Red Sun [創世紀]

Rostart Games - Nanjing Samin Pavilion (Taipei, Taiwan)

Time limit: 80 minutes (70 + 10)

Age limit: Children under 12 require an adult

Player limit: 4-10 (recommended 6-8)

Difficulty: Hard

Date visited: July 2025

For our inaugural escape room adventure in Taiwan, we headed to Rostart Games to play Red Sun, their only “English-friendly” game to date. The first thing to note is that the GMs in Taiwan typically do not speak English well enough to communicate or may have to use translation devices if necessary. But if you are an experienced player, you will already be familiar with the customary rules so it should not be a major issue. That said, having someone who can speak Mandarin will eliminate all of these concerns and pave the way for a much smoother experience.

My expectations for Red Sun were modest. Taiwan has very limited space and is known to be rather cost conscious. That said, the tech equipment and labour costs are also cheaper, and the locals are geniuses at getting bang for their buck. These were my preconceived notions as we entered the room. One of the first things I saw was a wall-mounted air-conditioning unit (talk about breaking immersion!), but given that it was 35°C outside, this was a compromise I’d take every time!

Red Sun was much bigger than I had anticipated, with multiple sections of varying sizes and at one stage requiring the team to split into two groups. The background story featured a blend of ancient history, cultures, and religions, enabling the theming to traverse all kinds of settings from Aztec to Egyptian to Ancient Chinese. The tech was excellent and well-hidden, and the puzzles were mostly strong and aligned with the various settings. One contraption in particular was really cool and had all of us singing its praises afterwards.

On the downside, the room definitely looked and felt on the older side, with some props and wallpapers suffering from obvious wear and tear. There was a clear distinction between the ready-made props they had purchased and the ones they made themselves, with the former looking more professional and the latter looking more homemade. A couple of props required for solving puzzles were so worn that it became difficult to comprehend the symbols.

This room was labelled as having an “English version” because players would be handed a notebook containing both Chinese and English. It’s essentially a puzzle guide that lets you know which puzzle to do next as you progress through the different areas, and provides a subtle clue to get your started. It is technically true that you can play this room without any knowledge of Chinese, but there is one area — and one puzzle in particular — where being able to read Chinese characters would save you a ton of time. If you don’t have anyone who can read Chinese on your team, you basically have to treat the characters as complex pictograms.

Their hint system was one we had not encountered before. We were given a walkie talkie that we could use to ask for a clue at any time, but we were also handed two silver coins that we could redeem as “life lines” to summon our GM into the room to provide direct assistance on a puzzle. We weren’t really sure how this worked so we gave it a try towards the end when we got stuck on a puzzle, and lo and behold, she literally appeared next to us seconds later! There were apparently 8 more coins scattered throughout the room if we ever needed them, but we didn’t even find a single one!

One final noteworthy thing is that the room is split into two parts. Part I has a limit of 70 minutes, while Part II resets your time to a limit of 10 minutes with no carry over of unused time from Part I. As this was a somewhat multilinear room that separated the team at one stage, they also showed us a video at the very end explaining how each puzzle is solved. This was a nice touch for a completionist like myself.

In all, Red Sun was a mixed bag with many positives. The large size of the room was a pleasant surprise and the puzzles were mostly clever and impressive. Unfortunately, the theming and production value couldn’t quite match its lofty ambitions and ideas.

Escape time: 68 minutes out of 80 (64 out of 70 minutes for Part I; 4 out of 10 minutes for Part II).

Theming	Atmosphere	Puzzles	Creativity	Fun
B-	B-	B	B+	B

Verdict: A solid room with an array of challenging puzzles and a concept that allowed for a blend of different themes. Slightly let down by some of the less-than-professional props and wear and tear, but still a fun experience for those looking for a mostly English-friendly room in Taipei.

OVERALL RANK:

H	E	Z	J
B-	B-	C+	B