El Bar [The Bar]Unreal Room EscapeEscape roomIRLA tough one to rate, but overall a great experience - even if, sadly, not as great as it once probably was. The Great - epic space and wildly distinct environments. Fun puzzles and moments. Superb set for the space (and only one builder). The twists and turns alone are worth playing this game and it will be a memorable adventure! Good puzzles, several of which were unique. The Questionable - The final room becomes something totally different than the rooms before it and... while it's certainly a twist, I'm not sure I loved it. The last room could've been cut, in my opinion, and the game would've been better for it. I personally never like to finish a game saying "We have questions." The Not Great - A few janky items (especially in the second of the rooms) and poor signposting left me thinking this game needs a little updating for modern standards. Overall, not a must-play (but certainly a "play on your second trip). I'd recommend some of the other Unreal games before prioritizing this one - Los Narcos, Nakatomi Plaza and, espeically, District 111.
Sal's CyberneticsThe Immersive MachineEscape roomIRLFun cyberpunk room! This is a high like from me. It was a tad too easy/short (as 5 players, we had over 20 minutes left on the clock), and you could probably guess the plotline before even reading about the room, but the set and finishing were great, and the Easter eggs were top-notch. A few very fun puzzles that go by too quickly - I wish they'd find a way to throw in a few more puzzles for players moving too fast or, otherwise, allow some of tech-based puzzles to go on longer than they do. The optional costumes are a must, though, folks. Looking forward to IM's 2nd game to release!
Mogollon Monster: Scouting for Arizona's BigfootThe Nemesis ClubEscape roomIRLReally nice game! 5 players may have been too many here, but the puzzles were fun with a few being unexpected. The cinematic moments were fun. Although I liked the other two games here better, (the camping theme is one of my less liked themes in an escape room), this is also easily the best of the camping genre!
EVIL RobotsThe Nemesis ClubEscape roomIRLFantastic puzzle room with a dash of cinematics, and the toughest room at this location. I highly recommend this for people who love a fun prop, a silly story and retro vibe. Not for newbies, bring your "A" game!
Magic RoomNCL Cruises - Norwegian PrimaEscape roomIRLNothing special here, but not a bad game - decent for beginners (so better than the extrmeely difficult one on Royal Utopia). Worth the $19! There's a bonus puzzle that was broken because a passenger took a final key so they try to prevent the players from finding out about the bonus puzzle altogether... Why don't they have extra keys?
Pearl's RoomNCL Cruises - Norwegian PrimaEscape roomIRLActually a very fun game with multiple broken or "ex-"puzzles. Multiple puzzles did nothing which the GM called "decoys" ... but it's pretty obvious they were puzzles before that have been broken since. For one puzzle, a dial was broken which prevented you from solving a puzzle... but somehow it triggered anyway. This would've been a love if not for the broken stuff and the GM not being able to explain what would've happened if not for the broken stuff...
Space Team OneThe Escape CompanyEscape roomIRLEasily the best game here and by far the hardest of the bunch. This is a big improvement over the older Pandorum (which feels about 50% different - enough to rightfully call it a new game), but it's still a little rough around the edges and needs some tweaking before it's great. We ended up getting an extra 25 minutes of time because the GM forgot give us flashlights until 15 minutes in (required for the first room), and the final puzzle broke on us and the GM didnt know how to solve it - we were on the final puzzle for 20 minutes trying to figure it out, but ultimately the GM just gave us the final code (we assume the puzzle wasn't working). Biggest tip: hit the ground running in the first room because it is deceptively large and you will likely need lots of hints if you don't hustle ans bring your A game.
Henchmenโs HeistThe Nemesis ClubEscape roomIRLA gem of a room. Absolutely a must-play, my favorite game at this location, and the best superhero game I've played. Despite being on the easier side, it's justified for this game, which prioritizes humor and story over deep puzzling. Its rare humor can outweigh puzzles for me, but they nailed it here. Play it!
Sherlock Maze 2 Sherlocked Homes DoveEscape roomIRLReally nice and puzzly, this game is tough but doable (I recommend two or three people for experienced players). We needed a few hints and escaped with 10 minutes remaining. Recommended if you like a challenge!
Paradox Project 3: ฮคฮฟ ฮฉฮดฮตฮฏฮฟฮฝ [The Music Academy]Paradox ProjectEscape roomIRLA puzzle-packed breath of fresh air in haunt-dominated Athens, this was a mind-wracking treat and a perfect 600th game!! While not loaded with puzzles, each puzzle can take up to 30 or 45 minutes to solve, which was a unique experience in itself. Absolutely buy a coffee (or two) beforehand (you can bring them in) - kick off your shoes (there will be no running - I wore flip flops), and prepare to be stumped. [Full Review coming later]
The House on the HillLockhill - Nea IoniaEscape roomIRLA phenomenal, near-perfect escape room experience. With the exception of overbearing audio (I recommend ear plugs), this is nearly flawless: moving, emotional, terrifying and, at once, inspiring. This is THE reason to make an Athens escape trip and readily the best here I've played.
