Location:  Orlando, FL

Date Played: November 10, 2023

Team size: 2-4; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $41.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Game Breakage: Interactions worked inconsistently. 1 major interaction broke in mid-game.

Accessibility Consideration:  At least 1 player needs to jump. All players will use fine motor skills and crawl.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Bureau’s latest game, Robot Rebellion, was as creative as it was ambitious… and as flawed as it was interesting.

Structurally, Robot Rebellion sent us through 4 challenge rooms, each with a different set of challenges. Some had traditional escape room puzzles and others were a bit more video gamey. All of this was presented in an absolutely gorgeous sci-fi set.

The struggle with Robot Rebellion came from its intense ambition. There were a lot of interactions that felt under-tested or under-built. A notable flaw was the use of consumer grade hardware that was not manufactured to withstand the volume or intensity of escape room play.

Additionally, the difficulty curve of the game felt chaotic. Some challenges were dull and repetitive; others were unresponsive, confusing, or just a bit too hard.

Finally, the story was presented as something to get invested in, but it never did anything meaningful. When the ending came, we felt like the game wanted us to have an emotional reaction, but it hadn’t done much of anything to earn one.

The Bureau is onto something with Robot Rebellion, but in practice, you really have to go in wanting to see something interesting and flawed.

To be clear, Robot Rebellion should be a beloved game, but it needs a lot of debugging and maintenance.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Sci-fi fans
• Best for players with at least some experience
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• Gameplay variety
• A gorgeous set
• Unusual interactions

Story

We were on a mission to rescue robots who were held captive on a forced labor planet. Our goal was to free as many robots as possible.

Setting

The robots were held in an industrial facility. The set had high ceilings and weathered walls. It felt unfriendly, in a beautifully designed way.

Gameplay

The Bureau’s Robot Rebellion was a points-based escape room.

The gameplay was pipelined. We moved through 4 rooms and had a standard amount of time in each room to complete as many puzzles as we could.

Early gameplay was more escape room-y, relying heavily on logic, matching, and visual reasoning.

Later gameplay was more video game-y, with controllers playing a more prominent role than tangible props. Some physical movement was required as well.

Analysis

 With Robot Rebellion, The Bureau dabbled in mixed reality. We’re excited about this avenue of pushing the boundaries of game design, even if this implementation didn’t feel cohesive.

 The set looked incredible. It was industrial and ominous. The larger physical set pieces were hefty. In the first set, the interactive props were especially fun to discover and utilize.

There was no onramp. Robot Rebellion opened with a logic puzzle, made especially challenging by a lack of persistent visual cluing. It was a great puzzle, but a rough start.

 Unusual interaction design was the highlight of Robot Rebellion. Our real-world movement impacted the on-screen robots. There were varied real world interactions of this nature, some more challenging than others.

 While this was conceptually interesting, the physical resistance often felt wrong, and the on-screen responsiveness was delayed.

 Robot Rebellion relied too heavily on consumer technology in a commercial space. The tech just wasn’t durable enough. When we played, the game had only just opened, and it already felt janky. One prop stopped functioning in the middle of its segment. Another prop had such poor responsiveness that we didn’t realize it was a touchscreen. This game needed to be built on arcade tech.

 The pipelined model led to bottlenecking. For example, once we finished all the challenges in the second room, a single (1-2 player) challenge continued to throw repetitive iterations at us until the game was ready to move us forward to the next room. 1 player solved these repeatedly while the rest of us looked on.

 Our hint system was a tablet, which we accidentally left in the second room and were then unable to access in the second half of the game. It shouldn’t be possible to get cut off from the hint system.

One matching puzzle presented its information in an usual way that played into the physical nature of the game.

 / The ending was abrupt, but it was an event. We enjoyed the effects that gave the ending some fanfare.

 The story was in conflict with the timed, points-based goal. We wanted to connect with these robots and understand their history and their plight. We wanted to be invested in saving them. However, with timed segments and an emphasis on points, we found it impossible to pay attention to any story. It was always in competition with the puzzles. Furthermore, none of the spaces had clocks, so we never knew how long we had left in each room. While we don’t want to see clocks in a story-based adventure, they felt conspicuously absent in a timed, points-based mission.

Tips For Visiting

• The location is a little tricky to find. Turn in at the church and look for the big B on the door outside The Bureau.
• There is a parking lot.

Book your hour with The Bureau’s Robot Rebellion, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: The Bureau comped our tickets for this game.

The post The Bureau – Robot Rebellion [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Thanks for the sub

Location:  Orlando, FL

Date Played: February 25, 2023

Team size: 2-10; we recommend 4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $41.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: Wheelchair accessible

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

UFO: Go for Launch was a quirky game with a delightful setup.

