Next-Gen Escape | Escape Room Fresno — Attraction in Fresno

My family and I had a great experience at NGE. We took part in the "Clancy Lodge" room with four players and had a blast! (As a quick note, I would not recommend the room to more than 4 players.) The 'cult horror' theme of the room was done very well, a good balance of usual cabin affair and paranormal periphinalia. The puzzles also fit well into the theme of the room, following a Lovecraftian-style decent into madness.

Customer service was friendly and helpful! No complaints at all. Jayce (gosh I hope that was his name!) was an awesome Game Master! While we only got one hint, it was helpful without giving the puzzle away. He also was enthusiastic and really helped set the tone before entering the room!

The background audio was fantastic. It felt appropriate, spooky, but was not 'jumpy'. The lighting was also done well. The red curtain converted the summer rays to a great atmosphere.

We have experienced a few other escape rooms in the past, escaping more often than not. With that in mind, we did not find the difficulty of the room excessive. A newer team could very likely escape, though it could definitely be a challenge! Only one challenge had us particularly stumped, and only due to our own mechanical confusion.

This leads me to my two negatives. Other Escape Room businesses I have been to had examples of all the styles of locks you could encounter before you went in. While the locks were explained to us, a visual would have been very welcomed to avoid our only spot of confusion without costing the business excessively.

My second, very minor, negative was the phone used to communicate hints. It was very appropriate to the theme of the room and I must commend NGE for it. However, it was difficult to hear even with the well balanced background audio.

Overall, a fantastic experience! I highly recommend checking out Next-Gen Escape if you are looking for a great...

So a few things to review: 1) courtesy of the staff, 2) design and aesthetic experience including the story you are working with and 3) the challenge/variety of puzzles you solve as you go. All of these matter so much, so I’ll break down my comments for each:

1. From the first call with a list of questions to the wave goodbye when we finished, the staff here is extremely kind, patient, and enthusiastic about what they do. I appreciate that they were paying attention while we played and, unlike some places, didn’t give us a clue without asking.

2. Excellent room! My husband and I did “King’s Keep” together. This room had so much detail! You get the full dungeon effect with lanterns, candles, and a set that looks like it came out of a movie studio. We were impressed. Great story and detail within the puzzles that link back. No background knowledge needed.

3. We’re probably intermediate in terms of experience - this is our 4th room together. We love a good challenge and this one was just right - not too tough, not too easy. We finished with 13 minutes remaining. It made us think and work together for sure but wasn’t frustrating. That said, if you’ve never done a room before, this may be more challenging- it’s all subjective. If you’re going with a group I’d say 3-4 is the max before it gets too easy or too crowded, but I think they allow more. We will be moving to their more advanced rooms but definitely glad we did this one to enjoy the artistic brilliance and fun story.

Overall score: 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Go check it out for yourself now- you won’t be...

I have done close to a dozen escape rooms before, ranging from not so great to pretty involved and high effort.

The two rooms I tested at Next Gen were honestly the most well themed I've ever seen. The rooms are filled with little details that other places would overlook, and every aspect of the room clearly has so much thought and effort put into it. The puzzles are fun and unique, without being overly difficult and I think they would be accessible to everyone, while still providing a satisfying challenge for more experienced escape room enthusiasts.

Unlike some other escape rooms in town, Next Gen is conveniently located and the location/parking lot feels safe to leave my car in, even at night. The facility is also very clean and well air conditioned, even when I visited on one of the hottest days so far this year.

The owners are really great people and their passion for their business really shows, and they have hired some really talented people to run the rooms.

Prices are consistent with the other businesses in the area, and definitely a good value compared to rooms in LA or SF.

I would highly recommend this escape room as the best in the Central Valley, at least that I've seen (and I've been to almost all of them). Ask for the haunted cabin room, because it is literally the coolest room I've ever seen (no seriously it was like...