ฮ ฮฑฯฮตฮบฮบฮปฮฎฯฮน & ฮฮฑฯฮฑฮบฯฮผฮฒฮตฯ [Chapel & Catacombs]Lockhill - Nea IoniaEscape roomIRLA "meh" from me, this is a large-scale haunted house with a few very simple puzzles. The chapel is the standout room here set-wise with the only great puzzle in the game - the rest of the room was expansive but largely cheap black walls (the word janky was used several times in our group), the puzzles were basic, and the Cthulhu mythos was painfully underutilized. (When the actor warns you about "monsters" - lower your expectations. Cthulhu monsters these are not!). The beginning and end of the game with the actors were great and I do wonder if that's why this is ranked so highly? I'd play this if you want some backstory before House on the Hill, but if you can only play one here, skip this and go right to House.
Evil DeadFortis Fortuna AdiuvatEscape roomIRLThis is a truly good escape room with lots of good jumpscares and the (purposefully gimmicky) splatter - wear white if you can. This is first escape room in Athens I played where I felt they nailed the puzzles in addition to the scares - and a game which knew it was gimmicky and played into it. While I've been surprised by how highly most of the escape rooms in Athens are ranked, and this isn't an exception to that, I can see the argument here: it's a blast...literally. Don't travel to Athens for this, but play it while you're here.
ObsessedDark RiddlesEscape roomIRLA near-perfect blend of puzzling, acting and scares, this is a new top 5 in horror for me. While the plot got a little convoluted for my tastes (unnecessarily in my opinion - much had to be explained after), this is generally a game firing on all cylinders. This retains a number of silly Greece-style escape tropes (bring earplugs!), it is refreshing to find a horror game that uses scares to push the plot forward and still seamlessly delivers quality puzzling. An easy high recommend from me!
The MaidVansa Escape RoomEscape roomIRLReally nice traditional puzzle room and a nice break from the haunted houses at every other escape place. One thing holding back this game is the cluing/signposting. One example: we got stuck on a puzzle because a certain colored light was directed to two things and we spent 8 minutes trying to solve the wrong thing - ultimately this is a rare occasion I wouldve preferred an earlier nudge. For what these puzzles were (mostly standard puzzles), this also felt overlong. This is a 90-minute escape room that for some reason they made into a 150-minute escape room. Ultimately, decent puzzles with a few quite good ones - but is it worth the opportunity cost?
The NunVansa Escape RoomEscape roomIRLA very fun haunted house escape room that nailed the ambience and scares but doesn't come close to top tier on the puzzles. No puzzle will wow you, and the set is quite janky (blank black walls are everywhere and two "doors" were actually just photos of doors wallpapered on). Nonetheless, highly recommended for a fun time!
Jeffrey DahmerNeverland Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThis has very few puzzles, all of which are good, and the acting was top-tier, but the subject matter made this more of a brutal experience than a positive one - leaving me questioning if real serial killers should ever be the focus of an escape room. I do wonder if the explicit violent (forced) sex scenes were intended to be more for show, and a "yay congratulations!" at the end felt completely out of place. Plotwise, you're investigators working with police, but theres no way a real trained officer would sit back and watch someone being abused without calling for help or intervening, so the story felt quite unnatural. Also: terribly loud audio, inaudible walkie talkies (because of said audio) and real handcuffs with no safety release...
MaestroHorror ProductionsEscape roomIRLThis is a great nonhorror room that for some reason has a horror veneer. The constant horror-y elements, screams and scares are fun but detract from the story being told and are never quite explained or justified. Puzzles are mostly good though very easy. And the theme and setting are awesome. Where this room shines is in exploration of the space - the set is SUPERB - and in the storytelling, which (with the exception of the random horror-ness about it) is logical and unravels coherently. Not sure if this is just an Athens thing, but the audio was comically loud and melodramatic. When you start the intensity at 90% there's not much progression to 100. This would be much more coherent and enjoyable if it started, say, around 30% and built to a climax. Acting was excellent and I'd highly recommend this room!
The Ghost WriterHorror ProductionsEscape roomIRLReally good room and on the edge for me - "heart v. thumbs"... The jumpscares are fun, silly and totally unjustified by the plot - and most of the plot was completely lost on us (some of it our fault), but the puzzles were fun, and the use of the space was excellent. Highly recommend, but prioritize Maestro by this company for the storytelling, unique theme and sheer scale of the project.
Hide N SeekBraniac Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLSome really good stuff here, despite this being one of my least favorite themes. The acting was outstanding, the puzzles were largely interesting, and it has one of the coolest beginnings of any room I've played (... caffeine for extra jitters, anyone?). The scares, however, seemed to drag on to the point of actively interrupting gameplay, which isn't a feeling I like. I love a game where actor interaction (or figuring out how to avoid them) itself becomes a puzzle, but here running and hiding really is the only name of the game, and any puzzle that repeats can get dull. An excellent cinematic also overstayed its welcome and didn't feel entirely safe in the moment. A warning: the actor WILL harm you (though mildly) if you're caught. This didnt bother me much but it was quite surprising when I was caught the first time - we're not in Spain or the Netherlands anymore folks...
![El Bar [The Bar]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/79d45817-8cd7-45e1-a3ea-31662769577a.jpg)
![Paradox Project 3: ฮคฮฟ ฮฉฮดฮตฮฏฮฟฮฝ [The Music Academy]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/407ac41a-f718-4125-820f-57f0f7666598.jpeg)
![ฮ ฮฑฯฮตฮบฮบฮปฮฎฯฮน & ฮฮฑฯฮฑฮบฯฮผฮฒฮตฯ [Chapel & Catacombs]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/0855dcf0-1ad4-496c-abdd-f8f4e681ba4a.jpeg)
