Studio Escape (Osaka, Japan)
Time limit: 60 minutes
Age limit: None
Player limit: 2-4
Difficulty: Medium
Awards: Grand Prix for Mystery Solving (2020)
Date visited: December 2024
After playing Madame LeClaire and the Seance of Death and For Queen and Country back-to-back, we enjoyed a nice dinner at Namba Parks before returning for our final room and Studio Escape’s earliest game (albeit updated) — The Dame and the Diamond — without E, who went shopping instead. I had told her that if she were to miss any room, this would probably be the one, considering it’s their oldest and lowest-rated room on Morty. Moreover, The Dame and the Diamond is a “film noir” room, the same genre as one of our favourite games of all time, The Marlowe Hotel at The Cipher Room, and I feared the former would compare unfavourably to the latter.
I now feel terrible for this suggestion, because The Dame and the Diamond was yet another unmissable game from Studio Escape, a timeless classic that is absolutely on the same level as their other games.
What makes The Marlowe Hotel special is its black-and-white aesthetic; what makes The Dame and the Diamond special is its movie-like narrative and props, and most of all, the witty detective voiceover throughout that made us feel like we were literally in a nostalgic film noir adventure set in 1940s Chicago.
Like all of Studio Escape’s games, The Dame and the Diamond is highlighted by gorgeous sets, immaculate attention to detail, and incredibly hi-tech, well-hidden, story-driven puzzles that satisfy the desire for dopamine hits, without being too difficult or frustrating. Again, the hint system is seamless integrated into the narrative, such that the gamemaster’s presence is entirely absent, and you don’t even know if you are being given a hint or if it’s just part of the story.
There is a lot of written, audio, and video material in this game, and all of it feels like it has been produced by a professional studio that specialises in each of these aspects. As with the other Studio Escape games we played, The Dame and the Diamond contains timely laugh-out-loud humour, a twisting storyline with multiple surprises, and magical moments that make you go “wow” and scratch your head trying to figure out how they thought of such an ingenious idea.
One of the things Studio Escape does really well is transitioning between different spaces. Most escape rooms have stories that are confined to a single location, but Studio Escape cleverly manages to take you from place to place in an organic and smooth way that keeps the immersion intact.
The Dame and the Diamond was a wonderful and pleasant surprise. We absolutely adored this room and had a blast “performing” in this film noir adventure. Like in Madame LeClaire, there was a bar waiting for us after the escape, with different cocktails and mocktails to buy this time! Our gamemaster also showed us a book containing the designs and materials from their construction of the room, and even revealed how she pulled off one of the particularly awesome transitions in the game.
Our day at Studio Escape was the highlight of our entire Japan trip, and we can’t wait to come back when Shadow Zen is up and running again. I hear they are also in negotiations for a new venue and a new game that will hopefully be released in 2025.
Escape time: 45 minutes out of 60
Verdict: A fun and wickedly funny experience that cleverly immerses you in an exciting and memorable film noir adventure.
Rating: 9.43
Player | Theming | Atmosphere | Puzzles | Creativity | Fun | Average |
H | 9 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 10 | 9 | 9.2 |
Z | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9 | 9.5 | 10 | 9.5 |
J | 10 | 9.5 | 9 | 10 | 9.5 | 9.6 |
Rating | 9.43 |
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