Review: Escape Augusta

RATING: 3 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 9:24

Seeking volunteers to go through a random portal that has opened.

Story

A mysterious portal has been discovered and we’re looking for brave volunteers to venture into the unknown…is it a time portal, a gateway to an alternate dimension, or something beyond our human comprehension?

And that is all there is to know. There is no real story with The Portal; the owners of Escape Augusta have discovered a gateway to somewhere ethereal. After opening the dimensional rift, volunteers have an hour to explore the world within the new space and find the exit. An “AI assistant” named Neil (based on Neil deGrasse Tyson) joins the adventure and can help with unlimited hints and providing the time remaining before the exit vanishes.

Once inside, there is a backpack and notebook of a previous visitor to this realm with some vital information, but other than that, there are no characters or story elements for this game. It is more focused on the vibes of a relaxing escape experience.

Scenic

Upon crossing the threshold, the gate is not yet open; instead a small dark room awaits where the portal keys must be found and placed correctly to proceed. Once inside, explorers are greeted with a serene area with vaguely Nordic themes.

The set is entirely handmade and hand painted to both its advantage and its detriment. There are definitely some rough edges; some unpainted foam is exposed, a few things are easily well worn down, and some of the décor is either extraneous or needs to be replaced. At the same time, the goal of a relaxing experience is absolutely there. There is ambient music playing the whole time. The low lighting is a nice touch but never too dark; the area is always visible, even in the dimmer sections.

Nearly every sense is played to, including smell. In areas closer to the wall, the light scent of lavender and chamomile pervade the air to lean into the calming effects of this region. Between the touch-sensitive room for the keys, the gently perfumed air, and the ambient soundtrack, The Portal provides a very sensory-driven experience. Except taste. Please do not eat any of the ancient relics found here. (They don’t taste very good.)

The scenery is also very congruent; the Nordic iconography is consistent throughout the entire realm. The color scheme in the painted murals ties into everything, with softer blues and violets that are easier on the eyes. While the seams are showing throughout, there is a lot of heart and attention put into the design of the game.

One important note, The Portal is a sock only experience. Escape Augusta recommends players wear fun socks for a cool experience. (It’s pretty easy to read between the lines; there is a fair amount of blacklight use.)

Puzzles

While limited in number, the puzzles housed within The Portal are well balanced. There are no two puzzles that are alike; there is only one numeric lock and all the rest are either physical moving devices or involve spatial manipulation.

All puzzles tie directly into the thematic nature of the room. The symbols are ever present which presents a solid visual from task to task. Portal divers have a few different paths to take that ultimately converge to the same point, at which the final act is entirely linear. But it is nice to see the effort put in to make every single solution a different type of puzzle and have them all tie into similar motifs.

Overall

The big glaring blemish is the lack of story. With a portal adventure, there is ample opportunity to weave a tale to tie everything together. While there is a backpack with a notebook inside that has clues to three of the various puzzles, this could have been a great opportunity to give explorers a named character to connect with. What happened to him? Can he be saved? Why was he in The Portal to begin with? There is great prospect for story here that is just not used and left on the table.

However, as a relaxing game to center oneself in a zen room and solve some puzzles, it’s very successful. There is no screen timing the dwellers of the portal, there are unlimited hints so solution-oriented gamers never feel stuck in one place, and the peaceful atmosphere sets the tone to just chill out. But seriously… don’t eat the healing crystals.