Escape from Dr. Frankenstein

After our amazing adventure at Once Upon an Escape, the Daring Damsels were raring to play again. So we booked a room at an escape room I had only recently discovered existed: Monster Quest!

I had seen the building in passing, and it was absolutely beautiful. The artwork on the side of the building shows its two rooms while still looking more like an art piece than an ad.

That was the first thing that drove me to it. The second, of course, being the name. Monsters! Like old-school Hollywood monsters! SO EXCITING!

We had two choices of monsters to play with, a Mummy and a Frankenstein’s Monster. Both looked exciting, but we had to pick, so Frankenstein was it. The description of the room looked super creepy, and besides, we had been to a desert last time. I was the first to book their night out experience, so had to do it on the phone. The manager I worked with was amazing and got it all set up without a hitch. So we had tickets and dinner at a nearby restaurant.

When we arrived, the door was locked. Mildly concerning, until I reread the confirmation email. It says to knock on the door when you arrive. Strange, but once the person answers, you can tell why. Every moment from the time you enter is part of the show! Ian answered in character, referred to the framing tale, and described why you are there, all in the greeting. It was like you entered another world. He was willing to break character to help take care of the necessities but even told us where the bathroom was in the accent he had chosen. It was awesome.

Props & Decor:

This was one of the most thoroughly decorated escape rooms we have been to yet, rivaling even the Lionsgate-funded Saw room. The decorations started with the front door and went throughout the venue.

So you would think the intro to the room wouldn’t be that much of a change. But that is wrong. The room completely outdid the lobby. I was entranced the minute we went through the door. One of the surprise props made me think there was a live actor in the room for a second!

It was dark enough to set the atmosphere, but not too dark to see the puzzles. They used an old-fashioned phonograph to play the story in bits as the room went on. It looked just like I’d pictured it in the old monster stories, like Dracula. It was so fun to find all the little cylinders and put them in the phonograph to hear Doctor Frankenstein’s latest entry.
The props were so fun to pick up and move around. There were a bunch of dead body parts, just gristly enough to be fun. I loved playing with them, but I could also imagine some squeamish players shrieking when they found them. We made heart jokes, hand jokes, eye jokes, and more as we passed the props back and forth.

Some of the decor was gory too, some not so much, but all of it was completely appropriate for the theme and setting. We were definitely immersed the entire time we were in the room. The second to last puzzle had a super fun prop; the Dragon couldn’t wait to use it. You’ll have to throw your whole self into it….

Puzzles:

The puzzles at this escape room started before we even entered the room and continued after we thought we were done. I love that! Only a few of them were ones we had played before, which is par for the course for us. Even those had a creative twist to make them fit into the room. The expression “don’t overthink it” came into play on several puzzles we encountered. I love it when that happens in a game. It reminds me not to take myself too seriously.

I loved the order the puzzles were in. You are not finished with the first room when the door to the second opens. You will have to go back and forth. The unfinished puzzles in the first room tease the eyes after you go into the second one, keeping the mystery alive. What are those two cups for? What is in that locked cupboard? Why didn’t we find out yet? Then you get the feeling of satisfaction when you go back and finish them.

The hint system was a loudspeaker type, but the alert was the ringing of an old-fashioned telephone. You can have conversations with the loudspeaker, and the speaker can hear you. That’s a big help when the situation gets complicated. Most of the time he was able to help us on the first try, with hints subtle enough to not give the answer away. He gave good nudges as well. One of the more complicated puzzles required some back and forth, but it did get solved and the result was well worth it. Some groups may find it annoying that the hints can only be heard well in the first room, but I think the back-and-forth helps with the team aspect.

There was no issue knowing when you had completed a puzzle. Even if you don’t know what opened right away, it is noisy enough to know that something has opened. All in all, these puzzles were well thought out and well placed, and a joy to solve.

Theme:

The storyline was a fun twist on a popular tale, and the attention to detail used in keeping the theme going was amazing. Not an out-of-era electronic in sight, even though you know they must have been there. The entire venue was part of the framing tale; it took place from the minute you knocked on the eerie front door. The story was well laid out by the host, just in case we hadn’t read the website already. I know a lot of guests will have one person book the room and the rest just go along for the ride. Even those guests will know the entire story before they enter the room. Then the room will draw them into the story that has been told. And they will stay in that story until the game is entirely done.

The story was also well-written and put together. The framing tale, an explorer going through time portals to save the day, is one I had heard before. But the Frankenstein theme is not one we have seen yet. Their other story, the Mummy Room, did remind me of a couple of Egyptian explorer rooms I have read about. But at the same time, it was not a duplicate. So points for a unique and creative theme as well

 

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Overall:

I left Monster Quest already trying to think of a time when we could return. I want to play the other room, and I hope they open more in the future. The props and decor were all-encompassing, the puzzles were fun and just hard enough. The hosts were amazing, and the dinner package we bought afterward was very good too. I also love how this business connects with other small businesses downtown to share customers. The restaurants on its night out package as well as the prizes at the end of the game encourage traffic not just for Monster Quest, but for its fellow businesses in the Arts District of Las Vegas. Good job Mike and Ian!