Escape Reality: Ritual | Review

Ritual Review | You are a team of paranormal hunters, hot on the tail of a mysterious cult performing sacrificial rituals. You have arrived at a remote cabin that you suspect is their base of operations, but you are too late! The Ritual has already started, the deities they worshiped have laid waste to their hosts and you have 60 minutes to put an end to this Ritual, closing the rift to the demonic realm before it’s too late!

Date Played: May 2024
Time Taken:  42:36 minutes
Number of Players: 4
Difficulty: Medium

I am a huge horror film fan, which I suppose may sound strange coming from someone who regularly experiences anxiety. Walking into Escape Reality’s new room, Ritual, I was greeted with a sudden sense of dread that I had seen similar scenarios play out from the comfort of my sofa many times before, and things had never ended well. It’s okay, I thought, because one important thing I have learned from watching so many horror films is to never investigate scary looking things. Leave immediately and you’ll be safe. Unfortunately for me, this is an escape room and if there’s one thing we need to do – it’s investigate.

Our team arrived on a sunny Saturday morning, but that reassuring light didn’t last long. We were led into a dark room, provided with torches and and reminded that our two friends had entered this very cabin last night and never returned. It was our job to discover the secrets behind the mysterious cult who are rumoured to dwell there and hope it’s not too late to save our dear but admittedly reckless friends.

We were given an ipad for clues and the system was explained thoroughly by our brilliant game master, Rebecca. We could scan QR codes throughout the room if required with no time penalty, but you can only receive a clue every ten minutes. We were also introduced to an exciting new lock which involved symbols, and provided with a diary which was essential to solve many of the puzzles, giving us guidance mainly via illustrations.

Image (c) Escape Reality Edinburgh

The room was intricately decorated and made for a really exciting start to what lay ahead. We explored the omnious possessions of the cult to discover emblems which formed part of the rooms bigger logic based puzzle. The puzzles which led us to these emblems provided something for everyone in the team, with observational, pattern recognition and riddle solving puzzles all making an appearance. There was some brilliant use of mechanics, my particular favourite involving something I swore I’d never touch – a spirit board. It felt like some of the puzzles had been taken to the next level, and this added excitement was appreciated. It feels great to solve a puzzle, but there were some really great reveals as we progressed through the room, with some giving me that much loved adrenaline rush I claim to enjoy!

The room flowed well, and was linear enough to know the direction we should be heading but flexible enough that we could go against cardinal horror rule #2 and split up to solve separate puzzles. Luckily for us, we managed to solve the room in just under 43 minutes and could reunite to tell the tale. I do wonder if we’d made a different decision at the end of the game whether things might have turned out differently though…

Ritual | The Verdict

We thoroughly enjoyed Ritual, and it has now taken the top spot of my favourite Escape Reality rooms!

Ritual can be booked at Escape Reality Edinburgh.

Please Note: We weren’t charged for our experience but this does not change our review.