It was genius to put us into the home of a streamer, with chat as the hint system. I can’t believe it took this long to experience such a setup. This could totally be a genre.

The tactile interactions – and how they were woven into the narrative – were stellar. Possibly interstellar.

In our playthrough, we experienced a major tech failure that took way too long to resolve and thwarted any momentum. This was the coolest interaction in the game, and The Bureau needed to be ready and able to bypass it without the team having to beg for help. The Bureau loves making interesting and unusual interactions. This is something we love about their style. However, they need systems behind the scenes to make sure that these moments deliver for every team, every time, across every game.

If you love sci-fi, streamers, or just plain weird scenarios, don’t miss UFO: Go for Launch on your next Orlando trip.

Who is this for?

• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Zoomers
• Sci-fi fans
• People who like tech
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Really nifty gadgets
• Delightful and well-rounded characters
• Strong ending sequence

Story

Our main character had been tracking the movement of a ufo for a while… until it crashed into the mother-in-law suite of her home and she went missing. With the help of her livestream chat we needed to figure out what had occurred.

Setting

UFO: Go for Launch was set in the home of a ufo conspiracy streamer in New Mexico after an alien had crashed into the home. It did a good job conveying both sides of this unusual Venn diagram. Because it was set in the present day, it made use of current technology, which made the home feel real.

Gameplay

The Bureau’s UFO: Go for Launch was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, solving puzzles, and engaging with the “streamer” setup.

Analysis

 The staging in the home of a YouTube streamer was hilarious. Plus, The Bureau incorporated this aspect of the story into the mechanics of the game.

 The modern set and tech were on point. However, it was the second scene that stole the show, combining realism with sci-fi through decor and props. This launched a wonderful ending sequence.

 We experience a devastating tech failure that stalled our game for more than 10 minutes. The Bureau seemed unaware that a prop was broken. (There were 3 identical props, and 2 had activated immediately, so it was abundantly clear there was a malfunction.) Once we were finally able to communicate the issue, our gamemaster bypassed the puzzle. It was unfortunate that there wasn’t a working prop to swap in because we were drawn to this interaction. ( We imagine that when the tech works, this puzzle wows.)

 A couple of puzzles tested our collaboration and our reflexes, which were fun pairings. These were delightfully at home in this game world.

 There were a lot of audio puzzles, and much of the audio was hard to hear. Some of the audio was on its own timer, so if we missed it, we had to wait.

On multiple occasions, the clue structure fell short. We’d take almost the right action, but not get it quite right. Then in another instance, we took a random action – not seeing any further cluing – and random was correct. This unevenness was frustrating.

 Midway through the game, we met a charming character. We loved bringing it along for our ride.

 What happened to the ufo conspiracy streamer who owned this home? A plot unfolded as we solved UFO: Go for Launch, but we never resolved this overarching mystery.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.

Book your hour with The Bureau’s UFO: Go for Launch, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: The Bureau provided media discounted tickets for this game.

The post The Bureau – UFO: Go for Launch [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

The great puppet caper

Location:  Orlando, FL

Date Played: February 25, 2023

Team Size: 2-10; we recommend 3-5

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $39.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: Wheelchair accessible

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Puppet Heist: The Hand of Life was a unique experience filled with adorable puppets, puppet interactions, puppet puns, and even puppet-sized objects! The gameplay shined. It presented a unique twist on the typical escape room thought process and felt justified in the story and setting.

Puppet Heist had our team thinking well outside the box, which could have used a bit more signposting to get going. Once we were over the learning curve of figuring out how the designers wanted us to play the game (the early-game was far rougher than it should have been), however, the game flow was strong with many large interactions.

The Bureau shined in how they implemented communication puzzles for the entire team. We were constantly in awe at the amount of multi-layered and incredibly fun interactions they were able to jam pack into the space. Our team was laughing along with the lovable characters and giggling at the constantly silly interactions.

With a strong set, well thought through story, and charming interactions, our team had an absolute joy spending an hour with the main protagonist. If you’re near Orlando, get ready to stretch those puzzling braincells in a new way in the Puppet Heist.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Any experience level
• Families
• Techies
• Muppets fans

Why play?

• Adorable Muppet-inspired world
• Novel puppet-based interactions
• To immerse yourself in a live video game feeling experience

Story

We had joined up with a conspiracy of puppets to steal the ancient artifact: The Hand of Life. The plan was set, and it was our duty to get the job all sewn up.

Setting

Our warehouse infiltration started in the loading dock. The large set was realistic, yet the characters were puppets and some details were thus puppet sized. The set had big props for unique tech-driven interactions.

Gameplay

The Bureau’s Puppet Heist was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around puzzling, interacting with large set pieces, thinking outside the box, communicating, observing, and making connections.

