Mystery Lab – The Requiem [Review]

The Requiem is one of the best escape rooms in Athens, Greece. Here are our recommendations for other great escape rooms in Athens.

“How big is this place?”

Location:  Athens, Greece

Date Played: March 2, 2020

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 120 minutes

Price: from €28 per player for teams of 2 to €18 per player for teams of 6

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating:  We’re unsure what fire escape measures there were, if any. More Info.

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Requiem was a thrilling adventure through a massive set.

This was the second exorcism escape game that we played in Athens, but it was completely different from El Exorcista. This game was far less frightening and far more player- and set-driven… and the set had a lot to offer.

For me, The Requiem was among the most fun experiences that I had in Athens. I genuinely loved exploring the game’s world. I say this because as you read the analysis section, you’ll find a lot of criticism. The weakness of The Requiem was in Mystery Lab not fully seeing their designs through to completion from a game design standpoint. They repeatedly built something incredible, but left us wanting more from it.

Nevertheless, I wholeheartedly recommend The Requiem because of its strengths. The sense of adventure was palpable.

Who is this for?

  • Horror fans
  • Adventure seekers
  • Story seekers
  • Scenery snobs
  • Players with at least some experience

Why play?

  • It was huge
  • The set was captivating
  • It was thrilling

Story

Priest Jeremiah’s Godwine had sent an urgent letter to the Vatican requesting assistance with a demonic exorcism. We were sent to investigate.

Setting

I wish that I could show you any images from this game.

The Requiem was large and beautiful. It was structured to feel massive. We were constantly revealing new corridors and chambers. Traversing the set was half of the fun of this escape game.

The materials used to build this game felt solid and authentic.

There were actors in The Requiem, and they were critical to the experience, but they were primarily a haunting presence. This worked well.

Gameplay

Mystery Lab’s The Requiem was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and keeping fear in check.

Analysis

➕  The Requiem was a high-energy thriller escape room that used space brilliantly. The set was surprisingly spacious. Moreover, it was constructed all around itself, making use of every bit of horizontal and vertical space. Mystery Lab kept us on edge by continually pushing us through this large and winding gamespace.

➕/➖ Some of the sets were especially haunting with detailed designs and builds. Other sets seemed practically forgotten. These looked bare and felt under-designed.

➖ While we appreciated that dim lighting made sense in some scenes, we were continually frustrated by the lack of lighted workspaces, or even of flashlights. We had less than one flashlight per player.

➕ The gameplay flowed well. The Requiem leaned more heavily into observation and connection than deeper puzzling. This worked well for this style of light-horror (by Athens standards) thriller escape game that was more about the adventure than the solves.

➖ Mystery Lab fumbled a solo moment. While it should have upped the drama, it only stalled the gameflow and had no payoff – for the solo player or the rest of the group. It was a wasted opportunity.

➕/➖ Mystery Lab constructed an incredible and massive setpiece… and we did get to use it, but it felt deeply underused.

 The Requiem included a weak fetch quest to cram in another jumpscare, which fell flat. There was no surprise.

➕/➖ Upon reflection, we loved the execution of one video-gamey puzzle.

➖ The final scene wasn’t as impactful as it should have been.

➕ Mystery Lab used practical effects to create dramatic, memorable moments.

Tips For Visiting

Book your session with Mystery Lab’s The Requiem, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Mystery Lab provided media discounted tickets for this game.

2 Comments

  1. I’m curious if you know of any escape rooms in the United States which are huge in scope or set. (Doesn’t sound like anything comes close to Greece, but still looking for larger ones.)

    1. The US absolutely has larger games. 13th Gate Escape in Baton Rouge is probably the strongest example.

      In NJ and PA, Trap Door has some physically large games.

      The thing that really stands out to me about many of the games that we played in Athens was the mixture of size, game length, and innovation… we talked more about it in the Greece Field Report (which I suspect that you read) https://roomescapeartist.com/2020/05/19/field-report-greek-escape-rooms/.

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