Step into the future. Enter the offices of ChronosCorp HQ, where eccentric billionaire Alastair Montague’s efforts to develop commercial time travel have caused a tear in the fabric of space and time. The Cybermen are ready to take advantage and attack Earth. You, the Doctor’s friends, must investigate the incident. The remains of Montague, his prototype time engine and the extensive collection of time-related artefacts acquired over the course of his experiments, are all that you have to work with. In just 60 minutes the Cybermen will break through. The fate of the universe is in your hands. Take too long and the human race will be “upgraded”.
	60 minutes
	2-6 players
	Difficulty level not stated
	£19.55-28 per person depending on team size and discounts
	Oxford, UK (other locations available)
	escapehunt.com
	Played by Jenny, Paul and Bharath
	June 2019
	Escaped with 14 minutes remaining, needing 1 clue

Theming

7/10Being an official licensed room I expected the theming to be epic, however it fell a little short of my expectations. The host was excellent and stayed in character from start to finish. The challenge started off with a phone call from the Doctor herself who gave the briefing on our task at hand. The first part of the room was a basic study type area which had a few bits of Doctor Who props lying around, but nothing that special. The second half of the game was more like it as it was a futuristic lab with hi-tech machines. But sadly the epic parts of the game no longer worked due to previous players having broken them. This was such a shame as this would have made my score higher. The puzzles linked to the theme well. I liked the clue system and the music was a nice addition. It’s not the game play’s fault but I feel my expectations were too high for this room as I was expecting Daleks and robots but got neither.

Jenny

8/10This is a bang up to date official licensed Doctor Who escape room that at time of writing is in 6 of Escape Hunt’s 8 UK locations. There was some immersive theatre with our excellent host in character as the Doctor’s assistant. We also heard audio clips from the current Doctor herself, Jodie Whittaker. She bookended our game with some specially recorded messages. There’s also Doctor Who staples like Cybermen, the TARDIS and a sonic screwdriver within the room. But mainstays like Daleks were noticeable in their absence. It’s a high quality build which culminates with some impressive Time Run-esque mechanical theatre. Help could be sought with the aid of a walkie talkie.

Paul

7/10[score only]

 Bharath

Puzzles

7/10This room had such a nice mixture of puzzles that used the futuristic theme really well. There were no padlocks but instead clever unique ways to solve puzzles. With a team of three, there was plenty for us all to do, whether it was searching for items, testing ourselves at the skill games or using basic logic. I will warn you, there is a big red herring in this room that we wasted a lot of time on, plus there is a really tricky skill game which two of our players gave up on. The finale of the room is cool as it brings the team back together. At first we found the puzzle tricky, but after a light bulb moment it was quite logical. There’s also a nice end as you get to encounter the TARDIS! However as mentioned above, some puzzles were altered due to foul play so this may spoil your experience.

Jenny

7/10There were two red herrings, one of which is so big it should be called a red whale. One was intentional, the other was a broken puzzle that they replaced with something else but left in. These will be divisive as some, like me, will hate pointlessly wasting their time on them. The broken puzzle should either be fixed or turned into an obvious prop. I’m impressed with the rest of the puzzles though, which are plentiful and varied. There are no locks as everything is automated, but there was no obvious feedback upon one puzzle completion. The games aren’t linear so we could split up and work on them independently. One is a frustrating skill game that if you give up on, your host would have to enter the room, which isn’t ideal.

Paul

7/10[score only]

 Bharath

Enjoyment

8/10I really enjoyed this game. It was quite refreshing to play a game without padlocks. The theming was good, the puzzles were tough but fair and our host made our experience even better. For me, sometimes the hi-tech games aren’t always enjoyable, but in this challenge the innovative ideas really impressed me. I’d definitely recommend this game, but if you’re a newbie to escape rooms it may be a bit tough.

Jenny

8/10I’ve watched a lot of Doctor Who so it was fun to feel, albeit only slightly, a part of the TV show. There’s enough DW elements included to keep fans happy, whilst also remaining enjoyable and playable for those who have never seen it. Before the game, we waited in their large comfortable reception area where there’s Jenga and puzzles available to play. It’s here that we had to endure a tediously detailed health and safety briefing. Escape Hunt are too professional! After the game finished, our host discussed our escape and allowed us to ask any questions we had about it. We weren’t asked for a photo opportunity though, despite noticing props for it in reception.

Paul

6/10[score only]

 Bharath

Value

7/10At £33 pp this room is on the high side, however I feel you can forgive this as it is officially licensed and very hi-tech. The reception area is very welcoming too, where you can relax and grab a beer if you like. The only reason I marked the value down is due to the broken cool bits of the room and that we weren’t offered a team photo.

Jenny

7/10We paid £33 each for a team of 3, but the website now states it at a more reasonable £28. Maybe prices have since reduced? It has a £3 markup compared to their other rooms which I feel is justified as it’s an official escape room of the ever popular BBC family sci-fi show and the theming is towards the top end of the scale. Escape Hunt are a very professional company, with a polished high quality set-up. This branch is based on the top floor of a modern shopping mall. It may lack the character an independent company can offer, but here you should be guaranteed a good all-round experience. I recommend this game for both fans and non-fans of Doctor Who, although the former will get more out of it.

Paul

6/10[score only]

 Bharath

Overall scores