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Escape Troy is officially open, bringing a unique, immersive experience to Pike County for those looking for a challenge.

Escape Troy is owned by Aaron Johnson, who also owns and operates Escape Enterprise in Coffee County. Currently, Escape Troy offers one full escape room along with VR headsets and a mini escape room, which is also portable. Escape Troy plans to bring the mini escape room to events around the area, as well.

“We’re challenging ourselves to create something of excellence that gives people joy and challenges you,” Escape Troy Manager Lelon Creazzo said. “When you go to a movie, you’re just there to watch; you’re not participating, you’re a witness. Here, we’re trying to create an hour-long event where you’re immersed into an experience.”

That feeling of immersion, which Creazzo says is the focal point of Escape Troy, begins the minute you walk through the door.

“It’s a fully immersive experience,” he emphasized. “We are going to challenge you from the minute you walk into the door. You have to figure out how to get into the building from the start of your experience. Part of an escape experience, the kind of experiences we’re creating, is emotionally driven.”

Creazzo said that everything from the music being played to the look and feel of the rooms helps with that immersion. Once someone walks into Escape Troy, the customer is greeted with a note explaining how to enter the building. You can choose from a beginner’s, easier challenge and a more difficult experience.

Escape Troy’s primary escape room is called “Death Row” where those playing will enter a realistic jail cell and are also met with an electric chair. You have to beat the clock and escape your way out of the cell. Escape Troy also offers up a Virtual Reality Suite that features three virtual reality headsets and 13 different experiences.

“I think a lot of our clients enjoy the fact that they’re experiencing something different,” Creazzo said. “It is an escape room but we’re setting a stage and tone and mood that helps you forget that. That’s where the immersive aspect of it comes in. So, it is an escape room but we’re a little bit more than that, too.”

Along with offering individuals, families and groups escape room opportunities, Creazzo said that Escape Troy offers team bonding exercises for businesses, schools and teams.

“We’ll run you through our experiences and then we’ll debrief you after,” he said. “We’ll give you your strengths and your weaknesses at the end of everything.”

Escape Troy doesn’t plan to stop expanding anytime soon, either. Creazzo and Johnson are currently working on Escape Troy’s second full-size escape room and Creazzo said they plan to expand to even more VR headsets, as well.

Currently, Escape Troy is open Thursdays through Saturdays from 3 until 10:30 p.m. The cost for the mini escape room is $2 per person, while VR experiences are $15 per person. The “Death Row” escape room is $30 per person with discounts for bigger groups. While walk-ins are welcome, reservations can also be made online at escapetroy.com. Escape Troy is located at 110 University Boulevard in Troy, next to Moge Tee.