We tried our hand at Rushden Escape Rooms’ new retro gaming-inspired puzzle - did we make it out in time?

Rushden Escape Rooms has launched a new experience inspired by retro gaming, bringing a new set of complex and clever puzzles to the acclaimed business.

Working in collaboration with Thinking Outside the Box, the Newton Road location has revived the Retro room that has been left in storage for a while.

The Northants Telegraph went along to test our intellect to see if we could make it out before the end of the 60-minute time limit.

Retro is built on the premise that players are enjoying a gaming session before lightning strikes, sending the team into the console, who have to find a way out before the back-up battery depletes and traps them in the system forever.

It pulls inspiration from the Nintendo and Sega classics, with set design mimicking the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario, but with brain-busting puzzles akin to The Legend of Zelda.

The room makes full and effective use of the space, and though the first few minutes can be overwhelming as there is no clear place to begin, Retro allows the group of anywhere from two to six players to untangle the mystery from any starting point, as all clues are needed to exit the room.

It welcomes innovative thinking and an out-of-the-box approach, but at times the solution can be devilishly simple, meaning no part of the room feels repetitive.

Our escape plan of systematically working around the area to crack the codes felt fool-proof, but moments later was completely disregarded as careful planning descended into frantic pushing and prodding in the hope that something unlocks or a problem is miraculously solved.

Much to our relief, however, subtle hints are handed out when the organisers feel the team are struggling, giving precious inspiration to solve a problem that may have been plaguing the group throughout.

When we finally turned the key to leave the area with what felt like just moments to spare, it was rewarding to know we’d conquered the challenge, but embarrassing knowing we had been thoroughly out-smarted by the room’s brilliant architects.

Retro has enjoyed a successful opening weekend, and bookings for the room can be made here.