The Den of the Occult by Escapedom is a fun, supernatural-themed escape room in Los Angeles.

Story and Background

escapedom_lobby

[/media-credit] The waiting area of Escapedom is nicely atmospheric and comfortable.

The objective of the game involves sneaking into the sanctuary / office of occultist Maya Conway to extract the ancient Crystal of Death.

Here’s the official blurb from the website:

The Crystal of Death. An ancient relic revered by all those who deal in matters of the occult. In the wrong hands this sacred crystal has the power to turn heaven into hell and end the human race as we know it. The crystal is currently possessed by Maya Conway. This mysterious vagabond was once our friend and confidant but is now our sworn enemy. A tarot card reader by day and satanic worshiper by night, Maya Conway protects the crystal using all means in her power.

Your objective is to sneak into her sanctuary and take possession of the Crystal of Death before Maya Conway can use it to summon the deadly spirits from the netherworld.

The official blurb only describes the backbone of the story – the full story is over-the-top and amusing, and you’ll get to experience it via the intro slideshow.

Quick facts:

Highlights

A photo posted by Escapedom (@escapedom) on

Yes, there are Ouija boards!

  • Puzzles – The puzzles were satisfying, varied, and involved interacting with the various parts of the room (these mostly weren’t paper puzzles). Some of the puzzles were augmented by nice bits of technology. One particular puzzle was a fun way to bring together the whole team.
  • Pre-game experience – The lobby was nicely put together and the bathroom has a neat easter egg. Our host was energetic and walked us through a slideshow that explained the whole story surrounding Maya Conway. The story is a bit over-the-top but was told well, and was an amusing introduction to the game.
  • Pricing – Escapedom is on the lower-end of the pricing scale in the LA escape room market at $28 per person. The price is more affordable than most LA escape rooms and you’ll still get a good experience. Escapedom also does players a favor by not packing in too many people into the rooms. 6 is a very reasonable max team size for this game, although we would recommend 3-5.

Shortcomings

  • Story – The story is built up in detail in the intro to the game but mostly not revisited through the gameplay itself. This makes the ending lose some of the momentum as you become a bit disconnected from why exactly you’re extracting the Crystal of Death in the first place.
  • Secondary Objectives – Besides retrieving the Crystal of Death, the game had some secondary objectives as well that players need to complete in order to escape. The secondary objectives seem a bit more haphazardly put together and as a result we didn’t feel the full feeling of satisfaction when working through the secondary objectives.
  • Final Sequence – We felt like the final sequence was a bit repetitive and ordered in a way that it loses some of the game’s urgency and gravity.

Overall Recommendation

Escapedom’s Den of the Occult is a good, solid game with a fun theme. Escapedom also runs a second game, The Lair, where you must search the headquarters of the infamous drug lord “The Dollmaker”.

We recommend Escapedom especially for beginners, especially at the lower price point and as a good introduction to a variety of neat elements of the escape room world. The Den of the Occult specifically is also fun for those who like some sort of supernatural theme in their games.

Book your game at https://www.escapedom.com/booking/ and let your host know that EscapeRoomTips.com sent you!

A photo posted by William Chen (@williamzchen) on

Escapedom’s bathroom does some fun things with their extra toilet paper holders.


Full disclosure: Escapedom comped our tickets for this event.