Review: The Curse of the Black Night, EscapeX Rooms, Irvine, California (Orange County)
Fun Factor 8
EscapeX Rooms
17981 Sky Park Circle Suite H, Irvine, California 9261
Date we played: June 5, 2025
Booking size 2 to 6 (we recommend 2 or 3)
Game time: 60 Minutes
Objective: A great curse has fallen on the town. It has long been said that the only way to bring back balance and lift the curse is to return the sword of the great Knight Melkor to its rightful home.
Horror Theme: No. But some moments might be intense or spooky for some.
Difficulty: Intermediate
We had fun playing The Curse of the Black Knight at EscapeX Rooms in Irvine, California gave it a Fun Factor of 8. That rating reflects the expansive, immersive set design and well-executed storyline that transported to a world of knights and curses—even though we were in an office park in Irvine. Irvine, California is in Orange County – which is just souh of Los Angeles County.
The game drops you into a medieval fantasy where you’re tasked with lifting a supernatural curse by finding and then returning a legendary sword to its rightful place. The set is the clear standout here—thoughtfully constructed, visually rich, and designed with a level of vertical and horizontal movement that adds real dimension. Expect stairs, crawling, and kneeling, so teams should take note of mobility considerations.
Puzzle-wise, the room leans toward the intermediate range. EscapeX has structured the game with intuitive puzzle progression and gentle in-game cues that guide players toward solutions. There’s a solid mix of puzzle types—some traditional, some physical, and others more immersive. They are generally linear and serve the narrative well and contribute to the forward momentum. Although the game allows 2 to 6 players, we recommend 2 or 3—possibly 4—as larger groups may find the narrow passages uncomfortably cramped.
What really elevates the experience is the room layout. It unfolds in a way that balances predictability with surprise. The physical transitions—from space to space and level to level—create the feel of a genuine castle. It’s easy to see why this room earned a Top 200 spot on the TERPECA list back in 2019. While the competition has since grown more sophisticated, this room still holds up, especially in terms of atmosphere and immersion…and Fun Factor!
The lighting in this room was a bit of a mixed bag. In keeping with the castle theme, the space was intentionally dim, and EscapeX provided a flickering handheld torch to set the mood and provide additional light. While this added to the immersive atmosphere and aligned well with the medieval aesthetic, it sometimes worked against gameplay. The torch helped us a lot, but the torch’s flicker made it difficult to clearly see certain details—especially when trying to read numbers on a combination lock. We appreciate when lighting is used to enhance mood or direct focus, but in this case, a more functional backup light or slightly increased general lighting levels would have improved the experience without breaking immersion.
What truly enhances the experience is the room layout. It unfolds in a manner that balances expectations with surprise. The physical transitions—from space to space and level to level—create the feel of a genuine castle.
What truly enhances the experience is the room layout. It unfolds in a manner that balances expectations with surprise. The physical transitions—from space to space and level to level—create the feel of a genuine castle.
It’s easy to see why this room earned a Top 200 spot on the TERPECA list back in 2019. While the competition has since become more sophisticated, this room still holds its own, particularly regarding atmosphere and immersion.
That said, we did encounter a few technological hiccups that momentarily took us out of the experience. In one instance, a puzzle triggered prematurely, leaving us unsure whether we needed to restart. Our game master, staying in character, eventually clarified that we’d succeeded—but the delay was somewhat frustrating. After the game, we were informed that this puzzle had required manual intervention recently, which explained the inconsistency. Later in the game, another interaction didn’t register correctly on the first attempt but worked fine when retried. These weren’t dealbreakers, and we appreciated that the staff were attentive and responsive.
On the plus side, sometimes upon completing a puzzle, character voices provide additional content, context, and instructions. We really appreciated that when we went to the newly accessible areas, we found the spoken words were available for us to re-read and ponder at our leisure on a wall plaque—a thoughtful accessibility feature that more companies should consider, as it’s sometimes hard to recall or understand the pre-recorded messages.EscapeX Rooms is located in an office park-like area, so there is plenty of convenient and free parking – always a plus!
If you’re in the area, we recommend checking out Curse of the Black Knight at EscapeX Rooms. We had a great time and believe it still holds up as a memorable, story-rich adventure . If you visit, please let them know you saw a Fun Factor Escape Room Review—and be sure to let us know what you think…and of course, HAVE FUN!
