Review: Atlantis: the Forgotten City, Hypnotic Escape Rooms, Los Angeles
Hypnotic Escape Rooms
Los Angeles - 6367 Van Nuys Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91401
Date played March 24, 2024 Group size 6
Booking size 4 to 8; We recommend 4 to 6
Objective: Unlock the Mysteries of Atlantis
Difficulty: Advanced
Overall Fun Factor: 8
The objective is of Atlantis: The Forgotten City is to research and unravel the mysteries of Atlantis. It is set in a research lab and then…of course…in Atlantis itself. We have played many escape rooms with an Atlantis theme and Hypnotic Escapes did a great job with delivering an expansive and interesting set - and the set supported and enhanced the puzzles. We had the palpable excitement of stepping further into our surroundings.
As with many Atlantis-themed escape rooms - your first task is to get to Atlantis. Here we are playing the role of researchers and complete the task of getting to Atlantis. Your team starts out a research center with several puzzles in which we all played a part. This game really shines, however, when your team arrives in Atlantis - the scope and quality of the set and props is impressive and very fun to explore and manipulate. We took a moment to savor the surroundings and not rush through the experience. Hypnotic Escapes does an excellent job of incorporating video and audio-based elements.
We highly recommend this room with a Fun Factor of 8 due to the impressive set and props and immersive and clean puzzles. The set shines because of its massive scale and quality of production…our group of 6 had plenty of room to stretch out and explore. We really felt immersed in ancient sunken temple. And some of the props had a massive feel to it which also helped all of six of us feel involved in a solve whether physically interacting with the set piece or not. Hypnotic Escape did a great job varying the puzzle solving techniques, engaging multiple senses, and having us take in our full vivid surroundings.
Our only ding fortunately did not affect game play and came at the end - it seemed to our group that perhaps due to comparison to the superb quality of everything else, a video which plays upon success was awkwardly out of step with the quality and production values.
A note about team size - Hypnotic Escapes has a minimum booking size of 4 and a maximum size of 6. We feel the room is approachable with 4 experienced players - but the several non-linear elements and the size and scope of the room made this a fun experience for our group of 6 active players!
Hypnotic Escapes is broadly speaking in the Los Angeles escape room market - it is specifically in the City of Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley. We found street parking fairly easily when we visited.