We take a trip to Escapologic Nottingham to try our hand at this 18+ The Butcher Escape Room.
Escapologic is a wonderfully detailed escape room venue, an attraction with notoriously good reviews and renown for their detailed and immersive escape room experiences.
This venue has been on my to-do list for a very long time and with October now in full swing, I decided to go for the most intense room they offer.
Welcome to The Butcher.
Anna and Max have the kind of relationship everyone pretends to find annoying. But really, their friends are just a little bit jealous. Because you can see how much these two people are meant to be together. They just-fit. 12345
Anna is daring and inquisitive, Max is sensible. She encourages him to try new things. He stops her from doing stupid stuff.
USUALLY.
But not today.
Maybe it’s the sunshine. Maybe it’s the wine. Because today, when Anna finds a randomly-unlocked shutter on a random side street, Max isn’t quick enough to persuade her not to go inside. His mind is on the picnic they’ve just had, the kisses they’ve shared. So what if Anna is intent on seeking out some new dark and gloomy pace to scare him with. It’s just Anna being Anna, right? This is why he loves her.
It’s just an adventure. A dare. It’ll be OK.
And then the shutter bangs down, and everything is very far from OK.
The Butcher Theming
When you walk into the reception of Escapologic you can clearly see the effort the owner has gone through to make sure the venue looks the part.
It’s no black desk wrapped in dodgy plastic leaves (here’s looking at you Escape Asylum) oh no.
We’re suddenly inside a clown-themed freak show with various artifacts dotted around this circus tent themed reception area.
The lights are dim and the atmosphere is set.
But wait.
We’re not staying in this building, we’re suddenly escorted outside and across the road to a really dingy and dark looking unit and our game begins.
The Butcher Gameplay
Unlike any other escape room I’ve played The Butcher ditches the combination locks and the usual escape room implements and replaces them with room-specific tools and objects linked to the story.
At once stage, I’m using what can only be described as a corkscrew and a meat cleaver to help me on my path to escape.
Using tools that you’d naturally find within that story environment makes everything feel more immersive and interactive.
There was a use of a magnet at one point which was a shame but all is forgiven within this jaw-dropping serial killer lair.
The Butcher is a hands-on experience and the hint system is wonderfully unique.
Once again keeping in-line with the story you’re now immersed in the hint system was a wonderful addition.
There’s no dancing around or asking for clues, you’re given a helping hand as and when the games master deems fit.
From start to finish you’re fully immersed in this world and a monitor on-screen shows a dark corridor you walked down to enter the room.
Rest assured that at some stage during your experience you will not be alone in the room, so keep an eye on the monitor now and then!
I felt myself constantly checking the monitor and whilst I didn’t feel petrified at any given moment a few jump scares and a nice build-up of tension in certain scenes definitely got the adrenaline going.
I’m the kind of person who’s always trying to push my limits so I’m more used to the jump scares / tricks rooms and scare experiences use to get those reactions and even though I know some are coming I still jump!
For someone who doesn’t attend many scare events on a regular basis, this would be absolutely horrifying!
I can completely see why the escape room was an 18+ experience.
If I’m nitpicking and had anything bad to say I’d say a certain skeleton in the room looked cheaper than a pound shop Halloween decoration compared to the highly detailed room/props.
But yes, now I’m really nitpicking!
The Butcher was without a shadow of a doubt the most detailed escape room i’ve been in to date.
Escapologic Nottingham Overall
Great staff, great atmosphere and one hell of a great experience!
From the second you step foot into the wonderfully themed reception to the second you escape (or not) from the rooms you know you’ve got value for money.
The staff were so incredibly friendly (it felt like we’d known them for years) and the dedication to detail within the rooms is commendable.
Certainly a horror escape room experience unlike anything I’ve done before.
Well worth checking out!
For more information on The Butcher Escape Room and other rooms as Escapologic Nottingham and their sister site in Leicester then hit the link below.
