Even in other escape rooms with great immersion, I tend to have at most one of these moments throughout the game, with the rest of the time feeling like I was just playing the role of the audience and admiring a really nice set (say, the later half of Cutthroat Cavern).
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And I'm not just talking about feeling like you watching a movie, it felt more like you were actually IN the movie. Yes, the goal is still just the same old "escape the room", but completing puzzles in this room trigger plot progression and sequences that felt like they were straight out of a movie. In terms of the actual story in the room, this game had probably the best story progression I've ever seen in an escape room. The themes of the room also triggered a philosophical discussion in the uber back to the hotel on the themes in the game, which again, was not something that has ever even come close to happening for other games. By the end of the room, I actually started to feel for the character, which is something I've never experienced in an escape room. Ratkenstein isn't some faceless monster: he's a grad student trying to write his dissertation, and while in most escape rooms this would just be a meaningless blurb/intro video with no relevance to the room itself, Ratkenstein plays a pivotal role throughout the entire escape room. But in this world they're basically human just like us. The Story (no spoilers beyond the information described on the website: You're a bunch of rat-sized humans trapped in a world of human sized-rats. Rooms like this are what improve the quality of the industry overall, as other owners are probably taking note and utilizing some of the production ideas used here. Between the three, I'm struggling to determine whether or not Lab Rat or Storykeeper is my favorite room, and I'll probably have to mull it over for a while. I currently have only 3 of the 90 games that I've done at 5/5: Storykeeper in Seattle, Morgue* in LA,and Cutthroat Cavern in Baton Rouge, so I'm not kidding when I say that this has to be one of the best rooms in the US (if not the best). Lab Rat - 5/5 (One of the best escape rooms in the US). Lab Rat was the most anticipated room on the trip, being the most highly rated on TERPECA, and boy it did not disappoint. I've done 90 rooms across the bay area, seattle, new orleans at this point, and finally made the trek down to LA to check out the large number of rooms here. The second half, while still enjoyable, did not maintain the same quality as the first half but overall was still great. The rooms concept is the best out of the 125+ rooms we've done, and the first half of the game was one of the most enjoyable experiences we've had in the United States. Lab Rat - 5*/5 - Lab Rat has held up as one of the top 3 rooms in the United States. Going through and updating my old reviews as we move them over to our new stack rank website, ! Check it out to see how these rooms compare to the other 125+ rooms we've done across the United States. The employee told us that we were supposed to be there 15 min early, that we only had a couple of min to get started and continued to be very condescending throughout the game.Īlthough I liked the room as such, I wouldn't want to come back here and being used as a frustration outlet for that employee. While we were on time, we didn't arrive 15 min early as the parking in that area was troublesome on the day/time that we arrived, causing us to search for a park for 15 minutes. The employee who was our game master was unfriendly from the minute we stepped into the building.
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However, I only give 4 stars because the game master really makes or breaks the game. After all, it has awesome reviews on TripAdvisor and was rated among the top rooms worldwide.
![universal bus hatch universal bus hatch](https://www.apartswarehouse.com/Images/Products/T1975-030-L.jpg)
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My partner and I, who do escape rooms on a regular basis, were really excited to try this one. The way the story is presented, the set up of the rooms, the effects, the puzzles, it's truly a great experience. I've done many many escape rooms before and the concept of lab rat is amazing.