This was our first visit to Escape Prod and we were so surprised by it that we came back a second time for another adventure.

Story

Blacksad needs you!
A criminal mastermind is putting the famous detective in danger. To stop him, you need to sneak into his secret lair, uncover its secrets and find the documents needed to save Blacksad!
Become real detectives from the 50’s and dive into a noir ambiance full of surprises.
To reach your goal, use all your detecive’s skills: observation, deduction, and teamwork will be your best assets!

The story is based on the Blacksad comic album series and the game master explains it very well and introduces you to the character with some funny annectodes during the presentation of your mission.

Games and puzzles

As we noticed with all the escape rooms that we tested each escape room provider has it’s own understanding of puzzles. We really liked the way they thought out their puzzles, easy to find, no extra props. All objects have a meaning for your mission. The difficulty is medium to hard mostly due to the time it takes and the number of puzzles. There are no locks, or combination locks and the technology is very well used. The puzzles test several senses: visual, audio, tactile

The game is linear and we had great fun with the different techie puzzles.
We played it in english and saw no problem for any other language speakers since there is not much reading to do.
None of the puzzles seem too fragile and everything seems very durable and well made. 

Atmosphere and design

The design is well done as well as the atmosphere, sounds, music all coming together nicely by raising the level of suspense as the game comes close to the end.

Furniture and props are in line with the story, with a good amount of technology and no combination / anoying locks . It all blends well in the story and design.

The hint system is very well integrated in the design of the room, and the game master was helpful with the hints but not giving away the actual solution. 

As mentioned before, the Game Master was really attentive and helpful, monitoring your progress and giving hints only when needed.

Logistics

There are two such rooms that can be played at the same time.
Minimum number of players is 2 which is perfect for a date or a quick getaway.
Reception area is very well done with props for photographs and free drinks or coffee / tea. Downside is that if you come earlier that 10 minutes for your appointment you need to wait outside in order not to hear spoilers. That is ok during summer, but it was really cold during the winter time!

Further information and observations

ESCAPE PROD are in Brussels since a while now and have a good number of rooms  and several rooms on the same theme. This is very useful for team buildings and corporate events where you can even have “battles” for who escapes first.

There was also a photo booth where you can take photos (first one is free)