Murder in the Man Cave

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The Gateway Escape Room experience begins with a fairly bland looking website that is extremely helpful in finding the location (maps, arrows, landmarks, etc.), which is noteworthy as the facility sits on the back side of a shopping center that would otherwise be very difficult to locate. Parking is sparse and the lobby is fairly simplistic. Our game master on this day was exceptional – very comfortable handling a large group and, as it turned out, managing both of our rooms simultaneously while also covering the entrance. The story leading into the room was clearly and enthusiastically explained, but it left a lot to be desired in terms of setting us up for the experience.

The inside of the room was the definition of average. Nothing about the room was bad, but nothing will blow you away either. The room makes little use of technology and is essentially a series of locks. The props and furniture pieces all had some expected wear and tear with a few of them even looking cheap. Some of the room felt perfectly at home in a man cave, but other aspects felt very out of place – almost as if the room was designed around the items they had instead of items created specifically for this room concept.

Our experience took advantage of the head to head option, competing directly with the other half of our group. Several of our group remained curious throughout the time we were in the room while others mentally checked out of the story aspect and just moved procedurally from puzzle to puzzle and lock to lock. Because we were going head to head, we drove forward as quickly as possible, so much of the room felt disjointed as our focus seemed more on the competition than the room. However, nothing about the room drew us in enough to forget about the competition aspect.

The puzzles themselves were diverse and challenging enough to make it a decent experience, but there was also nothing that blew us away either in its design or creativity. They did flow very well throughout without becoming overly linear, which is refreshing to see.

Our experience was most definitely enjoyable, though ultimately forgettable. It’s hard to say whether our fun factor was enhanced by the competitive element or entirely because of it. Due to that unknown element, we would recommend this room be experienced in the head to head version. Even the most seasoned escaper would enjoy matching wits with another group of friends. Failing that, this is a great room for novice escapers as it features just about everything you would want in a room. At the end of the day, however, it is solid but unspectacular.