Athens, Apr 2023
This was the third scary game we played in a row, but was a change of pace in several ways. For a start, it was considerably more of a puzzle challenge. And I felt that it wasn’t designed with the aim of scaring the players via chasing them or jump scares, but rather it aimed at telling a particular dark story, where the scenes and peril of that story tend to cause fear.
I went into the game knowing nothing at all about its plot, and that seemed a good way to approach it, so I’ll be deliberately vague here. But it has an initial premise that’s self-referential and wildly clever, from which the story grows. To give a rough idea of the theming, you could describe much of the decor as steampunk, though that term doesn’t do justice to the originality of this design.
There are a number of characters, and you are both audience and – sometimes – participants in what’s happening, though with limited ability to affect events except in the predetermined storyline. I found a couple of the scenes unpleasant from the nature of their content, particularly since we weren’t able to intervene, in a way that made it a little harder to enjoy. That said, the staging and the drama is very effective, as well as visually striking.
The puzzles were challenging and smart, and seemed tougher than in most of the other games we played on this Athens visit. Although (or because) it’s not exactly a fear experience, it was scary in a much more sophisticated way that someone suddenly jumping out and screaming in your face.
I still find myself holding back slightly in my recommendation; it was hugely impressive more than it was viscerally fun. At points it perhaps felt a bit guided, alternating between sections where we were driving it forwards and sections where we were passive spectators.
Maybe that’s a matter of taste. What’s undeniable is that this is a first rate immersive experience, in concept, in the quality and scale of the build, in the performance and costumes. It’s a blended experience rather than a classic escape room, but strip all the performance elements out and there would still be a top-level escape room remaining. 
