Παρεκκλήσι & Κατακόμβες [Chapel & Catacombs]

In the weeks leading up to my inaugural trip to Athens, I wondered what my reaction to Chapel + Catacombs would be. I had never played a horror room with that level of intensity. And some other players placed it fairly low on their recent rankings, in spite of the room placing #1 on Terpeca in 2022. I found the room itself to be fun and fascinating, and a great way to calibrate my expectations for what I would find throughout the rest of Athens. Darkness, fog, multiple actors, cinematic scenes and extended play times were common threads throughout my time playing in the city. Something that makes this room unique is the seamless overworld in which it takes place: the village of Lockhill. Everything from the onboarding, to the payment processing, to the unlocking of the room itself was all seamless and theatrical. A little role-playing from our team pulled us even further into their dark world. Unfortunately, this lead to a confusing interaction during the debriefing, at which point we didn’t know if we were supposed to leave, or wait for something else to happen. Our post-game photo kinda sucked too, a better quality camera or better lighting in the photo area would have helped with that. The game itself? Wow. HUGE. I’d never seen that style of acting and choreography in an escape room before. Very cool and dramatic. The puzzles were the right amount of difficulty too…not really hard, but often using darkness itself as a force multiplier. We wished we would have had a little more light, especially throughout the second half of the experience. We only had 2 light sources for a team of 4, which meant that half the players didn’t really have the agency to explore the Catacombs on their own. One of those light sources kept falling apart on us too, which was annoying. In addition to being a HUGE game, this was also a LONG game. Maybe a little too long, since there were points in the second half of the room where one of our players actually felt a little bored. I kinda agree. There is a good deal of searching in this part of the game, and if you don’t find what needs to be found, the experience can drag on a bit. And if you don’t have a light source, you can’t do too much. I wish I could discuss more about the actors (were there 2? Or 4??), the character mechanics (there is some light pursuit), and the finale (there’s a great set-up for House on the Hill). We had a great time in spite of the uncomfortable heat, the AC units could not keep up with the summertime temperatures in the building. This game has great bones, but is in need of a 2.0 version that streamlines the gameplay somewhat. I can’t wait to play House on the Hill!

A "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.

Lockhill has its own twist on Athens horror. Chapel & Catacombs consists of three different areas, they feel distinctive and each has its own restrictions and is occupied by a different character. We've had loads of fun interacting with the different characters while solving the game. I must say the set was mostly let down. The Chapel is impressive, but you spend most of the game surrounded by black walls. It felt run down, and it was very dusty. Someone even got a splinter. I understand that it would be very hard to detail every corner of a set on this scale, but I was expecting more after being in the beautiful Lockhill village. Lockhill has great in-character onboarding where you are able to use the bathroom, and you can ask for a lighter version or for a version completely without scares. Lockhill is also one of very few companies in Athens that provides safe word, which I appreciate. It makes me feel like they actually care about the well being of players. This makes me want to recommend this game to non-horror players / horror beginners. Over all, this room is fun, there are reasons to play, but I wouldn't say that it's an absolute must do in Athens now. ... Though it is a good intro for the House on the Hill.

Simply the greatest room of all time. Cannot stress how much this game has haunted me since I experienced it. It is beautifully cinematic, lovingly crafted, and straight up horrifying.

Some places are built from stone, some from echoes. C&C is the former, a game that influenced the foundations of an industry. I felt like the chapel still had that magic… mystery, spectacle, impressive solo moments. But the closer we came to the catacombs, the less interested I became. That’s not to say it was bad, but the middle didn’t affect me like the first forty minutes or the final ten.

Game 11 of 17 of Our Athens Tour - Where do I even begin? This game is GIGANTIC, with varying sets that morph and change and progress with you as you work on the story. The story is clear despite the chaos the actors make sure ensues around you. I have nothing but respect for everyone at Lockhill for this absolutely out of this world experience. Of the full horror games we’ve played in Athens so far this one was by FAR the most fun. The cinematic portions were gorgeous with payoffs WAY, WAY down the line. The other scares (of which I will be intentionally vague) were perfect and held their purpose perfectly. The puzzles were simple, and frankly not the point of this behemoth of an experience, but they solved cleanly when we were calm enough to put them together. This was my 100th game, and it easily ranks among my favorites from beginning to end. Thank you Lockhill for an unforgettable experience.

Absolutely great room!!

Highly recommend! The storyline is very immersive and the actors are incredible! The special effects were on point! The room sets an incredibly high standard, and has so many elements!

This room lived up to the hype and everything about it was so good!

Absolutely terrifying and incredible. Set to our own pace... perfectly timed lighting effects. Unbelievable.