Escapepolis – Cosmos 05 Death in Space [Review]

Cosmos 05 Death in Space is one of the best escape rooms in Athens, Greece. Here are our recommendations for other great escape rooms in Athens.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Dave.”

Location:  Athens, Greece

Date Played: March 1, 2020

Team size: 1-5; we recommend 4

Duration: 120 minutes

Price: from €70 per team of 2 to €100 per team of 5

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit

Physical Restraints: [A] Push To Release

REA Reaction

Of all of the games that we played in Greece, Cosmos 05 Death in Space felt like a hybrid of Greek escape room style blended with influences from other parts of the world.

In-game: A seat in a cryo-freeze pod.

As with other Greek games, it was intensely story-driven with a rich world. At the same time, it was more compact and decidedly more puzzle-focused than every other escape room that we played in Athens.

By and large, this was a polished experience. However, the puzzles could have benefited from deeper integration into the already beautiful set.

Not only do I recommend Cosmos 05 Death in Space, but I think that this would be a good starting game for an escape room adventure in Athens.

Who is this for?

  • Story seekers
  • Puzzle lovers
  • Scenery snobs
  • Sci-fi fans
  • Players with at least some experience

Why play?

  • A strong opening scene
  • The AI character interactions
  • Well crafted, layered puzzles
  • A detailed and creative narrative

Story

Our interstellar crew had thawed from cryo-sleep on approach to our destination, Kepler-186f. As we regained consciousness, we were confronted by our ship’s AI supercomputer, ERIK… who seemed committed to prematurely ending our voyage by any means necessary.

In-game: Cosmos 05 ship door.

Setting

Cosmos 05 Death in Space was a starship-based game. It looked great. It had its own aesthetic that felt properly sci-fi.

The game was overseen by an AI-driven robot character ERIK whose personified presence added a lot to the experience. This wasn’t just another GLaDOS or HAL 9000 clone, he served both gameplay and story functions.

An interesting note, the set for Cosmos 05 Death in Space was felt noticeably small for a game in Athens, which meant that it was a normal size by our standards.

In-game: The ceiling of the ship.

Gameplay

Escapepolis’ Cosmos 05 Death in Space was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.

In-game: glowing cryogenic sign.

Analysis

➕ Cosmos 05 Death in Space took place in a polished, futuristic spacecraft. It looked great.

➕ Escapepolis’ sound design was outstanding and the music added to our experience.

➖ While most of the set was beautifully polished, cluing was occasionally just taped onto things. Some of it included lengthy passages to read. This seemed out of place.

➕ The puzzles solved cleanly. They were generally meaty, layered solves.

➖ Although the puzzles quite worked well, they weren’t particularly memorable in their own right.

In-game: Closeup of the panic button, emergency exit.

➕ We received hints through the screens we wore on our wrists. This was convenient, and a fun world-building detail.

➖ For some puzzles, certain connections were left unclued. We needed to rely on the hinting.

➕ We were up against an AI ERIK, who was a main character in our experience. He had just enough personality. Escapepolis balanced our interactions with ERIK so that they added another dimension of play, but didn’t stall the main mission.

➖ The solve that narratively should have been a high-energy, climactic moment fell flat. It played out just like any other puzzle in the experience.

Cosmos 05 Death in Space culminated in an exciting boss battle and the completion of our story and our mission. Of note, we’re told that losing teams still complete a story arc.

Tips For Visiting

  • At the beginning of the game, some teammates will start in tightly enclosed pods.
  • This game is available in Greek or English.
  • Put your wrist device on your non-dominant arm.

Book your session with Escapepolis’ Cosmos 05 Death in Space, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Escapepolis provided media discounted tickets for this game.

1 Comment

  1. 2 hours in a standard sized space – and it didn’t drag at some point? If so, that’s a pretty good barometer for the quality of the game. I’m fascinated by the wrist screen concept and went to the website for a look. No pics of the wrist screen but some nice teaser videos. I’ve always liked the pod concept but realize they are not for everybody.

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