Mad Mansion – Mayo Kingdom: You will float too – Escape Room Vitoria-Gasteiz

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You will float too/ Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain) / 2 – 6 Players / Price: 35 – 60 Euro per person / Rating: 9.4

Location: Calle Barratxi 37A, Pabellon, 20, 01013 Vitoria-Gasteiz

Date of Play: 07.10.2022

Team Size: 4

After embarking on an adventurous journey through the anime world in the Chamber of Light and Time, our anticipation grew for the supposed climax of the trip to northern Spain: You Will Float Too. Whether the anticipation was worth it, you can read here.

You’ll float too was voted first place worldwide by international enthusiasts at TERPECA 2021. As a result, we booked the slot for October back in January 2022 and were happy to get a date as all of the vendor’s bookable slots for 2022 were booked within minutes.

Like all of Mayto Kingdom’s other rooms, this one is inspired by a well-known movie series. The original title, “You Will Float Too,” as well as the original poster for the room, clarified an homage to Stephen King’s IT. However, both the name and the poster have been slightly altered over the course of the last few months.

At this point, it should be noted that shortly before the game, we were informed by the vendor that the main character was not available for the game. So due to an accident during the last game slot, our game had to do without Pennywise. For us, it is unfortunately incomprehensible that a provider, which was voted the new top provider worldwide, fills the role of Pennywise with only one actor.

Again, we found a folder with information about the story in front of the entrance to Mayto Kingdom. After entering the gate to the world of Mayto Kingdom and stowing our belongings, we had to change entrances again to begin the adventure. Again, due to a written instruction, we were not granted contact with the vendor or game master. Since the kingdom of Mayto is located in an industrial area, you should remember to go to the bathroom beforehand. In fact, in this game, it was not even possible to visit a toilet during the 120-minute game time.

You will float too

“As a retired paranormal investigator, you’ve had it with haunted houses that turn out to be scams. Now a strange case has caught your attention. The clues have led you to the vicinity of a sinister house. A place you should never enter under any circumstances.”

Atmosphere

The subsequent start of the game was very immersive and original, as we slipped directly into the role of the investigators. Afterwards, an atmospherically successful front garden in front of an old villa awaited us. High trees, a small garden house, a doghouse and a veranda believably gave us the feeling that we were in front of a multi-story villa. This was reinforced by suitable sound and light effects of a thunderstorm. In the course of the game, this high quality can be continued. We entered various living areas of the mansion and arrived at other game locations that thematically corresponded to the movies. Except for one area that could have been a bit more detailed, it was definitely impressive what Mayto Kingdom created there within an empty factory floor. There was a great effect in the game and several small technical gimmicks, even if we missed a big wow moment in the game in the end.

Story

Overall, there was a clear arc of tension that slowly builds up. The game changes from a mission game to an escape game over the course of the game, and the finale is somewhat abrupt and unspectacular. In our opinion, the finale could have been staged a bit more dramaturgically.

Puzzles

The puzzles are cognitive, combinatorial puzzles that are unusually complex for a horror room. Thematically, they fit in with the story and entertained us well due to the variety. However, they don’t offer any big surprises for experienced players. The search-and-find and cooperation moments take up a lot of space, which we liked. Movie fans will get their money’s worth here due to some cross-references to great horror movies.

Gamemaster/Actors

Although we had to make do without Pennywise, we still experienced the appropriate level of creepiness in You Will Float Too. Besides Pennywise, there is another character in the game that was able to scare us wonderfully. This ranges from the perfect timing between lighting, sound and appearance to chases and interactions, creating a great dynamic. In the debriefing, it became clear that the owner of Mayto Kingdom usually plays Pennywise and was the real highlight of the room due to his facial expressions and gestures. Of course, we were saddened accordingly, but can now imagine how good the room might be with a clown.

Another person thematically took over the role of the gamemaster via audio recordings. The hints were aptly formulated and came at the appropriate point at all times.

Conclusion

With You will float too, Mayto Kingdom has created a large, impressive world that is immersive and makes the hearts of IT fans beat faster. The high quality of the scenery, the appropriate use of sound and light, technical effects and complex puzzles create an overall package that convinced us. Overall, however, we missed a clear wow moment. Possibly this is due to the fact that we had to do without the main actor as Pennywise. Nevertheless, we recommend this room to all horror fans.