Ultimate Escape Game Atlanta is like many other room escape games in metro Atlanta - it's a lot of fun. If you've never played a room escape game before, here's how it works: You and a group of friends pay money to be locked in a room full of clues. Working against a timer, you must unravel the clues to escape the room. If you escape before the timer hits zero, you win. If not, you lose. These games are fun because they put you in dramatic, movie-like situations where you and your team must work against the clock to save the day. The rooms typically have a story or theme.
At the time of writing this review, I've played 15 different rooms at 8 different businesses in the Atlanta area. They are:
Ultimate Escape Game Atlanta (Galleria 75)
Room Escape Atlanta (Tucker)
Mystery Room (Duluth)
Paranoia Quest (Downtown)
Mission: Escape - Atlanta (Loring Heights)
Amazing Escape Room (Sandy Springs)
Escape the Room (Downtown)
Breakout Atlanta (Peachtree Corners)
I don't think you can go wrong with any of the above escape rooms except for Mystery Room which, in hindsight, I no longer recommend due to the overall quality of the experience there compared to other places. The other places are fairly equal in terms of production quality with Paranoia Quest perhaps winning in that category.
Room Escape Atlanta, host of the popular "Trapped in a Room with a Zombie," uses cheap, low-quality props. However, they make up for it by having a real-life actor in your room at all times. Depending on the actor, this can positively or negatively impact your experience.
Ultimate Escape Game does not utilize any actors. The stories are very simple, bordering on non-existent. Then again, I've only played one room here so far: Hackers. Currently, there are 5 rooms at Ultimate Escape Game. Here's a list of them along with the business's recommended maximum number of players per room:
1. The Vault - 7 players
2. Hackers - 7 players
3. Atlanta - 12 players
4. Amnesia - 7 players
5. Enigma - 12 players
The regular ticket price is $29.68 per person ($28 + $1.68 Cobb County sales tax) which is roughly the standard going rate for escape games in Atlanta. I haven't seen any deals online for Ultimate Escape Game Atlanta, but I haven't looked either. Some of the other places like Room Escape Atlanta, Mystery Room, Paranoia Quest, Amazing Escape Room Sandy Springs, and Breakout Atlanta have offered terrific deals online through Groupon, LivingSocial, and Goldstar. These discounted prices work out to be as little as $10-15 per person. Definitely jump on those deals if you see them.
Note: If your group doesn't book all the spots in a room completely, there's a chance you'll be teamed up with another group and you'll have to tackle the same room together.
It would be nice if the rooms had difficulty ratings so newbies and veterans are better informed before booking a room.
For our visit to Ultimate Escape Game Atlanta, we had a group of 16 people and split up. Half of us took on the Hackers room and the other half the Atlanta room. We had one more player than recommended for Hackers (8 players vs. the recommended 7), but I thought it turned out okay. Details in the mild spoilers section below.
******* BEGIN MILD SPOILERS *******
Please don't read this section if you don't want *anything* spoiled for you.
An employee said it would be okay if we squeezed an 8th player in for Hackers. When we first entered the room, it felt too small for even 6-7 people. Eventually, we unlocked additional rooms which gave us more space to work with. Unlocking additional rooms is common in escape games. There were a total of three rooms to solve in Hackers. I thought the puzzle-solving design was unbalanced -- the most unbalanced multi-room escape room I've played up to this point. We spent about 30 minutes solving the first tiny room and then only 15 minutes solving the next two bigger rooms. Despite the room being called Hackers, there really wasn't a lot of "hacking" to be done. There were a couple of computers we had to use and a GameCube console with a working game that turned out to be a red herring. There were no "Do Not Touch" stickers on the controllers. I was convinced since we were in a cyber-themed escape room and we had to use computers in the first and third rooms that the GameCube game, located in the second room, must've had a clue in it. It didn't take me long to find a six-digit numerical code by exploring the game's pause menu. I was disappointed the game was merely a decorative distraction. In that case, I think "Do Not Touch" stickers placed on the controllers would've been appropriate.
******* END MILD SPOILERS *******
Finally, I've noticed Ultimate Escape Game Atlanta has the nicest, most spacious waiting room and well-lit photo backdrop of any escape room business I've been to yet. The photo backdrop even has professional studio-style lighting. Other places should take note.
TL;DR - I enjoyed it and would come back. read more