I Survived The Room

We were celebrating a friends birthday yesterday evening and decided to give this a try prior to dinner plans. This was my first time doing an «escape the room» and boy do I have to say that this was AMAZING! The acting was spectacular and the environment was well put together! I would HIGHLY recommend this to anyone! The clues were very clever! Our group did escape the room under a minor technicality but we made it out none the less! I can’t wait until they change up the clues, I’d love to do this again!

The theme felt very realistic and it was fun. It would be perfect for Halloween. The clues were challenging and the actors and actress there were very talented. I actually felt a bit scared. I. The end we didn’t escape in time but it was a very fun. I an really looking forward to other themes but I feel like this one was put together very well.

Great time! Challenge was difficult however staff was available as needed! Would definitely do it again.

Close friends and family took me here as a birthday surprise since I absolutely love being scared and everything horror! Upon entry I was greeted by a nice crowd of thrill seekers purchasing tickets for a range of activities. While waiting for our host to lead us to «The Room» I went to use the restroom in the back. Low and behold (I had no idea) I was literally chased into the restroom by a very real looking zombie. Screaming and yelling for dear life I locked myself into the bathroom. I won’t share the rest because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. All I will say is GO GO GO!
Not to spoil the surprises in the room I will only tell you to prepare for an intense thrill that will require much more than bravery. You will need to put your thinking cap on to solve the ruse, disguised as «rules» to help you and your group get out and survive the god awful room.
My only complaint is I wanted more, I wish it was longer and I hoped for a deeper maze or Sanatorium to explore. Either way, this gets 4 stars for creativity, make-​up, and suspense. I loved it and will be going again. I just have to find a way to survive this room!

This is a three and a half stars review. The front desk staff were quite unenthusiastic and seemed confused when we checked in. We began Club Escape, which had no air conditioning and it was 90 degrees outside –which left us gross and sweaty and it certainly was unnecessary to the set. I wish we had done the sanitarium as I’ve heard it was more fun and other Unilocalers raved about the acting. The Russian girl wasn’t a great actor and didn’t talk loud enough. Finally we finished (though the Russian girl guide sort of spoiled our ending) with over twelve minutes to spare and the Russian girl guide barely acknowledged that we won, which left us confused and unsure if we succeeded or not. She mentioned something about another character being «impressed» and we figured that meant we finished. We stood there waiting for a debrief (as we’ve done with other «room escape adventures» but she never returned. Our team finally went to the front desk to try to confirm that we finished (and succeeded) and they acted as if they had no clue what we were even referring to. Anyways, it was still fun, a bit too easy, unnecessarily hot and had a disappointing conclusion. Likely won’t go back for the sanitarium.

The game was actually very fun and interactive but it should be longer! It was honestly 40 minutes of game time and 20 minutes of time wasted in the beginning with the actors talking. The actors were very well and focused though. Not as helpful as the actors in Escape the Room.

I had an out-​of-​town guest in who was curious to try escape rooms while in town. We did a couple in Manhattan, but decided that, based on the great reviews here, it was worth it to head out to LIC to try I Survived the Room — and I’m so glad we did!
While the other escape rooms that we did were fun, they didn’t have the immersiveness, intensity, or incredible production values (not to mention acting!) that the Sanatorium event did. While we were ultimately unsuccessful in completing the event, it was still so much fun! As others have said, it is probably not an ideal activity for claustrophobics (but why would someone with that fear want to be locked in a room in the first place??), but I felt the crowded «cells» added an extra layer of challenge, in that one person couldn’t see everything in their own cell, let alone the cell of the other group.
The atmosphere is very creepy, and there are a handful of jump scares, but the fear is built into the environment (music, décor, props, etc), not just in people sneaking up on you.
And, as many have said (but it is worth repeating), the actors are amazing! They clearly know exactly what they are doing and how to manage different groups of people who might have different reactions.
All in all, an absolutely stellar activity!

