I haven’t written in a while. Not that anyone cares, but work has been on extreme overload since about Mid 2019, with no letting up in sight…which is a good thing, but I had to cut out some of my more casual past times. But being in the middle of a pandemic, and not the type that requires you to do a crossword puzzle, I found some extra time…some.
So to help put my and your mind’s at ease, I take you back to a much simpler time…4 weeks and 2 days ago. Waking up in a lake house in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. What better way to spend it then to drive 50 some odd miles to Greenville to play some escape rooms. Right? We’ve all done it. Don’t judge.
Greenville, being a frequent summer vacation of my youth, although I had never really been in downtown, holds a special place in my heart. As I’ve said before, my most recent stay in Greenville, prior to this trip, I had tracked down this venue, but hadn’t really put my trust in social media ratings yet…therefore, I skipped…no wait…I missed out on checking them out in 2017.
After hearing so much about them and actually recommending another enthusiast group to visit them (without me actually ever visiting), we had to make the short, hour long trek to Greenville. Besides, driving between Gainesville and Orlando on 441, I’ve seen my fair share of shady (Bambi) motels…and I was ready to take this head on.
Venue: Escape Artist Greenville
Location: 209 East Stone Ave. Greenville, SC 29609
Website: https://www.escapeartistgreenville.com/
Cost Per Person: $30.00 per player
Game: Starlight Motel
Difficulty: 3 out of 5 (per players’ perception)
Room Capacity: 2-6 allowed; 2 to 3 players seemed optimal
Played By: John, Nicole and Parker (2.5 year old)
Game Duration: 60 Minutes
Type: Mixed Mechanical/Automated
Rooms at Venue: Currently 6 rooms and constantly update/rotating
Rooms Completed: 101
I’m fairly certain I’ve completed something around 20-30 games since my last review and while I’d love to write about each and every one of them (yes, we encountered some stinkers in there), I can honestly say I did not pay attention to most of these rooms enough, to write a solid review.
Back to the main story: The Starlight Motel…nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains…the setting of at least seven stories on America’s Most Wanted…the perfect place to spend your “honeymoon”. Of course, a honeymoon to you and your team means getting to the bottom of all of the creepy, weird shit that’s been going on in this hotel. Do you and your team have what it takes or will you end up checking in…forever! *INSERT CREEPY LAUGH*
From the very moment after you sign your waiver (and assuming it’s game time) the experience begins. Once you’re actually inside the motel, it becomes quite apparent that this is not your normal lock and key game. It’s dark, but not too dark, there’s some old worn down furniture and then there’s...well…there’s Lou. Lou is your hotel receptionist. She enjoys taking a drag from what one can only assume is a Virginia Slim, between taking cheap shots at you and kind of providing you with some direction as to where your room is located.
The honeymoon suite is everything one could’ve hoped for and imagine: the selling point was the already turned on tv with the Poltergeist popcorn screen going. We decided to stay and check out the place.
Breaking kayfabe here, Starlight Motel is an evolving story and I can only imagine that with the same outcome, most players probably have a completely different experience. I loved that Starlight kind of starts off with some appetizers (in puzzle speak) and slowly evolves into more complex, more story driven and more unique steps.
As usual, our toddler son, who doesn’t frequent rooms very often with us, decided to lay the smack down on his diaper somewhere between the first and second puzzles/sequences. Luckily, Lou decided to help me advance in my quest to solve this mystery. When my wife got back, we embarked on one of the most unique, fun and immersive experiences we’ve ever seen. No spoilers, but you definitely HAD to do this action to advance in the game and in 101 previous games, we’ve never seen anything like it…not even a twist on something we’ve seen. Being the generous guy that I am and since she missed out on a little bit, I let Nicole do this.
From there, it was a crescendo of actions, puzzles and “cut scenes” if you will.
I thoroughly enjoyed a particular puzzle about mid to two-thirds of the way through the game. It’s best that I don’t go into all of the details of where it’s located, but it had some electrical elements and I know I beat the word “unique” to death, but this was incredibly unique in mechanics, action and outcome. Also it was multi-step and solving it lead to one of the most interesting actions I’ve taken in a game.
There was also another sequence that occurred very early in the game: started by both of us and finished by me (due to diaper incident). It stood out to me because there were puzzle elements involved, yet the pay-off wasn’t something that we’re typically used to seeing.
Overall, I cannot say enough about the narrative, sequences and puzzles that very much had to do with an old, shady motel and The Palmetto State (South Carolina).
As we pushed past all of the warning signs that told us to turn back, the story took a turn that Nicole and I definitely didn’t see coming. After revisiting the Poltergeist TV and subsequently getting towards the end of our mystery, something happened that we will most likely never see or participate in again. I so wish that I could spoil this, but then what would be the reason for you visiting this great venue. At the end of the day, I’m sure the scare was turned down a notch for our son, but we still jumped a few times, felt some urgency and solved the mystery of Starlight Motel.
Standouts from this game are the following:
1) Lou – totally in character and definitely what you expect from someone managing a run down motel in the 70s. Even when I encroached into an area I wasn’t quite supposed to be in yet, she remained in character and helped me figure out where I really was supposed to be. Early on in my “escaping”, I had read reviews that penalized overall ratings due to in-game characters, but done right, I can’t think of a better way to make a game more immersive.
2) Actions and Puzzles we’ve never seen. And let it be known, they weren’t dull…at all. They were all very fun and tasteful and at no point, did we groan by the amount of time it took to actually accomplish something. There were several points, throughout the course of the experience, where I stopped and said aloud “oh I like that”.
3) The décor, which I, for some reason, haven’t mentioned much about. The settings are all kind of what you would expect from a motel, even in modern day. That is to say, I haven’t been to a roadside motel, since I was maybe 14 or 15 years old, but I can’t imagine much has changed. There are some slight plot twists that change the setting some, but overall, the setting stays true to the overall game and does a wonderful job of making you feel creeped out throughout your stay.
Overall, this, to me, was a mind blowing experience. So much so, that I have deemed this my overall, Number 2 game played of all time…including the 4 games after and 101 games before playing this once. It is refreshing. It is dark and somewhat humorous. It is scary at times. It is, overall, a damn good game and something I would probably even play again, given the chance.
Along with the other game we played (“Classified”…which I probably should write about later), we found that Escape Artist Greenville is a very creative and fun venue. If we had more time, we would’ve loved to have played all SIX games there. Nevertheless, they are always trying to think of something new and push the envelope with their ideas, so there’s always something to look forward to. With that being said, we HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend swinging by this venue, if you’re in the area or planning an expedition.