Seoul, Sep 2024
Deepthinker is currently a single game venue, and although the website gives few clues as to the story, the cute cat artwork looked promising. The briefing had me bracing myself for disappointment though, after our (friendly and helpful) host had finished explaining how to enter codes into a phone to receive hints for numbered puzzles, and also how it was a pipeline design where one team might enter the first sections before we’d finished the later ones, and if we were behind time we might need to be moved on before completing all the puzzles.
It’s certainly true that there’s time pressure, despite the light and playful theming – according to the numbering there were over thirty separate puzzles to solve. A larger team might help a little there, but only a little, since it’s a strictly linear room, and in most respects is ideal for playing as a pair; you just need to keep the pace up to get through everything in the 65 minutes provided.
I won’t describe the plot since I think the venue intentionally don’t tell players what it is before they arrive. But it’s both cute and sweet, and also incorporates plenty of elements of traditional Korean culture in the story and decor. It was entirely English-friendly, other than a few audio interludes in Korean that would have provided extra flavour but which weren’t needed for the puzzles or for following the gist of the story.
I would certainly have preferred there to be no numbering of the puzzles, but it was less of an annoyance here than in the other rooms I’ve played that used similar systems. Maybe that was because of the playful fantasy theming, stylised not realistic, so the numbering didn’t interrupt immersion so much. Or maybe it was because we were just having too much fun solving the puzzles.
In a game packed with things to solve, every step had solid puzzle logic; many steps were straightforward, but many were not, and many were clever, creative and original. It took a few minutes for us to get a feel for the game, in terms of puzzle style and whether we were expected to return to areas once we’d left them, but once we’d hit our stride it flowed beautifully. Everything is attractively and colourfully presented, everything ties into the story and the gentle mythology of the game.
The puzzle numbering mostly stopped bothering us; the pipeline structure also was fine, even though after we’d passed into the second half we could hear someone resetting the sections we’d just finished.
Ongyi’s Dream would be ideally suited for families, except that the quantity of content makes it quite a challenging room. But that means it’s an excellent choice for travelling enthusiasts, a delightful game that’s charming and upbeat while still also providing a solid burst of smart and interesting puzzle solving. This one is definitely worth catching if you’re passing through Seoul. 