Having been unsuccessful at a prior escape attempt at a place in the city, I wanted the chance to redeem myself. Seeing all the stellar Unilocal reviews for this place, I decided to book a night as a beer club event.
The set up is well organized once you get there. When I signed up online, I immediately received a receipt but never got any confirmation email. I tried to call but after being on hold for about 15 minutes and hearing the message
«email is the fastest way to reach us!» I decided to send an email to confirm my reservation. Long story short, after sending the email through the page on their website, I never received a response.
Once I got there, they confirmed me in the computer and my team and I signed our waivers and were good to go. This room has interactive actors involved and they were uniformly excellent! Really good, creepy and a bit scary. From the first second you begin, you are engaged.
Without giving too much away, my group did the Sanatorium and we were handcuffed and separated into two groups and placed in two cells. The clues were very hard to fine (or maybe we are not so bright). We did use clues from the Doctor twice. Did I mention he was really good? He was really good.
It became clear we missed some things and by the time we got back on track, time was running out so we didn’t end up escaping. Sometimes I felt a little helpless because the cells were small and with four people in them sometimes all I could do was stand in a corner because there wasn’t room for all of us to be searching. A little more space so that everyone can participate would be helpful, or else going with smaller friends! Also, if you have claustrophobia, the experience of being handcuffed in a confined space may make you uncomfortable. You definitely will have more fun with friends because the quarters are tight. Also, some wetnaps in the cells would be great. Believe me.
Overall, I liked this and after a couple of days, my frustration at not escaping has turned to scheming as to who I will convince more people to go back with me.
This is a well done experience.

Very fun. Great acting. Worth every penny ! The actors stay in character throughout. Super creepy and challenging. We highly recommend

Failure never felt so good. We were a group of 6 and we had such a great time. We’ll be back to try to escape and hopefully we figure it out in time. The actors were so good and as the previous reviews said, they stayed in character the whole time. Highly recommended. Very challenging and really fun!

I cannot say enough great things about this place. I went here for my friend’s bachelor party tonight (5−28−15) at 8. I wish I knew his name so I could give him a shout out! Everything about this experience was completely immersive. The doctor was a master of improv for sure and gave snarky and comedic responses to all our shenaniganery. Seriously please check this place out. So so good!

So much fun! I thought this was going to be cheesy but no! It’s a race against time to free yourselves. Be collaborative and interactive. You’ll see the leaders emerge in your group.

I purchased 6 tickets for I escape the Room Sanatorium for my husband’s birthday.
HOLY CRAP! IT WAS SOOOOO MUCH FUN!!! And we are grown adults in our late 20’s to mid 40’s. We knew we may be blindfolded and handcuffed and in a cell and theres a doctor but we had no idea what else to expect. We showed up and checked in the front desk of where laser tag and other indoor sports stuff were with millions of kids. At first we were like um will this be cheesy? They told us to wait in the front for the «doctor» to come. We packed our coats in the locker, which we paid the $ 2 for it but we actually didnt need a locker. We could have taken it into the doctor’s room (where we were next door) but they didnt tell us that option.
He came and made us run outside in the snow to next door where the «sanatorium» was… hahhaa we thought that was very exciting. Then we met a nurse and then a doctor and he handcuffed and wrapped us in chains. We were then split up into two jail cells that had clues and you have to pay attention to other clues. SUCH great teamwork building!!! The actors were really good and funny :)
We really got into it and especially when time was running out but then we didnt know there would be even more stuff to do! So WE LOST but they said we got veryyyy far in the 85% percentile haha. OH MAN we were sooo disappointed with ourselves. We even talked about how much fun that was in the car and really want to do it again ha and also the mob one.
We are telling all our friends about it because this is TRULY UNIQUE!!! We were saying wish there were even more themes too at other ones… like maybe a clown funhouse one, or hotel or basement of a haunted house and make it even more creepy, or movie themes like freddy or i dunno, haha. ok Im getting carried away but it would be great marketing and I would definitely pay for all that!!!
THANKS FOR A GREAT TIME and my hubby had a GREAT BIRTHDAY!!! :D:D:D

Great place to take a date. Toured the I Survived the Room «Sanatorium» in LIC. The acting was great, The game itself was really fun.
Surreal experience overall. Well Worth it.

