moviESCAPE: Sawtopsy

We really enjoyed the theming here, (especially our horror loving teen). The host was polite and fun and we did enjoy the room, but there was nothing that made it standout. This was the least expensive IRL game that we've done and I think  that you could tell.

The puzzles were fairly standard with a mix of things to find, padlocks etc but I didn't ever feel pressured to hurry.

Could be improved with a few more puzzles and maybe some jump scare interactions from the host. 

We will go back and try another room  here in future.

My partner and I escaped from a Saw room in Riga so were expecting something of the same level, but Sawtopsy really didn't deliver. The room was just a combination of finding papers with codes on it, opening the padlocks and starting again. We escaped the room by trying a code that we found and escaped in 30:05 minutes. We were confused as the story was making no sense. The staff in charge of the room explained to us that we missed some of the clues to find the final code.... Really not a good room. I would recommend anyone to do the Haunted House or the Magic room instead.

Saw It All Before...

As mentioned in another review, I found a deal on Planet Radio Offers that allowed two players to play a room for £20. I bought two of these vouchers, and used one before lockdown. Upon returning to Manchester, it was finally time to cash in the second.

Story
Taken away and locked in a basement, unmask a killer among your fellow kidnappees before the real (?) killer returns. This feels like one of those stories that doesn’t really know what it is. I suppose it’s a Cluedo-ish game set in a Saw-like environment.

Puzzles

Basic, basic, basic. A bit of maths here, a bit of UV there. Several of them involved classic games in one way or another, which I suppose ties in with Jigsaw’s most well-known quote: “Do you want to play a game?”. Most of the hints (provided on a screen- over a speaker in ‘The Puzzle Master’s’ voice would have added to the experience) we needed were due to us not looking around the room enough. A ridiculously-thorough search is needed every time something new is opened.

Mise-en-scene

A generic, grubby basement that only provided tenuous links to the film it is inspired by. The toilet cubicle had doodles scribbled on it as seen in a secondary school- an addition I didn’t understand. The room lacked references to traps, evil clowns or anything else corresponding to the Saw franchise. It’s not scary, just grotty (the latter comment is not a complaint, as this sort of setting is supposed to be soiled). The further you progress, the more gruesome it gets- thankfully.

Final Comments
Quite simply put, it’s not ‘Saw’ enough to justify its name. I’d call it ‘Cesspit Cluedo’ instead.