station but you also have an option to sit back and only work on the puzzle in your station if you chose so.
I really enjoyed this type of play since there are games where I felt like my character didn't have much to do but others were too busy. This style of play also gives the player who doesn't want to do much but just sit back and watch others play an option to do so. I must give props to the avatar, Seth, for being able to remember which puzzle piece goes to which character as he'll have to send them manually as we discovered them. It was impressive that the items went away immediately from the inventory as we solved the puzzle.
🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂
The entire set design and puzzles were revolved around a mysterious sarcophagus that's placed in the center of the room. We were amazed by the secrets that's hidden within. Every time we thought we've discovered everything it had to offer, a new secret would unveil.
The puzzles were designed with the mindset of incorporating the different characters in the game. The codebreaker received items that they had to decode, antiquarian received antiques that he/she had to analyze, cartographer received maps to trace, etc...Every player had their moment to shine and contribute to the game.
🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂
This game was definitely one of our favorite remote escape rooms so far. The puzzles translated well in terms online play and Hourglass was able to use Telescape too create a brand new experience in the remote escape room realm that we've never experienced before. We really enjoyed the role playing idea and the interactive team effort within Telescape. It's great to see that Hourglass was able to utilize their creativity to formulate these entertaining ideas for the online play to make up for the fact that we can't play it in person. If you think you have what it takes to save the doctor from the evil mummy, round up your team now!
*** This game can no longer be booked as a remote game but can still be booked as an in-person experience ***
(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 Hourglass Escapes for comping our tickets for this game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.
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