Escape or Die – Breakin Escape Rooms

Myself and other bloggers from Love Pop Ups London community went along to Breakin Escape Rooms the other day to experience one of their many escape rooms. They have various ones from Blackwing’s Cave, Sherlock’s Despair, The Flying Dutchman, War on Horizon Alpha, Butcher’s Lair and Heist Plan. I chose along with others to play Butcher’s Lair for it’s horror factor as we all like horror.

Breakin Escape Rooms Butcher’s Lair

We went along and played Butcher’s Lair which is an escape room based on a fictional serial killer Dr Vladimir Knifesblade. Most certainly an escape room for any horror fan.

Waiting area

The waiting area is great with many sofa’s to sit on whilst all teams wait for their time slots to their chosen booked escape game. Whilst waiting we are told some ground rules of how to play any escape room from how to use locks and how not to use force.

Breaking Escape Rooms talk

We were then all led into an area with several different doors all which are themed to whichever escape room you are entering into. As we were going to play Butcher’s Lair our door had lots of surgical equipment and limbs around and next to it.

Story background of Butcher’s Lair

It is said that Dr. Vladimir Knifesblade is a friendly university professor and according to his students who attended his lectures on human anatomy said he seemed like a really nice person.

One night he held a dinner party for guests or should I say prime steak victims. It was up to us to solve what happened in his secret labatory that night and escape before he returns and we become his next meal.

Butcher’s Lair the game

Upon entering the door into Breakin Escape Rooms Butcher’s Lair you feel like you have entered perhaps Hannibal Lecters house. Firstly I noticed the bathtub then the blood splattered walls and plenty of body parts from brains to severed limbs literally hanging and lying everywhere. Most serial killers keep some sort of trophies from their victims maybe these were Dr. Vladimir Knifesbalde’s?

So if you are a horror fan then this room will appeal to you but most certainly not for the faint hearted otherwise they might end up screaming “Please let me out”.

The props are awesome but I felt there was a lack of a story with the Butcher’s Lair plus the puzzles all linked one into another so we all had to stay within a group throughout and could not go and explore and solve other puzzles.  With there being six of us it was possibly to many people all to huddle around one puzzle so my advice would be to just go with a maximum of four people to this game. The puzzles mostly were observational puzzles as well with none of them being very physical and some involved maths giving the puzzles more of an intellectual feel. My favourite moment of the game was a very visceral puzzle later on which involved a penalty of 5 minutes if you got it wrong which for me gave a good additional edge of tension. We all got Closer, Clo-ser… then bang. I also loved the last puzzle but be warned as this one has to be done in a timely manner to complete it and escape his lair as you don’t want to end up being his supper of perhaps liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.  

Unfortunately we ended up being his supper as we was five minutes over. I think we all need to fly back to school, now, like little Starlings. Fly, fly, fly…

Conclusion 

Even though I liked this room I just wish there was more puzzles and clues to hunt for around the room. Even the bath in the centre of the room had no clues or puzzles which was a disappointment as I thought something would of happened with this bathtub as it being such a focal point. Plus would like less sequential puzzles so then we could all at least split up into different areas and work on them.

Like all escape rooms you are allowed hints and usually most limit you to just three hints. However with this escape room you are allowed as many hints as you like which I feel made us ask more hints than we usually would so for this reason I wish they set a limit so we would not be so lazy. I loved though the way that the hints appeared on a smart pad after entering a secret code. This way we could refer back to the hint over and over without having to ask the staff to repeat the hint.

The game could have also been more eerier with say lights flickering on and off or even a dull lit room would of helped with the atmosphere plus added sounds of screaming or chains rattling would give this room much more of an edge.

However saying all this even though this is a game that won’t terrify you senseless but it does have a high quality sequence of puzzles, is well themed and quite challenging as some sent our brains into overdrive. So if you love escape rooms and love horror I do recommend this one.  This is definitely not a room though for the squeamish!

If Butcher’s Lair does not appeal to you they do have many other escape games to choose from check out their website.

Breakin Escape Rooms

Ticket Price: Circa £25pp

Address: 89 Holloway Rd, London N7 8LT

To find out more about their other games or to book click here to go to their website.

“We begin by coveting what we see everyday. Don’t you feel eyes moving over your body? And don’t your eyes seek out the things you want?” 

– Hannibal Lecter

 

Thank you to Breakin Escape Rooms for letting me and other bloggers & reviewers from Love Pop Ups – London community come along to play Butcher’s Lair. All my opinions are my own.

To read the other bloggers & reviewers click below:

Breakin

Which horror based escape room’s have you played?

 

Fun quotes throughout my blog 

Did you spot the quotes that I used within my blog from the movie The Silence of the Lambs 

Liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti

Most serial killers keep some sort of trophies from their victims

Please let me out

Closer, please. Clo-ser…

You fly back to school, now, like little Starling. Fly, fly, fly…