As part of our ongoing Halloween-themed experiences throughout October, we went to try out The Butcher at Escapologic Nottingham.
Escapologic is an escape room situated in the centre of Nottingham that is renowned for its detailed mazes and uniquely tailored experiences.
In true Halloween spirit, we jumped headfirst into the venues 18+ maze that is infamous amongst horror fans.
The story of The Butcher is as follows:
Anna and Max have the kind of relationship everyone pretends to find annoying. But really, their friends are just a little bit jealous. Because you can see how much these two people are meant to be together. They just-fit. 12345
Anna is daring and inquisitive, Max is sensible. She encourages him to try new things. He stops her from doing stupid stuff.
USUALLY.
But not today.
Maybe it’s the sunshine. Maybe it’s the wine. Because today, when Anna finds a randomly-unlocked shutter on a random side street, Max isn’t quick enough to persuade her not to go inside. His mind is on the picnic they’ve just had, the kisses they’ve shared. So what if Anna is intent on seeking out some new dark and gloomy pace to scare him with. It’s just Anna being Anna, right? This is why he loves her.
It’s just an adventure. A dare. It’ll be OK.
And then the shutter bangs down, and everything is very far from OK.
The Butcher Theming
No expense has been spared when it comes to the rooms theming.
The room is on par if not better than anything you’d see at a big theme park event such as Scarefest at Alton Towers.
From the grotty tiles reminiscent of the Saw Bathroom to various tools and implements that look like they’ve been pulled straight out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre set The Butcher certainly looks the part.
It’s a real shame we were only in the room for 60 minutes as I could have spent much longer looking around the props and set details that you’d miss rushing around trying to find clues and opening locks.
What I thought was superb is that The Butcher is actually located opposite the main escape room building.
When you’ve checked in, had your temperate checked and drowned your hands in sanitizer you’re escorted across the road to some industrial style doors and down into the lair.
This alone was a great way to immerse you in the maze as already we were taken out of the main building and into the dark, damp underbelly of Nottingham.
Within this Grade 2 listed building contained a bathtub that wasn’t allowed to be removed when constructing the room.
The room designers built the room around this creepy old bathtub and even incorporated it into the room design, a great addition to the room and a great preservation of history!
The Butcher Gameplay
What I loved the most about The Butcher has that there were no combination locks to be seen.
I hate those things!
This was a more hands-on type of experience going as far as to include Allen keys, metal hooks, and more to solve various puzzles.
The hint system was so unique and added that extra layer of immersion to the room.
You don’t ask for help, you are guided by a mysterious presence and I’ll say no more than that.
Even walking down the dark, dimly lit corridor into the first room certainly set the mood.
Within the room you have a monitor showing the same corridor you’ve walked down to enter the room.
At some points during your experience, you have to watch the monitor as you certainly won’t be alone throughout your experience.
This ramped up the tension and added to the atmosphere of proceedings.
Sadly with social distancing, it was a more toned-down horror experience so it would be great to retry the room without the restrictions and see just how intense this maze can get!
Relying on physical props rather than your usual lock and key combos was perfect.
It kept within the confines of the story (like why would a butcher be using combo locks?) and immersed us into the experience rather than it just being a normal escape room.
Escapologic Nottingham Overall
From the absolutely incredible reception area which is carnival themed to the wonderful staff who I felt we’d known for years only spending 60 minutes with them, it was such a great introduction to the horror content we’re bringing to you here on Lift Hills and Thrills in October.
The Butcher certainly isn’t for the faint-hearted and the puzzles are not always as easy as they first appear.
Search high and low and be fully immersed in this astoundingly detailed and creepy room.
