So there’s this Dalek and, well, it’s awake. Not powered up, not yet, but its definitely awake and it has plans. They’re the exact sort of plans you’d expect too. It’s alright though because the Doctor has a plan and all you have to do is re-wire some systems and…

Oh…did we not mention you’re in the same room as the Dalek?

And the door’s locked.

And you have an hour.

Best get a shift on, eh?

Dalek Escape is the new Escape Hunt room, rolling out in various locations across the country. I had the pleasure of trying out their Reading location at the top of the week and it was the single most fun high stress, terrifying hour I’ve ever had. And I used to work retail at Christmas, folks. I know where of I shriek.

The brilliance of the room is threefold, especially I can explain this to you with minimal spoilers. First off, there’s the Dalek. it is right there. It’s not a cheap knockoff, it’s not on a screen. it is in the same room as you, behind a fence, with holes in it and it’s waking up and it can see you. If you’ve ever been scared by the Dalek on the screen you’ll be scared by the one on the other side of the room, believe me.

The first way it impresses you is with the design. Escape Hunt have done an amazing job of capturing not just a Doctor Who aesthetic, but the sort of Doctor Who aesthetic you can deploy in small spaces. The room will comfortably hold 6 plus people but at the same time it feels lived in, the sort of design work you could imagine the Jupiter Mining Corporation nodding approvingly at. It’s endearingly lived in at the same time as convincingly futuristic. It feels like a working space.

The second way it impresses you is the way it torments you. The puzzles shift gear constantly and the room’s layout is a vital part of many of them. One second you’ll be looking at a video camera, the next you’re connecting circuits or working in the dark. There’s always something new to see or do and each challenge is both pleasingly tactile and very hard. Almost all of them aren’t so hard you’ll give up though and the progress curve is beautifully calibrated. You’ll figure one out, then the next and be flying along until you hit a puzzle you don’t get. But even then there’s always something else to try before coming back to it. Only one puzzle, where two people have to work in the dark, is perhaps a little too difficult. On the day I went I was told this was the one a lot of people fell down on. My team didn’t but it did take us so long we didn’t quite finish.

But we still had massive fun, and got a satisfying narrative experience, because of the final way the room impresses you. It is Doctor Who in appearance, tone and plot to the absolute bone. From the Doctor’s chirpy opening message to the alternate ending we got and the (so cool) ending you graduate to if you get past that last puzzle, the whole thing flies along and feels like a breathless episode of the show. One you star in.

Verdict: Dalek Escape is clever, scary, fiendish and tremendous fun. If you live near an Escape Hunt, make time to go try it. Just remember, look at everything, read everything and be prepared. That Dalek won’t stand a chance… 10/10

Alasdair Stuart

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