Honey I shrunk the players.
Location: London, England
Date Played: May 5, 2019
Team size: up to 12 per copy of the game (they have 2 copies); we recommend 4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: £30 per player
Ticketing: Private
Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
We were having so much fun wandering around and looking at things in ORIGENES that we could have accidentally lost this game.
The bizarrely-named ORIGENES shrunk us down and took us through a chapter of clueQuest’s serialized adventure. We had no idea what the rest of the story was because we hadn’t played their other games, but it didn’t matter. Being tiny in this game world was joyous.
At the risk of sounding like Marie Kondo, we’re increasingly finding that a big differentiator for an escape game is how much joy it instills in us while we’re playing.
In the case of ORIGENES, our delight over the set and interactions made this a game that we loved, in spite of an ending that fizzled.
If you’re visiting London and love escape games, ORIGENES is a must-play. For more current information on other great games to play in London, check out the UK escape room blog The Logic Escapes Me. It’s written by Ken Ferguson and he’s a fantastic reviewer.
Who is this for?
- Puzzle lovers
- Scenery snobs
- Players with at least some experience
- Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
Why play?
- A delightful set
- Great set pieces and interactions
- Entertaining puzzles
Story
In order to stop the evil Professor’s plans, we had to shrink down and enter his base.
Setting
clueQuest began our adventure in a shrinking machine. Once we’d figured out how to get our shrinkage on… we entered a delightfully oversized world.
This set was a joy to explore.
Gameplay
clueQuest’s ORIGENES was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, making connections, and puzzling.
Analysis
➕ The world of ORIGENES was fun to explore. The set delivered its own aha moments as we reoriented ourselves as small beings in an oversized environment. Recognizing the huge set pieces and props as real world objects was as fun as anything else in the game. clueQuest didn’t strive to keep the all props and decor to scale against themselves. They didn’t need to. From our shrunken vantage point, each aha was as exciting as the last one.
➕ The oversized mechanisms were a delight to manipulate. The puzzles built into these props solved with satisfying haptic feedback.
➖ We encountered some confusing gameplay as the result of multiple ghost puzzles. We respect clueQuest for removing these from a game already jampacked with content. With a few more tweaks, however, they wouldn’t be so unnecessarily distracting.
➕ The puzzle flow was lovely for the majority of the experience. The gameplay came together well.
➕/➖ One late-game puzzle slowed the pace of gameplay. This sequence had a lot going for it in both story and interaction. It was an interesting take on the “boss battle” puzzle. From a gameplay standpoint, it was a bit too clunky and made the climactic moment drag.
➖ ORIGENES fizzled out at the end. We were coming off a slower puzzle sequence, but with a sense of accomplishment. Then, in order to escape, we had to re-enter the shrinking machine and un-shrink ourselves. While this made narrative sense, it lacked excitement the second time around.
❓ We never felt connected to the story or a part of a larger world and its characters. While they factored into the puzzling, we weren’t invested in their plight.
➕ There was a lot of joy in this game.
Tips For Visiting
- Take public transportation to King’s Cross.
Book your hour with clueQuest’s ORIGENES, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: clueQuest comped our tickets for this game.
