Escape rooms are a somewhat recent phenomenon, at least in its current form. And there are definitely a lot of original, creative ideas out there (such as making players search a dog house), and even some good licensed ones as well. In fact, one of the most well-known ones out there is EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN, created by Hourglass Escapes. Here is the concept, via their website:
We have taken our hit escape room and made it so you can play with your group from the safety of your homes. Book the game online, then using streaming Zoom meeting technology you can control the game facilitator as your avatar in the game. It is like a first-person video game but with live people, and it is designed for a 3 to 6 player group. The best part is that you and your team can be in 6 different homes anywhere in the world as long as they have a good WiFi connection
You and your fellow paranormal investigators have been sent on a mission to the Knowby Cabin, which has materialized within the walls of the Archaeological Society. With Ash Williams guiding you, you will have to find a way return the evil dead to their realm and escape before the cabin is sucked into the time-space vortex forever.
In this adventure, you’ll be given the identity of a member of the paranormal group “Gnostic Research of the Occult, Omens, Vampires, and Yetis” aka G.R.O.O.V.Y.
However, with our current climate making it impossible to gather in a group – let alone be in a confined space with said group – escape rooms seem like one of those businesses that will suffer the most. However, the aforementioned Hourglass Escapes has a solution: a "live video escape room." According to Thomas Parslow at https://livevideoescaperooms.com:
Live Video Escape Rooms are a new way to play Escape Rooms with your friends from the comfort and safety of your own home. Guide a host via live video to explore, solve puzzles and uncover mysteries. Gather a team as your friends join via video link from their homes.
Seth Wolfson of Hourglass Escapes, elaborates:
We have taken our hit escape room and made it so people can play with their group from the safety of their homes…People will book the game online, then using streaming meeting technology to be able to control the game facilitator as their avatar in the game…It is like a first person video game but with live people, and it is designed for a 3 to 6 player group. The best part is the players can be in 6 different homes anywhere in the world as long as they have a good WiFi connection…We are designing it to emulate the already existing escape room game but as an event…We will have cinematic elements, drink ideas,snack recommendations and even a drinking game option. We want players to forget about the world and its issues for a while and enjoy a night with their friends and family.
So what do you guys think? Fans of escape rooms? If so, would you try this "live action escape room"? Either way, sound off below!