Escape Room
Call Of The Ancient At Escape Hour Austin
Escape Hour Austin is home to five revolutionary escape rooms, and has won several awards for their dedication to the craft. Among their wildly successful and unique escape rooms is Call of the Ancient, a Lovecraftian epic, designed to unsettle you and make you question: what is real?
Employing everything from the eerie soundscape, to immersive visuals, Call of the Ancient settles deep within your bones and forces you to confront the darkest corners of your mind. A fan favorite for years, let's jump into what makes Call of the Ancient so compelling!
An Otherworldly Setting
Inspired by the gloriously mysterious Cthulhu, Call of the Ancient's setting evokes a sense of delightful foreboding. With dimly lit corners, anything could be lurking, and that is part of what makes this escape room so memorable.
This experience is set in the 1930s, in Innsmouth, a small community nestled in the Northeast. Following an old ritual performed by a group of ill-meaning Freemasons, a great, ancient evil was set free. Now, after being tormented by nightmares and visions leading you directly to the entrance of this masonic hall, you and your group must find a way to contain the evil before the entire world faces its wrath.
As with all escape rooms at Escape Hour Austin, the décor, theme and execution prove just how good they are at creating a believable space. From ceiling to floor, and everywhere in between, immersion reigns supreme.
From the foreboding portent that looms above the Innsmouth skyline, to the shadowy twists and turns of the mansion's halls, there is something hidden within that calls to you. You feel that call stronger now than ever!
The Experience
We don't want to give anything away by divulging all the secrets and exact puzzles you can expect inside Call of the Ancient, but we will say you can expect a fun range. Our favorites are the physical challenges that take the gameplay to another level. What really makes these puzzles pop, however, is the overarching story that weaves its way through each game. And if you're a Lovecraft fan, you'll really appreciate this. True to form, there is a sense of madness that begins to set in the deeper you dive into this story. You begin to question yourself. Is it just you? Or could it be the ancient evil that has been set free? No matter the cause of your new unsettled nature, you have to keep your head in the right place. Here are our top tips for escaping Call of the Ancient in one piece:
Communicate - This is our top tip for everyone, no matter the escape room, but especially for Call of the Ancient. Formulate a plan ahead of time if you need to, but focus on keeping everyone in the loop about all new elements your come across in your exploration. Who knows if that little image you noticed at the beginning won't help out a teammate several puzzles down the line!
Explore everything - We mean it! Your Game Master will let you know what you can ignore, so once you know what is off limits, dig into your surroundings! Explore until you can't anymore, and then get to solving!
Stay organized - This one is so important! If you do not have some semblance of order, you could end up trying to reuse every old key or puzzle that you've already used before. We recommend keeping all used puzzles in one spot, that way there is no confusion about what you still need to work on! We also suggest keeping keys inside their locks, and any unlocked locks inside or near their respective containers.
Ask for help - Because it's free! Not all escape rooms offer unlimited hints, but Escape Hour Austin does, and they are great about only giving you small nudges — just what you need to set yourself straight and make more progress on your own. We love this!
Pass the lock - If you have tried several times to open a lock, and you're absolutely positive you have the correct code, don't let pride get in the way — pass the lock to someone else! Sometimes they'll have the magic touch.
Overall
Call of the Ancient is one of those rooms that sticks with you long after you leave. The aesthetics, puzzles, story and entire vibe of this experience work together to create a memorable and fun group activity.
It is rare that an escape room can create such a vibrant and tangible mood. If there is one thing Call of the Ancient has over the many other escape rooms we've completed, it would be character. Heart. It steeps you in flawless immersion and leaves you hungry for more, which is a great thing when visiting Escape Hour Austin. With five experiences in total, you could spend days exploring all they have to offer!
Our recommendation is of course a solid YES. Visit Call of the Ancient, and then visit all the other rooms at Escape Hour Austin.
The Story Has Just Begun
Call of the Ancient is an escape room unlike many others. If you didn't catch why we think it is a must-play, here's the TL;DR:
The vibe. It's impeccable and eerie. And impeccable. Yeah, we doubled down.
The storyline absorbs the player and leaves a lasting impression.
The variety of puzzles and what it takes to solve them.
And lastly, it is hosted by Escape Hour Austin. Everything they've put out thus far has been a work of art.
We highly recommend this venue, and all of their rooms, and Call of the Ancient is no exception! If you haven't played this one yet, now is the time — because we know you hear the call. And there's only one thing to do when that happens. Find out more about Call of the Ancient, and book your tickets here: https://www.escapehouraustin.com/call-of-the-ancient
Escape Room
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