RATING: 6 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: 8:50

The ultimate battle of good versus evil – it’s the snake to my mongoose… or the mongoose to my snake; Either way it’s bad. I don’t know animals. But I do know this: This time, it’s personal.

From the moment agents report for their mission, it’s crystal clear that The Bureau is anything but an average experience. With no exterior signage, and no ‘escape game’ business to be found, getting inside is quite literally the first puzzle. With such an important purpose behind The Bureau, it should come as no surprise that a neutral facade would be required to protect the secrets that await within for those cunning enough to choose the proper path of travel.

It is for this reason that we start our narrative before the story, because that is quite literally what The Bureau does. It’s instantly apparent that this experience is about to bring immersion to a whole other level.

The Bureau for Multiversal Interventions, also known as “The Bureau,” is a private business venture founded in 1946 to do the multiverse’s dirty work – anywhere, anytime. Interventions include activities such as, but not limited to: object retrieval, timestream adjustment, private investigation, research, and creature control.

Ah, the nefarious Dr. Braingood – long time arch enemy of The Bureau, and overall threat to the entire free world. Decades of searching have turned up nothing, but finally, all of that is about to change. At long last, The Bureau has located the secret lair of Dr. Braingood…

(…’s son, Dr. Braingood Junior.) 

Sure, he may not be as menacing, or, you know, as capable – but after years of living in his father’s shadow, it’s difficult to imagine he would stop at anything to create a name for himself. (Childhood just can’t be easy when your father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with a low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery.)

The Director has found the perfect alias for operatives set to infiltrate Dr. Braingood (Jr.)’s secret lair: today he’s hosting applicants hoping to become his next henchperson. It may not be glorious – but all super villains have to start somewhere. Intelligence suggests he’s been working on several weapons that threaten global safety, from a giant “laser” to a drilling device capable of cutting into the earth’s core, which some might call “magma.” Dr. Braingood (‘s son) must be stopped, and as always, it’s up to agents of The Bureau to save the day!

Set inside the shagadelic office of the founder of Braingood Industries, agents are transported across the multiverse to somewhere likely frozen in the 1960’s. A coloful fuzzy accent rug sits underneath a pristine white egg-shaped chair. (Nothing screams ‘evil’ more than egg-shaped chairs.) A large “laser” looms above the space, and prior damage to the adjacent concrete wall implies it has likely already gone through several preparations – of which, one might assume, preparations A through G were complete failures.

A television set into the wooden accent wall plays annoying commercials from a bygone era; if only evil geniuses (‘ sons) were better organized with where they keep the remote. Opposite it, a wall of trophies won by his father, the real Dr. Braingood lends a bit of understanding as to why Junior might be trying so hard to compensate.  Or perhaps it’s just the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. Pretty standard, really.

Further into Braingood Industries, would-be henchpeople find everything one might expect from an evil corporation, including a break room complete with high end coffee maker and a massive “laser” drill capable of shattering the earth’s very core. The presentation is equal parts serious and absurd, evoking an organic storyworld among the most unique that agents are likely to ever encounter.

The very best undercover operatives must always play the part, and sometimes, that means actually carrying themselves as henchpeople to (the son of) the founder of an evil corporation. Setting pride aside is paramount to convincing the young Mr. Braingood – sorry, Dr. Braingood. (He didn’t spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called mister, thank you very much.)

No one ever said the life of a henchperson would be glorious; and understandably, with it comes all of the mundane tasks that Dr. Braingood (Jr.) himself is far too important to do. In order to complete this mission undetected, operatives will need to tune the “laser,” listen to rambling stories from Braingood’s grandpa (who, frankly, may have lost his mind) and serve their would-be new boss coffee just the way he likes it.

With a healthy mix of logic and some brilliant physical challenges that might make agents want to scream out with glee, every task is so in tune with the storyworld that what results are some of the most inspired, humorous puzzle moments to be found in any escape game, anywhere. Minutes in, operatives become immersed in Dr. Braingood’s universe, and from there forward, it’s almost impossible to separate puzzle from narrative; each compliment each other (evil) geniusly.

Let’s start at the beginning; we actually drove past The Bureau’s entrance. We had to turn around. Upon our second attempt, when we found the GPS dot in Google maps (yes, it is accurate) we looked at each other, confused, and said “this can’t be right.” But it is.

For any other venue, this would not be good news; difficulty locating the business can cause understandable frustration. But as we’ve said before, and it bears repeating, The Bureau isn’t any other venue. The instant realization of just how different this experience will be is palpable from before opening the front door – and the surprises just keep get better and better from there.

Although actually the venue’s second game, we’ve opted to begin our story of The Bureau with Dr. Braingood because, simply put, every hero needs a formidable villain. The bumbling Dr. Braingood, with his clear inspirations drawn from Austin Powers’ own Dr. Evil, is a unique character all unto himself. His constant failures both humanize and endear him – and frankly, partway through this mission, despite being loyal operatives of The Bureau for Multiversal Interventions, we’d be lying if we didn’t admit we at least considered switching sides.

Dr. Braingood – both the character and the game – is so equally rich in backstory that it’s the kind of experience one might not be ready to leave once the game ends. Simply put, The Bureau is the venue that lives up to Orlando’s hype of being home to the greatest world-class attractions. These are the first games in town that measure equally – if not exceed – some of the best we’ve seen elsewhere in the country’s hottest escape room markets. The Bureau is so immersive – and so fun – that it stands out as one of the more compelling things we’ve seen come out of the industry in some time, making it an absolute destination attraction. With a near infinite number of multiverses known to be in existence, there’s a bright future ahead full of many new missions at The Bureau – but until then, as all great villains would say, poodles. Toodles.

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Venue: The Bureau

Location: Orlando, FL

Number of Games: 4

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 60 minutes

Capacity: 6 people

Group Type: Private  / You will not be paired with strangers.

Cost: $34.99 per person

We thank The Bureau for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.