The Locked Room - Southeast — Local services in Calgary

Speaking on behalf of myself and my friends, I have to express our collective disappointment and overall underwhelming experience during our recent visit to the Captivity escape room. Our anticipation for an intellectually challenging and thrilling adventure turned into a frustrating and anti-climactic ordeal.

The room we opted for was advertised as their most difficult, which naturally piqued our interest. We anticipated intricate puzzles and complex riddles that would truly put our problem-solving skills to the test. Regrettably, what we encountered was a far cry from what we had hoped for. Instead of engaging puzzles, we found ourselves engaged in what can only be described as a glorified scavenger hunt. Nearly 35 minutes of our time was spent fruitlessly scouring the room for hidden items tucked away in the most obscure places. These items provided no indication of their whereabouts, rendering this aspect of the experience more frustrating than challenging. Only approximately 5 minutes was actually spent on actual puzzle-solving and riddle-cracking.

The final room, which we had imagined to be the pinnacle of our challenge, was a letdown of epic proportions. The abrupt ending left us with an unsatisfactory "that was it?" sentiment, compounded by the lack of any clear indication that we had indeed completed the room. The escape room attendants nonchalantly acknowledged our accomplishment from across the hall with a curt, "You did it? Good job," leaving us feeling disoriented and unfulfilled.

Adding to our disappointment was the complete lack of connection between the so-called "puzzles" and the overarching plot. The storyline, already tenuous at best, was further marred by the disjointed nature of the puzzles. It felt as though there was a considerable absence of thought and consideration in crafting a cohesive experience.

Unfortunately, our discontent didn't end with the room's design. The customer service we encountered was abysmal, with our escape room master exuding a palpable sense of dissatisfaction with their role. Their apparent indifference towards our experience communicated a clear disdain for their job and, by extension, for us as participants.

In the midst of this lackluster experience, there was a silver lining – it managed to unite our group in shared disappointment. Conversations about how much the entire escapade fell short became a bonding point for us. In that sense, the experience wasn't a total loss, so here's a 1* for that.

While scavenger hunt-based escape rooms can certainly offer an enjoyable and unique experience, our recent encounter with the "Captivity" room highlighted the critical importance of clear communication and professional customer service.

It's worth noting that the concept of a scavenger hunt within an escape room setting is not inherently flawed. In fact, it can provide a refreshing change of pace and an opportunity for participants to work collaboratively to uncover hidden clues and objects. However, the disappointment we faced stemmed from the lack of forewarning about the nature of the challenge. Prior to booking, participants should be adequately informed if an escape room leans heavily on a scavenger hunt approach, allowing them to make an informed decision and adjust their expectations accordingly. Transparency in this regard is crucial to ensuring a positive experience for all involved.

Equally significant is the role of escape room attendants. While challenges and puzzles form the core of the experience, the professionalism and demeanor of the staff can greatly influence the overall enjoyment. Attendants should not only be well-versed in their roles but also adept at creating an immersive and engaging atmosphere. Providing attentive and courteous customer service enhances the overall escapade and contributes to a more...

I will start this by saying I loved completing the other rooms in other locations and the group (we have 5-10 people with us that we complete rooms with) was looking forward to completing the ones here. Unfortunately we were quite surprised at how disappointing our experience turned out to be. The staff themselves were underwhelming to say the least, the were more interested in the hoard of friends that they had hanging out at the establishment then interacting with their customers. We had completed 2 rooms;The Heist and Prison Break, both rooms had so much potential. I think the biggest issue we had over all was that 30 minutes before we arrived as we were driving there a staff member called to tell us that one of the puzzles in our room had a slight issue, since we were meeting our group there we decided to wait to make the decision together if we wanted to continue or not. When we arrived and inquired how bad the puzzle issue was the staff member made it sound like it was minor and it wasn't game breaking in the slightest. At the end of the day it was our fault and we should have known better to just not to proceed but we took his word and continued on. The malfunctioning puzzle was actually an entire room that we pretty much had to try and bypass and really took away from the experience. When we completed the Heist on a separate night there were also some small issues that took away from being immersed in the theme of the room and made it difficult to complete. Overall I doubt we will be completing the Captivity room after being so disappointed by the staff and the operation of these rooms in this location. If you are thinking of doing an escape room this location is not an accurate representation of how much fun they can actually be which their other locations do...

We did the Temple of Doom room as a group of 5, with 2 people who had never done an escape room. This was a suitable beginner room and it was an ok experience, however I had previously done the Hipster Hangover at the Southland location and it was a lot more slick and fun experience by comparison, and we didn't even escape. There were just some small things that rubbed me the wrong way about this particular room and location.

First, our group was travelling in multiple vehicles and all of us took the wrong turn into the parking lot. So 3 of us arrived before the other 2, and even though it was still a few minutes before our official start time, the staff hustled us into the room and our friends missed the starting debrief. If we had been running late, I could understand but that was not the case.

I would also say that in the other escape rooms I've done, hints have been leading prompts. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that a hint will be a hint, and not the solution itself. In this case the staff just told us the exact solutions when we twice buzzed for hints, and it was a lot less satisfying and detracted from the overall experience.

Finally, this room felt less immersive than other rooms I've done. You could hear the staff conversations outside the door the entire time. The props felt worn and cheap, and the sensors were often slow to react or the props were broken, leading to confusion on more than one puzzle that we had actually solved. Worst of all, they were using a laptop as a timer, and it died half way through the hour so we had no idea how much time was left.

I was really excited about this company after my first experience with them, but now I am not sure that I would recommend them or return to...