Prison of Dark Wizards – Xcape room

Played on February 6th, 2023 by:

The Prison of Dark Wizards was the first room we tackled at Xcape Rooms in Glasgow. In this scenario, we wake up chained in a creepy prison with no way out. The wizarding world is corrupted by the dark wizard. Will we be able to escape and banish the dark wizard before it’s too late? The scenario has a clear goal but is missing a unique twist and some details. Additionally, the scenario doesn’t match the decor as we don’t start in the prison and we are not chained up.

The decor was fine, with many little hints of Harry Potter everywhere, but the rooms were very small. The storyline doesn’t match the decor at all, as at some point in the game, we have to enter the prison instead of starting in it. Before starting the room, the game master explained all the rooms we would enter, which was a big spoiler. We also didn’t understand why they alternated between Harry Potter, the Nutcracker, and Mario Bross’ music. The immersion was also affected by the fact that we could hear everyone in the other rooms due to a gap between the walls and the ceiling.

The puzzles were all related to the theme and there was a good amount, but we thought there would be more since it’s a 75-minute room. The balance between traditional locks, automatic mechanisms, and manipulation puzzles was great. One item was used for two different puzzles, and we didn’t like that. The hints were given using a walkie-talkie, which was fine.

Overall, we liked the room okay, but we were a bit disappointed with the storyline and decor. It’s a bit dark, but there aren’t any jump scares, so kids would likely be fine in this room. Because the rooms are so small, it’s better suited for groups of 2-3 people. We are happy with our performance because we completed it with a lot of time to spare and only asked for one hint. We liked it okay, and we escaped!

: Yes

Andrea