After a long hiatus, The Magician has returned to the stage. Join us and book your tickets to find out just exactly why he was named Magician of the Year 3 times in a row! This comeback performance will be exclusively shown only at UNLOCKED Productions Theater. His magic and illusions will free your mind…
Rating: Intriguing!
Completion Time: 45 minutes
Date Played: 26th December 2020
Party Size: 5
Recommended For: Everyone
Return of the Magician is the first live online escape room from Californian escape room company UNLOCKED: Escape Room and came highly recommended by my friend Escape Mattster. To give it a whirl, I teamed up with Gord & Liz of Review the Room, Armchair Escapist, and Brit of an Escape Habit in an all-UK escape room team extraordinaire!
Escape rooms on Boxing Day might just be the best day of the year to play escape rooms. Now hear me out – you’re well fed and relaxed, but there’s no more Christmas stress. This might be why this was the 4th (and final) escape room of the day. But they do say to save the best for last, right?
Return of the Magician lived up to the recommendation and did not disappoint! In essential terms, it’s a classic remote avatar escape room with the added bonus of an inventory system, allowing all players to take a closer look at objects and details in their own time.
You, a team of intrepid magic-enthusiasts are invited along to an incredible magician show but, when disaster strikes at the opening event, not all is as it seems. Aiding you is the Games Master, an active character in the live escape room who plays your eyes and ears on the ground. Your job is to find the missing magician in just 60 minutes. The show must go on!
Return of the Magician is an almost identical version of the real life escape room with the same name at UNLOCKED: Escape Rooms. Players who have previously taken on their live room may not be able to play this again, but with some changes for the digital world, the game runs seamlessly as a remote avatar experience. There’s special effects, sound bytes, and of course… MAGIC!
In terms of puzzles, there’s a little bit of everything in here. You can expect a logical, linear flow with plenty of signposting! In most cases, puzzles solutions give a 3, or 4 digit code or reveal the location of a key to proceed. But there are plenty more that surprise and delight with really outside of the box thinking.
Our troupe of enthusiasts completed the game in a very respectable 45 minutes! The approximate completion time is around 59 minutes for the average team – meaning it’s challenging and exciting, but not so impossible you won’t finish in time. Plus, verbal clues from your helpful Games Masters (shout out to John and Tony who ran our game!) are on hand if you need one at any time.
Overall, we had fun! As I say, a lovely way to spend a Boxing Day evening with friends and good company. Our host was enigmatic, the room seamless, and puzzles creative. It’s a good game for beginners and veterans alike, and I’d be happy to recommend this to anybody looking for something a bit different to do during lockdown!
The Return of the Magician can be booked for $60 USD + per team on Unlocked: Escape Room’s website. Photos for this review provided by the company.
