Deep Space

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Located inside Crossgates Mall (Albany, NY) you’ll find another location for one of ERA’s favourite companies, 5-Wits. We debated whether another review was necessary given we’ve already reviewed this same room at the Syracuse location. In the end we concluded there were enough differences between the two locations to warrant a new review, and perhaps even a bit of comparison between our experiences at 5-Wits Syracuse and 5-Wits Albany… With that in mind, let the comparisons begin!

Much of what you’ll read here applies to Deep Space at both the Albany and Syracuse locations, but I’ll do my best to draw distinctions whenever applicable so that you can see how minute differences in review team members and personal preferences made for slightly different scoring results. With that being said, let’s start: Four To Beam Up…

The pre-room space, video introduction and narrative lead in from the staff was much the same at the Albany location as it was the Syracuse location. The staff did have a bit more dramatic flair, but in both instances the pre-room experience was excellent. The one drawback one of our more tired team members pointed out was the lack of seating as we wait for our adventure to begin. Is this a big deal? Not really as you won’t be waiting much longer than 15 minutes, but those who are elderly or have mobility issues might want to utilize the benches within the mall with a designated runner to let you know when it’s your turn.

As for room quality… there’s one common phrase we hear used over and over again when describing 5-Wits’ rooms, ‘Disney-level quality!’ I mean where else can you go to step into a completely believable transporter… you may think we’re joking, but check it out for yourself! One of my fellow ERA reviewers commented: “The highlight for me was watching you in the transporter!” and I totally understand because one of the highlights for me was watching the reactions of the others in the transporter as well! And where have you been transported to? A real spaceship! Minus the cartoony buttons scattered throughout the control panels, you may once again have a hard time distinguishing between where you think you are and where you actually are. In terms of set design and quality both the Albany and Syracuse locations once again seemed fairly similar. The noticeable differences were found mainly in the design of the spaceship’s control room. Some of us preferred the Albany location design (which has less wear and tear and less bulkheads), some of us preferred the Syracuse design (which has a bulkier appearance with more wear and tear that ironically fits with the story development). Take your choice as both are great!

Immersion is easily a perfect score if it weren’t for the necessity of family friendly features such as fibreglass molding (instead of metal) big, bright, cartoony buttons, and high-school-style team building exercises. This isn’t a critique as much as it is an acknowledgement that Deep Space IS a family friendly escape room experience. It isn’t meant to be a simulator that would frustrate or scare anyone… family fun is the goal, and it shows. Was there a difference from the Syracuse location? Nope. Both are incredibly immersive experiences in precisely the same way.

Puzzle quality of course is also top notch, with a strong advisory note: The reason why some people don’t consider 5-Wits to be an escape room company is because the puzzles are mainly team building tasks, and regardless of how you perform, you will be moved onto the next part of the story. This certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea… Ok, now that we’ve said that, let’s look at what you do get from the puzzles and tasks at hand – Fun, fun, FUN!!! Do I care that the puzzles and tasks fall more into the team building category than they do anything else? Nope. If anything, it makes me enjoy the experience even more. It also makes me want to recommend this room even more for those who want to have fun WITH others. The purpose isn’t found in escaping, it’s found in how well you do IN your escape (can we boastfully mention we scored 99% at Albany’s Deep Space, and how much we really enjoy our fellow ERA members?) If solving puzzles on your own, or needing to be involved in the completion of every task is your thing, then it’s safe to say Deep Space isn’t for you. It’s team building and team performance at its finest. Again there are no differences between Deep Space in Albany and the one in Syracuse as it related to puzzles.

And do we need repeat ourselves as to how much fun 5-Wits Albany was? Why not? It’s incredible! Deep Space (along with Drago’s Castle and Tomb) is every bit as good (and dare we say in some different ways better?) than their cousins down the road in Syracuse. You simply can’t go wrong here. Unless you’re uncomfortable with being closed into smaller room spaces, you’re going to like Deep Space at 5-Wits Albany. It’s fun for all ages, experience levels, and groups. We would recommend a group size of 4-6 players depending on how much engagement with the puzzles and tasks you want (4 being absolutely necessary).

We want to hear your thoughts! Be sure to comment in the section below or send us a message via ERA’s email, Facebook, or Twitter… As always, happy escaping!