Analysis

 The way the themes were portrayed in the gameplay was adorable. This included different puppet interactions, puppet sized items, and the puppets themselves. Interacting with these puppets brought life into the experience and tied the story and puzzles together.

 / It took some time for our team to figure out the way The Bureau wanted us to think in terms of gameplay mechanics. When we understood how to solve the room, the game flow was fantastic and whimsical.

 The beginning of the game lacked gating and signposting. The on-ramp puzzle should have taught us how to think, but instead felt like a logic leap. This first interaction was only clued by a once-triggered clue that wasn’t clear enough.

The puzzles in the first half were generally under clued. One puzzle in particular lacked lighting and had a janky input mechanism that fell flat, causing our team to stall even when we knew the correct solution.

 Once we figured out how to approach the puzzles, the second half of the game was a ton of fun and full of large physical interactions. The use of space in regards to the puzzle location was clever, allowing for fun and quirky communication puzzles.

 Details matter. There was a mouse cursor showing on a looping video that played in the space. This could easily be edited out.

Puppet Heist was filled to the brim with adorable and hilarious puppet puns. This was such a unique take on adding humor to the gameplay. Plus, it’s accessible to all generations. The Bureau truly nailed the puppet theme through and through with these charming details.

Tips For Visiting

• There is plenty of parking on-site

Book your hour with The Bureau’s Puppet Heist: The Hand of Life, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: The Bureau provided media discounted tickets for this game.

The post The Bureau – Puppet Heist: The Hand of Life [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

I collect molds, spores, and fungus.

Location:  Orlando, FL

Date Played: February 25, 2023

Team size: 2-4; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $41.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  wheelchair accessible, but one player must crawl. Low lighting throughout.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

We encountered something special in Possession at Haddon Heights: two interaction types that we hadn’t seen before. Ever.

The Bureau does things differently. That was reflected in their lobby experience and in their approach to gameplay. It was refreshing.

Possession at Haddon Heights was packed with world building… bouncing between a grim intensity and moments of humor.

There were two things we wished for this game: (1) We’d each get our own flashlight. And (2) the early game would aid players in understanding how to approach interactions.

This was our third game of the day at The Bureau, and by this time, the gameplay just clicked. We could immerse ourselves in this haunting. With the aid of one of those novel interactions, this was natural to do.

Possession at Haddon Heights was dark, creepy, and haunted. If you love this genre of escape room, or even if you just appreciate it, we strongly recommend stopping by The Bureau on your next trip to Orlando. There’s something here that’s as special as it is different.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Horror fans
• Thrill seekers
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Novel approach to sound effects
• Writing and character development
• The set-based interactions were compelling

Story

The children at Haddon Heights Elementary School had been behaving strangely. The school officials said it was caused by a mold problem, but the truth was far more sinister.

Setting

Possession at Haddon Heights took place in a New Jersey elementary school that looked the part, from the office decor to the classroom art. The hallway was appropriately foreboding. The tech really brought the game world to life.

Gameplay

The Bureau’s Possession at Haddon Heights was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

The experience was creepy, so this will be an added challenge for some teams.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, solving puzzles, and not being afraid to interact with the set.

Analysis

 The Bureau nailed the vibe of this haunted school. The opening hallway scene was appropriately foreboding. The dim lighting and weathered walls sucked us in.

 I have been waiting for years to open a door in just the way we did in Possession at Haddon Heights. With simple technology, The Bureau mimicked a specific skill-based interaction, delivering a triumphant moment for a player.

 Possession at Haddon Heights was creepy, but not terrifying. As we opened up the full set, we continued to traverse the space, becoming more comfortable within it. This worked because the goal was not to keep us on edge for every minute of the experience (as some horror experiences strive to do). Through a few well-timed jump scares, we were primed for the unexpected. Still, we were able to relax enough to solve puzzles and understand the story, which was essential to the experience.

Low lighting and shared flashlights stifled us.

 We encountered one big red herring. We believe it was an attempt at cluing, but it was misleading.

 We appreciated the jokes peppered throughout the world in unexpected places.

 One late-game puzzle was burned in our memories… slightly out of frame. It could have been more impactful.

 The Bureau used an audio technology we’d never before experienced in an escape room. Thematically, it made sense. It made the haunted scenes more personal.

 As the puzzle paths converged, the escape room lacked feedback. We knew something was off, but we had to retry each solution a few times, not knowing which ones we’d already completed successfully. Added feedback could double as theatrical flair that would be thematically appropriate.

 The Bureau used effects well to deliver an exciting and dramatic conclusion to this haunted tale.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.

Book your hour with The Bureau’s Possession at Haddon Heights, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: The Bureau provided media discounted tickets for this game.

The post The Bureau – Possession at Haddon Heights [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.