Although escape rooms are usually a hands-on experience, in response to COVID-19 restrictions, Xperience Kelowna has created an online escape room using a combination of internet browser and Zoom to present an experience that plays much like the old PC point-and-click adventure games.
The game itself presents as a 360-degree photograph of a real room with real objects. The player character rotates in the middle and clicks on various objects in the game, which then present close-up images of those objects. The puzzles involve finding keys and codes to restricted places which contain clues for subsequent puzzles. (Note: the experience is optimized for a mouse, not a laptop touch pad.)
So, does the new model work? No and yes. I’ve played an in-person escape room before, and part of what made the experience so compelling was literally being immersed in the environment, being able to explore the room and manipulate the objects. Accordingly, the move to a browser-based computer game strips the experience of much of its wonder and charm. You’re unable to move around the room; you only rotate in place while viewing a series of medium-resolution images, and the experience lacks the sense of tactile discovery that makes the in-person experience so exciting.
In terms of its effectiveness in selling a themed narrative, the room is sparse in its presentation, and the environmental tone didn’t match the exciting storyline given in the intro, causing me to forget about the story completely. While I’m certain that the atmosphere of the room could have been more creative with its adornment and lighting, I also recognize the challenges of creating a visual environment that can be represented through a limited 360-degree photograph without seeming cluttered, and in that regard it’s successful—every item and clue is easily visible from the centre of the room.
The puzzles are tricky and well thought out, and will likely take teamwork to solve within the time limit. The game is optimized for four to six players, and I imagine that having a number of your friends engaged in solving the puzzle together might produce a fun, energetic experience. Unfortunately, I was only able to play by myself, with the game’s creator on the other end of the line. Since he already knew all of the answers, that sense of cooperating to solve a puzzle was lost on me, and the experience was rather unengaging. Admittedly, since I didn’t play the game as the robust social interaction it is designed to be, it could be completely different for a group.
I think that, all things considered, while it has pretty significant hindrances, this online escape room is an honest effort to create a fun and engaging entertainment package to distract people stuck inside during lockdown. (There’s a 50% off promo until December 14, so it might be worth checking out over at xperiencekelowna.com.) Maybe with a group of problem-solving friends and a six-pack, you can get loud and excited as you work through it together.