Doctor Frankenstein

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It’s alive….it’s ALIVE!

The sixth and final stop on our Boston trip took us to Komnata Quest. Located just west of downtown Boston, you’ll find Komnata’s entrance next to a small covered parking lot, tucked in about 50 feet from the street. It’s not the easiest location to find so we advise parking in the general neighbourhood and locating it by foot. If you do manage to find the location by car, there’s a small complimentary parking lot available, otherwise you’ll be restricted to street parking. Location troubles aside, we were curious to see what was in store for us, but nothing could’ve prepared us for what came next…

The doors entering Komnata were large, black, metal doors with no windows, preventing us from seeing inside. As the doors closed behind us, we immediately knew there was something very different about this place. Our eyes had to adjust to a dimly lit lobby where again there were no windows. A narrow foyer with brick walls, leather padded chairs, and matching royalty furniture made us feel like we stumbled upon a secret lair, or an exclusive nightclub… and we really liked it! Knowing the location was hard to find further added to the imagery that we were somewhere exclusive. Aside from the great atmosphere and cool interior design, there were a few minor things that could have been tweaked: First, the lobby was quite small and only accommodates four to five people. The Komnata staff are working on a second waiting room, but it will also be a smaller room accommodating about four people. Most of these restrictions are due to the building itself, so there’s not much room for improvement; second, there weren’t any refreshments or snacks available. We noticed several other companies in Boston also didn’t focus on this amenity which is interesting given how commonplace it is in other cities. Going along with the theme of comfort we also noticed Komnata’s air conditioning was low, and fans were being used to keep the air circulated in the lobby. This was noticed by some of our team members who don’t react well to humidity, and finally we felt the introduction to the room could’ve been a bit improved. Given the high quality room designs Komnata is known for, it would be advantageous for them to include a more interactive or entertaining pre-game introduction instead of reading from a clipboard. Listing all of these minor things might make it sound like we didn’t enjoy the pre-room experience very much, but overall we actually found the experience to be fairly decent and on par with most escape room companies. So what did these five students of Doctor Frankenstein notice once we entered his secret laboratory? Read on…

The room quality was impressive, and almost industry leading in this room! The level of detail, the quality of the materials used, the interior design… all of it was top notch! We could easily see why Komnata Quest is famous for their escape room designs based on first glance alone. A couple minor things could have been tweaked but this is merely nitpicking when it comes to the room quality level in Doctor Frankenstein. In an industry where more is generally better, we would’ve liked to have seen more space and rooms used. There were also a few odd hand labeled items in the room which didn’t take away from the wow factor, but it was something we couldn’t stop looking at once we noticed it. Aside from that, this is a top quality room design with incredible detail, incredible props, and no parts of the room were left unused for the set design.

We’ve mentioned this before, but it’s rare when our ERA members agree on immersion scores because it only happens under two circumstances: One, the room was so good that every part of it caused all of our ERA members to feel immersed no matter where their focus was, or two, the room was so bad that every part of it caused all of our ERA members to feel disengaged no matter where their focus was. Dr. Frankenstein was definitely one of those instances where no matter what puzzles, areas of the room, or information we were exposed to, we always felt immersed! It was consistently impressive throughout. The story development does get a bit hazy by the end, but at least the story is developed in the room which is nice. The ending of the story has such a cool effect it’s worth investing the time to make sure you understand the story as you progress.

Komnata’s strength as a company comes from their set design and immersive environments hands down. But what about their puzzles? Were they inclusive? Yup. Were they fun and interesting? Yes again. Did they fit well into the theme and context of the room? Yes and yes. In all the ways that will appeal to most enthusiasts and new escape room players, Doctor Frankenstein’s puzzles did a great job. For those who prefer team building or variety in style of puzzles, a bit more was needed. Many of the puzzles in Doctor Frankenstein are observation and input based, which works well for the room, but at times feels a little less like puzzle solving and more like role playing (which again is fine and actually suits the story). All in all regardless of preferences in puzzle styles, you’re going to enjoy the interaction between the puzzles and the room and how they keep everyone engaged to some degree.

So did Doctor Frankenstein do a good job of bringing these five students to life? Mmmrrragghh! (That’s animated corpse talk for “Yes! We really liked it!”) Another benefit about this room is that a variety of people groups can enjoy it! Ideally we’d suggest a group of 3-5 players depending on experience level and how directly engaged you want to be. Younger teens may also enjoy this room, but keep in mind the room’s strengths come from the set design, puzzles, immersion, and paying close attention to the story. If you have someone in your group who doesn’t like to stop and occasionally take stock of everything that is happening, this may not be the best choice… Do we recommend this room? Definitely! It might even crack some personal top 10 lists for a couple of our ERA members, so keep your eyes peeled in the upcoming weeks!

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!