THE DIRECTIVE

The people at GTFO strike the perfect balance between professional and friendly.

Cookies, water, and friendly and efficient staff. What else is there to ask for? Since there was no one booked after us, they also gave us an extra 10 minutes to finish the room when we didn’t get out, so that was very nice!

The puzzling in The Directive showcased some of the most advanced technology we’ve encountered in an escape room. It was intimidating to walk into a bare room with nothing but a massive control board with foreign-looking buttons and symbols.

The puzzles were elegant in concept and presentation. Because there were no mechanical locks, the puzzles were unlike any other. The unabashed use of technology allowed for less logic thinking and more “How do I tinker with this apparatus?”

The puzzles in this room aren’t the usual logic puzzles that have come to be an escape room staple. All of the puzzles in this room require some sort of communication between team members – so when your gamemaster tells you that you need to communicate in this room, make sure to listen to them!

There were no locks in this room which always seems to throw us off at the start, but I thought that it really worked in the grand scheme of the room. We got fun, creative puzzles that were deceptively simple and didn’t over-rely on number combinations.

The intriguing bareness of the room paired well with the elegance of the puzzles. The machinery in each room served as the centrepiece. The intentional lack of decoration allowed players to focus on how to solve each puzzle instead of trying to tease out red herring from relevance.

There’s not a lot in this room, but I thought it was appropriate given the theme. It also wasn’t conspicuously empty – it did feel right!

This room pushes not only your mental limits but also your patience. There was a lot of shouting from our group and, conversely, listening to each other. You have to be able to be expressive but also be receptive to information.

I thought that this room was great at building momentum – it almost always felt like we were moving forward instead of being stuck. Unfortunately, since we came with a smaller group, there were times when I had to wait on the rest of my group members to do something before I could jump in.

This was one area that The Directive relegated to the sideline, and, understandably so. The puzzles speak for themselves–complete them and get out.

It was a standard theme as far as escape rooms go, but it was executed very well. I enjoyed the twist that happened midway through!

This room was a stellar accomplishment from GTFO and deserves a #diamond. It reinforces them as a premiere escape room company within the Edmonton scene. Be warned: This room isn’t for small groups or rookies. If this were a videogame, The Directive is final-bad-guy level.

I would give this room a #diamond. I think to really get the most from this room, you need to go with 5 or 6 people (which we unfortunately didn’t). This room is absolutely perfect if you’re doing a team-building activity of some sort!