Escapologic – Howitz

Escapologic – Howitz.
Location: Nottingham
Game Date 14/06/2018.
Team: Amy & Ian

Theme:
“A tragic loss. A happy family destroyed. A desperate man, irresistibly drawn to dark forces. As the door slams shut behind you, you’re trapped in the world of Eli Howitz, an enigmatic figure whose gut-wrenching story pervades every millimetre of the room.

Just what happened in Eli’s toy shop? You’ve heard the rumours. You know the horror stories off by heart. But how much truth is there in the police report? Can there really be ritualistic carvings on the walls? They say there were glowing symbols, and toys that whirred, clicked, and span on their own….”

Howitz has recently had a full revamp, with tweaks to the story and a major overhaul in the game-play area, if you want read my review of the original Howitz, it’s here.

Set decoration is great, run down, dingy, and a little creepy without being dirty or too dark. There’s a great fun-house twist in the decoration, and it continues to the last moment. The room is spacious enough for 5 people, although there is one small space… but fear not… isolation is the key to this small space.
The room has some great set pieces and decoration and really is a 360 degree affair, with such brilliant immersion being created through the environment and soundtrack. Story is subtly delivered through the room and there is a satisfying ending.

Game Play:
Escapologic are renowned for their hands one tactics in the design of their puzzles and Howitz was no exception, along with this ever so hands-on approach there were some super logic, observation, sound and searching puzzles. One moment that relies heavily on team-work was a joy to solve.
Each and every puzzle was excellent in its logic, and had wonderful ah-ha moments.
Signposting was subtle, but there and there was a lot of humour interwoven into the gameplay that kept the scare factor down (saying that, it’s still a spooky room!)
The flow was excellent, with the only stalling points being the searches (but then we’re awful at searching, a bigger team would have no problems) and the game flowed incredibly well and logically.
A fantastically creepy room, and the perfect game for people wanting to dip their toes into a more chilling escape experience.

Clue System:
Clues are delivered via a Ouija Board. (terrifyingly so – this is one aspect of the original game they’ve retained)

Game Host:
Tani was our host and she was lovely and quirky (most of the Escapologic staff are vivacious unique and wonderful!) she ran our game well and was obviously paying incredibly close attention to what we were doing!

Did we escape?
Yes, in 31 minutes, with no clues!

Website: https://www.escapologic.com/
Price:
OFF Peak:
2 Players £40
3 Players £57
4 Players £70
5 Players £80

OFF Peak:
2 Players £50
3 Players £69
4 Players £84
5 Players £100