Review: The Ladder, Hatch Escapes, Los Angeles
Fun Factor 10
The Ladder
Hatch Escapes
Los Angeles - 1919 3rd Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90018
Date we played was August 29, 2024
Booking size 4 to 10; We recommend 6 to 10
Game time: 90 minutes
Difficulty: Ranges from Intermediate/Advanced/Expert
Objective: Work your way up the corporate ladder! Start in the mailroom, work hard for fifty years…and maybe you can become the CEO and discover the secrets of Nutricorp!
Entrance to Hatch Escapes on 3rd Ave
This game was a blast from start to finish! We highly recommend this room as one of the most fun times we have had! This game excels because of the lush and varied set - and the high definition NPCs (non-player characters) that we interact with and respond to our actions. It also has loads of varied puzzles with satisfying amount of tactile manipulation. We found many puzzle types or techniques we have not seen used in an escape room before. We enjoyed the care and details put into the story and the world created for us by hatch Escapes. We look forward to replaying this room and will not be surprised if The Ladder makes the TERPECA Top 100 list.
Be advised that this game costs more than a typical 60 minute escape room. For one this it is a 90+minute experience which you will go on with multiple video actors who will interact with you - as well as two game guides…one in the form a “janitor” who will help you whenever you need for your first two decades at Nutricorp and another “voice from above” that will provide you content and gentle guidance over your career.
Our 90 minutes flew by - and when it was over we all wanted to do it again. And the GREAT NEWS is…that we can! Hatch Escapes has developed the rarest type of escape game…one that is designed to be replayed. The now closed Doors of Divergence in Brooklyn was another one. Obviously any escape room can be replayed - but doing so will just be replay of the same puzzles and tasks. What makes an escape room replayable by design is the introduction of choices which result in multiple paths of possible play…and also, in this case, a bonus SECRET room which is accessible only achieving an objective. (Hatch Escapes has not opened the bonus room as it is still in development. Not that our team earned its admission…yet (we will be back!).
It's New Year's eve 1950...welcome to your 50-year career at Nutricorp!
The Ladder by Hatch Escapes in Los Angeles - is not your regular escape room experience…and Hatch Escapes makes that clear on their website and in their confirmation. How is it different? In many ways:
The game is designed to be replayable. There are in-game decisions you make that affect how you interact with the characters and the event. All teams select an Avatar from a menu of choices at the outset. The avatars come with different appearances and different attributes. If you are replaying the game you will be given access to a special Avatar for return players. There will also be other advantages of being a repeat player that will be revealed to you.
The game is strictly parsed out in times intervals for each “decade” of your career. You start your 50-year career at Nutricorp in the 50s. So the set decorations and tasks are themed along that tie period. So be prepared to be immersed and move on to march of time.
Broadly speaking there are two categories of “things to do” as you advance in your career . One is to earn money over your career by completing tasks based on your years of “experience” at Nutricorp. For example - you start in the mailroom and your first tasks include mail and parcel sorting. The second is the meta-story puzzle track - this is a harder track to complete and it doesn’t earn you money as such but it lets you dive deeper into the secret world at Nutricorp - if you solve the puzzle tract of the decade you are playing the game stops and the sequences are triggered where certain characters will offer you choices…like all choices these affect what happens in the future. And if you solve all the puzzle tracks your team will have access to a secret bonus room (the bonus room was not available at the time we played…but we were not close to earning admission…yet!). The puzzle tract represents some of best in deep dive puzzles we seen - your team will likely need 3 or 4 people to be devoted to it and not to money-earning activities.
You will meet and interact with the characters via high definition screens…where the choices you make and progress you achieve will directly affect which scenes you will see. I don’t know how many hours of video Hatch Escapes produced for this - but the actors in the videos were great and it really felt like we were interacting with them and we nearly forgot these cut scenes were filmed and just waiting for the path we took. Amazing amount of creativity, effort and thought.
Time flies - your team will play games themed for the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s...the decades are timed and while choices you make can given you more or less time in each...you must (just like in real life) move on to the future.
I describe above the two categories of puzzles/games you will encounter. Hatch Escape gives advice as to how many might be a good number for each. Ultimately the choice will be up to your team - and there probably isn’t a wrong answer as your team gets to craft its experience. As this was our first play-through we focused on the money earning segments and did very well. We were less successful with the meta-story puzzle track…we have resolved to put more resources into this track the next time. As is always the case - the objective is to have fun…and Hatch Escapes provides teams of all sizes and experience the opportunity to do just that by allowing the teams to decide what to focus on.
A few more words about the puzzle track - the meta-story puzzle track starts before you arrive. You will have access to a short story and sets the stage for the moment the game begins when you arrive. You do not HAVE to read the short story but we recommend you and all your teammates do so as well. While in-game when your team team completes one the five puzzle tracks (one for each decade) your countdown timer stops and you will be presented with a cinematic moment and ultimately a choice…and these choices will affect which of the nealy dozen endings you will get.
Hatch Escapes says The Ladder is playable by groups of 4 to 10. They do scale the scoring system based on team size…and they make clear that teams of less than 4 will not be permitted to play. This is sensible as there is so much content. We played the room with 7 experienced players - and we were all busy and had plenty to do. It wasn’t until after the game was over that we could debrief each other and learn more about what the others did. So now the question when we replay this…do we let people repeat the tasks they’ve played so that they won’t have a big learning curve…or do we rotate everyone? Stay tuned as we are not sure which we will do.
