On Saturday the 12th of February, we headed to Make Your Escape in Derby to take on another one of their rooms and remembering our escape of Spellbound ended in absolute failure, there was an air of trepidation as to how well we would do. Utopia is one of two rooms that run alongside each other and takes place in the same world. Dystopia, from what we read is the dark and run-down area where everything has gone to pot whereas Utopia is the polar opposite, Everything is modern, clean and above all else positive. And it was our job to find ourselves amongst the Utopians, all we had to do was complete a set of tasks and we would be allowed in the technological paradise where every need was catered for and everyone lived in blissful harmony and guess what, we had an hour to do so. So handed our lanyards it was time to venture in...
Potential Spoilers-Read on at your own risk
Straight off the bat when you enter Utopia you will be met by a clean and clinical room, brightly lit like something out of Black Mirror. This is your first room and it holds the first tasks on your trip to Utopia, Rest assured the puzzles in here can have you scratching your head but once you get the first parts to the puzzle it will soon flow into place.
Upon completion of this room, you will truly enter the hub of Utopia and this is where a bulk of the puzzles lie in wait and let's just say now there is practically not a padlock in sight. But what puzzles and tasks Utopia does have are very cleverly themed into the room. Utopia is not a code and unlock room, it requires you to really use your head at times and although this can be frustrating every puzzle we came to find in this room we enjoyed. From riddles, wall puzzles and even light-based tasks, Utopia caters for all.
The final room should you succeed to get here is visually stunning and really does again take you into the world of Black Mirror with a hint of The Smilers surveillance aesthetic. It is also where it will make or break your game. There is a lot to do maybe as many as 14 individual tasks and all must be completed if you are to escape Utopia. This is where our team's path to failure began, There is one particular puzzle that is a biggy and requires a very logical and dare I say math literate mind to complete, But once our friend realised what the puzzle actually was, she was quick to crack the code. Unfortunately for us, we had haemorrhaged a lot of time at this point and by the time we were left with a menagerie of screens, each with a puzzle to complete, We knew our fate was sealed so we just battled out to see just how much we could get done in the space of time we had left.
We may not have completed Utopia but damn did we have a lot of fun in our attempt, although it will be said if you are as mathematically challenged as I am and don't have someone on your team who got at least Cs then your final escape might be doomed as some of the final challenges are somewhat math-focused. When it comes to the design, for such bright and modern rooms the theme has been followed through in every aspect imaginable and it would seem we are just not fit citizens for the beauty of Utopia, Maybe we belong in Distopia after all.
We would like to thank all the staff and especially our games master "who for the life of me I can't remember the name of, it was a busy weekend so have my apologies" for a fantastic time and game.
If you would like to take on Utopia or any of the other games at Make Your Escape. Follow the link below.
Until next time PSG Signing out.