After watching all of the content regarding the Saw Escape room in Las Vegas I did some research on ones a little closer to home and found one located in Derby, a quick journey away from Stoke on Trent.
Titled Maniac and based at Game Over in Derby this Saw themed escape room isn’t licensed like our Vegas counterpart so it merely references the film without diving into the murkiness of copyrights.
We were meant to check out Maniac last week but after one of the gamemasters double booked (he was the only staff member working that day) we had to postpone our visit and return another time and that day was today.
That’s definitely our fault for wanting to visit during a quiet mid-week day.
The theme is along the same lines if albeit a more simple version and certainly not a like for like replica of the Saw bathroom or anything else from the franchise for that matter.
It bears no real resemblance but there is just enough within the room to know exactly what this particular space is alluding to.
You have a murky bathroom style room with a tub, a sink and a toilet with a heart on it. You have a countdown clock and numerous clues and other Saw Esque winks and nods around.
It’s nice, it’s familiar, it’s Saw.
You wake up in the dark, something feels terribly wrong.
Your fears are realized when you hear “I want to play a game”. With horror you realise you’re in Jigsaw’s death chamber.
Now your only chance for survival is to follow his twisted games, do you have what it takes to defeat Jig and earn your freedom, or will it be….game over?
A little cheap in places Maniac certainly isn’t going to be the most heavily detailed escape room you’ve been in. It serves its purpose but that lack of licensing really does play a part here.
Such effects as a Billy the puppet laughing or that wonderful Tobin Bell raspy voice echoing over the tannoy system would instantly step Maniac up a few notches and that’s just from sound design alone.
Some puzzles were definitely showing signs of wear and tear and low-light in places certainly didn’t help matters.
The introduction to the room is great and certainly sets the mood for what is set to follow and the gruesome touches are nice if albeit a little cheesy (for me).
If a horror escape room is going to go all out with the gruesome props then the rubber ones will make the room look kinda cheap and tacky.
Invest in some latex/silicone gore props and you’ll really stand out from the pack. Cover them in vaseline or some other slimy type substance to give it a real sort of creepy, drippy, skin feel and instantly you’ll creep people out with realism and a sensory overload.
Pump the room full of Aromaprime scents such as a dingy bathroom scent or anything to really add the extra layers of immersion in there.
The guys at Aromprime work with some of the biggest attractions in the world and sell scents in all sorts of quantities from tiny bottles to huge industrial-sized units.
It really doesn’t cost much for a small bottle and a dispenser (£50 at the most for both) and you’ll have a scent immersive room.
Escape rooms really half-ass the immersion (especially the chain companies) and instantly that’s where I become detached as a player. Such simple touches such as audio, touch and smell and a basic room can be transformed overnight.
The puzzles are well crafted but it’s quite a difficult room for 2 players that’s for sure.
Overall, whilst Maniac is not even close on the theming / immersion levels of the Vegas version (and rightly so) it’s still a little slice of the Saw franchise (or should I say a homage to) right in the heart of Derby city centre.