Purchased the tickets earlier today on a whim. Ended up being a few minutes late due to train delays. Gentlemen in charge of IES accommodated us for another performance. Could have just turned us away because the website clearly states NO LATECOMERS. Good customer service was really appreciated. Will update later to comment on performance.
UPDATE:
What an experience «I Survived the Room» was. I have been to a few of these room escape performances. However «Sanatorium» at IES Long Island City really sets a very high bar for the rest. I really appreciated the overall quality. From beginning to end «Sanatorium» was such an extraordinary piece of immersive experimental theatre cleverly disguised as an interactive game. The actors remained in character from beginning to end providing the perfect backdrop. The riddles and clues were intelligently fastened together to tell quite an interesting story. Anyone with half a brain would bring a group of friends to experience this. I definitely will be back to attempt the other room.

My first Escape the Room experience and loved it so much that I came back for another. I did the Sanatorium first and we had one hour to escape. Our group of 7 were shackled and handcuffed and placed in two adjacent cells. We had to work through the clues in each room to help each other escape. Sadly we did not escape in time, had about 5 more clues to go. I went back the next weekend to do Club Escape. I kinda wish the Russian lady was as awesome as the mad doctor, as she gave us very little direction. All our hands were tied together in one rope and we had black masks over our heads. We walked down some stairs and were separated into two rooms. Similarly, we used the clues in each room to escape and go through the obstacles. We almost made it to the end but failed. AGAIN.
Really awesome experience overall and would recommend to others. Just make sure to show up early to fill out some waiver forms and you’re good to go!

I went with a group of 6 for a friend’s birthday and did the sanatorium one. It was my first escape the room experience but it was amazing. The rooms were very well designed and the doctor was an amazing actor. We loved it and couldn’t stop talking about it on the way home. We will definitely come back to try the club escape one!!!

First escape room therapy experience and I abosolutely loved it. I went with two other friends and we were placed with groups, making us a group of 8. This definitely involved a lot of teamwork (no spoilers) and it was even more challenging since we had to work with strangers (honestly this made it more fun and exciting). Time flies by when you’re trying to solve these puzzles. When we first went in I was a bit terrified because it’s an asylum and the British doctor (he was awesome!!) made it seem like it would be haunted house plus puzzles experience. But I was wrong, thank goodness! Sadly we didn’t escape, so close yet so far. I really want to experience the ending so I’ll be going again!

This new Escape-​the-​Room action/​play game really brings the level of quality and fun up by a lot!
The story plot is very detailed and well designed. The rooms are very realistic.
I can’t give you anymore information or it will ruin it for you.
This is the fourth Escape-​the-​Room type of action/​play game I have participated in and it is the best so far.
This game is officially open on January 11^th and is the only one in the borough of Queens.
Only six is possible per teams; as of this review.
Tip: #7 train to 33 St. exit or E-​train to Queens Plaza and a short 5 – 10 minute walk on Queens Blvd.

We tried another new escape game and loved it.
If you are not familiar with the new form of live interactive entertainment/“sports and recreation” type of escape game… the consistent point of escape games is a group of people, the audience, will be locked inside somewhere and your goal is to find clues, puzzles and solve them to escape the room, ergo the name, escape games usually with a time limit of an hour.
With this new LIC escape game there was a plot that will play a huge role in the game. Most escapes have a theme but no real plot to follow. This game had a storyline to follow. I love anything with a real plot.
Story involves the game players/​audience. Everyone in the group will be committed into an insane asylum. There is a new twist to these live escape games… you will be handcuffed and shackled while being locked inside rooms in the asylum… everyone has to work together to escape while the clock ticks down. The host is a doctor in this asylum. If you do not escape in time you could be stuck forever in the asylum, noooooooo. Hahahaa, AWESOME! This escape is imperative that you really work together as a team. Great team building activity!
I don’t want to reveal too much. I highly recommend trying this new escape game. It was so fun.
Their Facebook page is