Escape Room Review– Redacted (West Allis, WI)– Heist Havoc

Escape Room Review– Redacted (West Allis, WI)– Heist Havoc

 

My friends and I are facing an unquestionably First World problem.  We are running out of new escape rooms to play in the Milwaukee area.  We’ve played nearly every room available, and very few new ones are being built, and several prominent escape room businesses have closed over the past few years.  Fortunately, one new place just opened in West Allis, Wisconsin: Redacted Escape Rooms.

 

Redacted is in the process of building its rooms.  Right now, it has only one room open, Heist Havoc.  Their plan is as follows: they will open a second, identical Heist Havoc room, and groups can play against each other to see who finishes first.  A second room, Rainforest Ruins, will open sometime next year, and two more rooms will follow at some point in the future  Then, the second Heist Havoc will be replaced with a new fifth room.

 

We played their one open room, Heist Havoc, and it was terrific.  The premise is pretty common– the goal is to break into a place and steal an enormous diamond– but the execution is unique.  In this storyline, a master thief has stolen a diamond, and you must break into his hideout, search his collection of purloined treasures, clear the surveillance foot: age, and steal the diamond back!

 

Almost uniquely, Redacted provides you with a set of tools to complete the mission, enclosed in a shiny metal case, save for the glass cutter, which is too big to fit.  Lock picks, explosives, two different safecracking devices, a viewing device, and more are included.  Make sure you arrive early to your booking, because it will help to spend 5-10 minutes reading over the booklet describing your tools, so you don’t lose precious time off the clock when the game actually starts.  

 

The co-owner of Redacted told us that they had a choice– open on schedule and create a poorer experience, or delay their opening and created the best possible experience possible.  I speak as a player and not their accountant, but they made the right decision.  The production values are great.  The design is both beautiful and immersive.  The props and artwork set the scene perfectly.

 

As for the puzzles, Redacted has a strict “No Locks” policy: none of the puzzles center around finding a combination of letters or numbers for a hard-to-line up padlock.  There are, however, a mix of logic, math, and other puzzles that require sharp observation.  Look everywhere, pay attention, and try to figure out when to use each tool as soon as possible.  Most, though not all, are one-use-only.  Also, make sure that no one stands too close to a wall when you finish a puzzle, on three occasions when something is revealed, it’s possible to get smacked in the head if you’re tall enough and standing in the wrong place.

 

Additionally, since all of the puzzles are unlikely to be completed in an hour, Heist Havoc is a 90-minute room.  The owners advise at least four players (though two skilled players might succeed), and I think that four is about right.  We played with five people, and finished with plenty of time left on the clock.

 

There was a slight technical issue when we played– we had to leave for five minutes while repairs were made, but then we were able to return with a reset clock.  It wasn’t a big deal at all.

 

Some minor warnings: one stage of completing the room will require some crawling and kneeling for at least one, and possibly two players.  Dress accordingly.  People with mobility issues will have to let their fellow players handle it.

 

I’m trying to avoid spoilers here.  Don’t be afraid to try out some possibilities in one puzzle– you may get a hilarious surprise.

 

I told the co-owner that this room is clearly made by people who know a lot about escape rooms and love escape rooms.  With great technology and terrific design, Redacted’s Heist Havoc is a great escape room experience, and I look forward to playing their next four rooms over the coming years.

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

 

Chris Chan’s flash fiction collection 156 Homicides will be published soon! His book Sherlock Poems retells the entire Sherlock Holmes Canon in verse.  He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books.  He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2.  His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books.  His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.