Present, in February 2023, were: The Ant, Aunty Ant

So many escape rooms have a great premise and ambitious setting, only to be slightly let down by the practicalities of harsh reality. We’ve all been in an Egyptian tomb which spookily resembles an office, or a spaceship that is mostly polystyrene. The more ambitious the concept, the trickier to pull off. So, an Escape Room on a plane? Fantastic idea, but how convinced were we going to be?

I didn’t expect to feel faintly airsick while firmly at ground level in a warehouse in Crowborough. But the level of detail DarkMaster has managed to manifest is astonishing. This appears to be an actual plane they have put us on, and it is mindblowing, particularly when the game starts for real. Flight-phobes beware! The entire set does eventually step away from the hyper-realism a little, but OMG, it is a brilliant set-up.

OneWing Airlines (tag line: Half The Wings – Half the Price!) was our opening game at DarkMaster and it all made for a great first impression, following on from the spacious lobby and warm welcome. As you can tell from the tag line, humour is a nice part of their brand, and this is followed through within the game. I recommend reading the in-flight safety card and did also very much appreciate the sneaky movie-related Easter Egg, although I think that was lost on Aunty Ant. Smart little details like that really made the game for us.

Puzzle-wise, we didn’t get off to a great start. The opening section is quite open and search-heavy, which didn’t play to our strengths. I think our lovely GM Jane was despairing after the first ten minutes! But then, with a nudge in the right direction (basically, look again) we were off and everything fell into place. I did wonder if they needed more signposting but have since decided that no, it was just us being a bit dense.

The physical element is also important. The team needs to be able to crawl (thank you for the very creatively padded floor), there is a task involving extensive manual handling, and some of the puzzles require spacial awareness. However, the most significant element is also one of the game showpieces, which it would be shame to spoil. But do read the game information on the website and take note, as some people might find this section hard to cope with. We were quite lucky that we solved it fairly quickly and actually loved it.

Early frustrations with our own search-fails apart, I really enjoyed OneWing. I might even count it as my favourite at DarkMaster – tough choice as I did also love Shamleys. I would also probably regard it as the most young-person friendly – we could definitely have used a fresh pair of eyes and more youthful knees! As long as there is no residual airline-based trauma, teenagers would really enjoy the cinematic adventure feel to this game. Sky-high ambition almost faultlessly executed makes this a mile-high journey to remember.

• Storyline: Sticks pretty much to the script. Regarding it as a DarkMaster trap explains most of the Escape Room Logic.
• Theming and Set: I mean, it’s a freaking plane, come on.
• Searching: Quite search-heavy.
• Puzzles: Packs a decent amount of proper puzzles into the space.
• Physicality: Put us through the wringer. Little did we realise that it is the most sedentary of their games.
• Scare factor: Like I said, flight-phobes beware. It does get quite intense, but not for the duration, and is not an actual horror game in any way.
• Company Age Guidance: “Due to the complexity of the puzzles and the nature of the special effects in all of our rooms we no longer allow children under 12. We cannot allow under 17s in our rooms without an accompanying adult due to health and safety precautions. A child for booking purposes is aged 12 – 16 inclusive.”
• Age suitability: Experienced young teens in a mixed age team would do fine here.

DarkMaster website

Also at this venue: Shamleys; Into The Reliquary