After experiencing Phobia at Escape Asylum it was time for another trip to Escape Asylum Leicester to do another room.
Upon arrival thou (despite saying they’re open) the door was locked. Numerous phone calls later we got through to someone who said that only the room Riiitual was available to book which was strange as the place looked closed.
Nevertheless, we agreed to do that one just so the door could open and we could actually pass some time and escape from the drab that was Leicester City Centre.
A rather grumpy games master let us in as thou we’d interrupted him in the middle of something and we took our seats waiting to go in.
As we stepped into Escape Asylum you are first greeted with the absolutely astonishing Spirits bar.
A horror-themed bar that looks incredible and is a place you could stay in for a very long time to soak up all the sights and sounds.
As you walk through to the toilets, steps lead down to the basement and the escape room experience begins.
Our room was ranked the least scary which kinda sucked. We were hoping to do Cirque Du Slay or Asylum but neither room was booked up we just weren’t allowed to play them. I think Asylum was having some work done on it but Cirque Du Slay was just sitting there empty. How very peculiar.
Our story revolved around King Richard who had fallen in battle. The king’s spirit haunts the rooms and it is your job to complete a ritual and unleash his spirit to complete some unfinished business.
Riiitual Room – Escape Asylum Leicester
Well, compared to Phobia this one kinda sucked. We were expecting at least some form of horror experience but it was nowhere to be seen in this particular one.
The first room was a bit drab and boring however the puzzles were great. Quite a lot of electronic/magnetic puzzles are used but everything looks a bit cheap and half-assed. C
heap treasure chests, wonky plastic themed lights and more. It certainly didn’t feel as thou we’d traveled back in time, it felt as thou we’d just walked into a charity / antiques shop that sold trash.
The puzzles like I say thou kept us going and the second room was much more improved. A very impressive magnetic shield puzzle stood in this room and some more intricate riddles and maths problems to solve. I’ve never been very good at maths but we got there in the end just two of us.
The difficulty rating for this maze was maximum but with 2 of us, we were on the last puzzle with seconds to spare.
Our final showdown with Richard himself was well, disappointing. He looked like a skeleton someone had just picked up from The Range.
There is never much detail in horror escape rooms to keep costs down to reap profit but no one ever thinks to increase the detail to attract more customers which in turn brings in more profit.
Having a room kitted out with bargain bucket Halloween props doesn’t make a room scary, it makes it look cheap.
How Much is Escape Asylum?
Cheap is, however, the word of the day as £17.50pp for two people was a bargain!
In this instance, you certainly get what you pay for thou.
The games master who started a little grumpy (just like he was at Phobia last time we came) suddenly sprung into life when the game began.
With clues over the hint system, he became the voice of King Richard himself.
I’m sure it does get a little boring just waiting around for people to enter but some of that vibrant personality when you first greet guests would have been much appreciated. He did a wonderful job with the voices just like he did as the voice of the demon in Phobia.
Escape Asylum Leicester – Overall
After we came out of the room we sat down for drinks in the Spirits bar. I could have stayed there all day!
Over a nice pint, we were mainly discussing how bad the room looked but commended the puzzle difficulty and the games master. Certainly not a horror room in any way shape or form thou which was a real shame. With it being the only room available thou however, we gave it a try.
If you’ve been around Leicester City Centre you’ll be grateful that there are escape rooms around to escape from the real world horrors that lie outside. May they build, many, many more!
I didn’t like how you only had to book online, the building had opening times and it was all closed when we got there. We rang to query this and was told to book online even thou we were right by the locked entrance.
The booking system didn’t let us book and as a result, he ended up letting us in anyways. Before we even stepped foot into the building we were a little annoyed to say the least.
Escape rooms should ALL be walk-ins with additional options to book online.
It’s a real eye-opener when the outside surrounding area of a horror escape room is scarier than the inside!
If you want detailed escape rooms in the midlands then you’re not getting any better than Paralysis Escape Rooms.
Currently, the most detailed room we’ve seen in the midlands so far!
