Time Race – Vault 17
Location: Bury
Game Date: 18/12/2018
Team: Amy & Ian
WOAH….I hear you… Amy… You’ve already played (and failed) Vault 17… why in the world are you playing, and reviewing the room again?
Well, Time Race are under new management. With that came change, and with a lot of talk and rumours on the enthusiast circuit… I knew I HAD to go back and re-visit BOTH Vault 17 and The Invitation to see the the changes implemented had improved, impacted or impaled the rooms.
For my original Vault 17 review, click HERE
Theme:
“It was 30 years ago that the first bomb dropped. The war lasted just 18 days. You were lucky…you made it to Vault 17. In the Vault, generations have been born and raised in the dark. Vault 17 has become your home.
That was at least until today. The Vault’s final power core has decayed so far that the Vault scientists believe that there’s only 60 minutes of power left. If you and your team don’t take the risk and make it to the wasteland, the Vault will become your tomb, as the Vault door is too heavy to manually operate. Will you make it out in time?”
Asthetically the room looked identical to how I remembered it from our first play though so I will put the same as what I wrote originally:
Theming was fantastic, immersive and incredibly well done, heavy metal doors and rotting mildew ridden walls only added to the feeling of being trapped in a post apocalyptic world.
The room generally is large and would easily accommodate groups of 6, it is maze like though and is a journey to discover where each door is going to lead! There are moments of small spaces within the game however, something to be of note if any of your team are claustrophobic, however the game play makes these tight spaces avoidable for anyone of a claustrophobic nature.
There are moments of darkness within the game but for the most part the light is good. Light sources are provided, but only 1 per team!
An excellent soundtrack rounded out the complete dedication to this rooms theme, with a radio broadcast playing throughout the hour, and time updates throughout.
With nods to Fallout, this room will please anyone who is a fan, or who likes post-apocalyptic themes!
Game Play:
The game hadn’t massivly changed and in it’s essence was still the same game, only tweaked and refined.
Still very much a linear game that consisted of observation, searching, math, physical, logic, word and teamwork.
A slick game that still retained many of the original puzzles but in a more coherant, less meta way. With many of the kinks ironed out.
Puzzles were great, with nice ah-ha moments that we relished in (and laughed at our stupidity in parts)
The rooms flow was excellent now, with much better signposting leading to coherent puzzle solving and clear unambiguous answers.
The room still retained its smarts, and ther ewas a real sense of acheivement and and discovery when playing the room.
A much improved game and one that is now acheiveable, but still challenging, yet rewarding.
Clue System:
Clues were delivered by Lex, who was easy and clear to hear
Game Host:
Our game host was Alex, and he was excellent, professional and delivered clues with excellent timing.
Did we escape?
Yes!!! in 57 minutes
Website: https://timerace.co.uk
Price:
2 Players £38
3 Players £54
4 Players £68
5 Players £80
6 Players £90
Brit of an Escape Habit 