Review: Remote Play - The Heist (Remote) | Breakout Saint John Escape Rooms

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◣ VENUE FACT SHEET

🏢 COMPANY: Breakout Saint John Escape Rooms • Website

🏘️ ADDRESS: 107A-212 McAllister Dr, Saint John, NB E2J 2S7 • Google Map

🗾 COUNTRY: Canada • Check Time Zone Before Booking!

◣ GAME INFO & BOOKING

🕹️ GAME: Remote Play - The Heist (Remote Escape Room) • No Longer Available

⏲️ DURATION: 80 Minutes (Unlisted) 💬 DIFFICULTY: 3/5 (Company) • 2.5/5 (Mattster's Team of 5)

👬 CAPACITY: 4 Players Minimum, Up To 10 Players

🔐 BOOKING TYPE: Private

◣ REMOTE: SPECIFICATIONS

🖥️ PLATFORM: Zoom (Video/Web Conferencing App)

🚶 LIVE ELEMENTS: Live Avatar Control, Live Video & Audio Feed

🎒 SUPPLEMENTAL: Company's Own Customized, In Theme Inventory System

◣ PREMISE & OBJECTIVES

Your target for this Heist mission is James Fawkes, a wealthy collector of rare artifacts, CEO of Fawkes Industries, and puzzle enthusiast. This isn’t an ordinary heist. Normal people keep their valuables in a metal safe but not Mr. Fawkes. He keeps what we are looking for hidden behind a number of elaborately constructed puzzles. X’s job was to get into the mansion undetected. Your team will be responsible for helping them through the mansion, gaining access to Mr. Fawkes’ financial information and making a transfer of funds from his account into your team’s account. Be careful to ensure your team stays undetected. Can you direct your team and weave your way through Fawkes elaborate puzzles in time to pull off “The Heist”?

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► TL;DR: REVIEW SUMMARY ◄

😺 THE GOOD:

Interesting way of bending the story so it made sense--puzzles turned home security measures! The continuous stream of good puzzles offered even expert players challenges, and highlighted every team member's personal strength. Avatar was swift and responsive. Pricing is affordable and frankly a steal for its value for team of 4 and up.

🙀 THE NOT SO GOOD:

Wasn't quite sure of the set... Home to a super rich CEO? I don't know... (Purely a trivial aesthetic issue, however.) Inventory system had hiccups.

🤝 BEST FIT FOR:

Given the lengthy allotted time limit and adjustable game ending, players of various experience can complete the mission with confidence. Everybody wins! Team of 4-6 recommended.

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► A ROUND OF APPLAUSE! ◄

emptied Fawkes's account... Not once, but twice. Double cha-ching!

🎖️ "REMOTE PLAY - THE HEIST" OFFICIALLY JOINS THE "RECOMMENDED" RANK! 🎖️

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◣ THE REVIEW

Please note:

This room, experience, or game is currently not available for booking or purchase. The blog entry will remain on site for your reading enjoyment, and for Mattster's own personal bittersweet trip down memory lane. Please inquire with company if this will become available again in the future, or what other exciting options are currently available. Thank you.

ARE WE THE VILLAINS?

The premise of the story was instantaneous attention grabbing because, without explaining why James Fawkes became the target of "The Heist", besides being stinkin' rich and a puzzle lover, were we just maybe robbing the innocent?

I mean, he loves puzzles, and I love puzzles. We could've been friends!

But never mind the top 1%, he'll recover just fine. Instead, let's focus on the creative, if not a little ludicrous, fact that Fawkes chose a series of mind bending brainteasers to protect his assets in place of an actual, certified, and insured security system?

Well, he only has himself to blame, because here comes a team of 5 with the combined escape room experience of possibly more than 1000 rooms. His valuables were as good as gone.

Folks, this is "Ocean's 11", Canada edition!

A FRUGAL SPENDER

For someone as wealthy as the CEO of Fawkes Industries, his multi-million dollars worth of a home sure looked a bit plain. Rare artifacts were plentiful and proudly displayed on various walls, though the overall decor was... unconvincing.

I want a little less of the average Joe, and a little more Kardashian. Perhaps a grandeur inspired refurbishment may give this currently subdued set the immersiveness that it deserves.

NOT A DULL MOMENT!

Though the production value leaned on the more modest side, the puzzles that Fawkes was ever so fond of were anything but lacking: there was a lot to see, and a lot of do. The game presented us a variety of tasks of different formats, presentations, and mechanics.

The puzzles were not super innovative, involving familiar tricks like pattern recognition, logic deduction, a bit of scavenging, etc. However, most solution inputs were fashioned with tech based props, which kept the experience consistently fascinating. It did make sense after all, since an affluent tycoon would definitely have easy access to all the latest toys.

Glad to say, Breakout Saint John really brought out all the stops, and it would be almost implausible for anyone not to have fun in this game.

It is highly likely that "The Heist" was already a regular on this company's roster, and now converted for online play, because there were instances of puzzles that seemed unfitting for a remote experience.

The laser field, while looking mighty awesome, made me sad that I wasn't able to display my Catherine Zeta-Jones "Entrapment" flexibility. Later, an exciting "stop and go" exercise made me envious of my speedy avatar. This must be a fun room to experience in person.

Despite minor "I wish I was there!" moments, the puzzles that we did get to solve were interesting and entertaining. And because they were just so eclectic and required so many of our skill sets and talents, everyone on the team offered their respective strengths and was integral to success.

COMMENDABLE APPROACH

An already pleasant remote experience, "The Heist" even came with a stylized, in theme, interactive inventory system that displayed room views and key item photos. Such system actually enabled multiple players to work on different puzzles at the same time.

I also really appreciated the effort of incorporating a customized supplementary interface, especially one resembling a security camera control panel. It further immersed the audience in the storytelling by unlocking inactive windows for more "footage" access as patrons advance.

However, due to the small scale, the inventory was at times too finicky to use. Also, occasional coding hiccups occurred. Nothing that minor tweaking wouldn't fix, however.

EVERYONE HAS A FAIR SHOT

Although only my conjecture, I would bet good money (from the large sum that I was about to steal) this company's goal was to make every customer feeling like a super star.

Each team is given a very generous 80 minutes time limit to complete every given task. And although there is honestly a large amount to conquer, it would be unlikely for even a novice team to fail.

In addition, this escape room has two tiers of completion outcomes. Upon finishing the first illicit bank account transfer that made my team millionaires, if time permitting, bonus puzzles would be unlocked for a possible second transfer. The fun must continue!

We, equipped with expert level of puzzle solving artistry, stole every cent of the Fawkes fortune and walked away 10 million dollars richer.

And you know what? With the new cash flow on hand, I will make sure I install a state of the art and reputable home security system to safeguard my belonging. You know, just in case the sore loser is planning his own revenge Ocean sequel.

◣ PARTING TIPS

★ Recruit a sharp eyed looker, they will come in handy on multiple occasions.

★ Knowing the Chinese language will not give you an edge in Asian inspired puzzle(s).

★ Pay attention to all the prized collectibles throughout the residence.

Signing off,

Escape Mattster

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◣ DISCLAIMERS

"Escape Mattster" thanks the company's hospitality. Though game access was complimentary, review was written basing on only unbiased and genuine opinions.

All official media are credited to respective contents owners, and are used with proper permission for the purpose of this publication. No copyright infringement intended.

◣ RELATED RESOURCES

⤻ Search For All Posts With Key Word(s) "Breakout Saint John"

⤻ Search For All Posts With Key Word(s) "Heist"

⤻ Remote Play - The Heist • "BSJHeist"