Avatar Stalker is included in our recommendation guides for The Best Online Escape Games for Tweens and Families, The Best Online Escape Games for Large Groups and Avatar Guided Online Escape Games. For more of the best online escape games in these styles, check out the recommendation guides.
Update: Legendary Quests has rebranded as Project Avatar.
Update 11/29/22: If you enjoy Avatar Stalker, we hope you’ll check out our interview with creator Tasha Tarkhanova on The Reality Escape Pod.
Avatar Stalker is an unusual avatar-led escape room livestream, designed specifically for online play, created by Legendary Quests in the Ukraine.
Format
Style of Play: avatar-led livestream of a physical room, but designed specifically for online play
Required Equipment: computer with an internet connection
Recommended Team Size: 2-6
There is also a battle mode where up to 20 players compete on opposing teams, starting in different areas, and meet in the final room where they each hope to win the most points.
Play Time: 60 minutes… and you won’t even see everything in this time
Price: 100 € for up to 4 players + 25 € additional player
Booking: book online for a specific time slot
Description
You give instructions to a silent avatar, who will gather items, unlock locks, and sometimes [redacted] [redacted] on [redacted]. You are not escaping rather, your goal is to collect the maximum score. Oh, and you have to avoid Chickman, while helping Utya Duck.
Hivemind Review Scale
Read more about our Hivemind Review format.
Matthew Stein’s Reaction
Project Avatar stood out as an uncompromisingly unique experience, with its video game aesthetics and thrilling action movie stunts. Avatar Stalker takes a turn even further to the absurd, presented in a style the creators aptly describe as “arthouse-comedy,” and I loved every moment of it. This game is an engaging piece of interactive, replayable, immersive cinema, and the plethora of puzzles and objects hidden throughout the vast physical space are but the interaction mechanics by which to engage participants in a nonlinear journey of exploration. This game has a somewhat untraditional structure: beyond a core sequence of puzzles that are required to finish, your team competes for points by seeking colorful “crafting materials” which the avatar will later dramatically transform into objects worth points. Interacting with certain set pieces triggers very amusing pre-recorded cut scenes, through which you get to meet the hilarious characters of Chickman and Utya Duck. The basement is also filled with a seemingly endless supply of bonus puzzles, which you should not expect to finish if playing for just an hour. Luckily, the company also offers a two-hour play option, as well as a “battle mode” for two teams, where one starts upstairs and the other starts in the basement. As the puzzles are varied but essentially interchangeable, this sounds like an appealing mode of play for larger or more competitive groups.
Brett Kuehner’s Reaction
- + Another bonkers story from the folks behind Project Avatar
- + Always plenty to do and explore
- + Story is bizarre, hilarious, and only matters when it is adding fun to the game
- + Some clever puzzles, several of which require actions you would never be allowed to do in an in-person escape
- + “Cut scenes” are triggered by various actions and are often hilarious
- – If you are subject to motion sickness, you will very likely get queasy
- + The game is so much fun that it is worth the motion sickness
- + Audio mix is perfect – adds atmosphere but does not interfere with talking
- + Dynamically changes soundtrack based on game events
- + Utya Duck!
Cara Mandel’s Reaction
Avatar Stalker is the follow-up game to Project Avatar. Though I have to admit I slightly preferred the first installment of the game in some regards, this game had many standout moments that made it uniquely enjoyable. The story is whimsical and fun and the setting is expansive and filled to the brim with explorable objects and surprises in every room. The game itself isn’t terribly challenging; it’s more of an audio/ video experience with scavenger hunting mechanics. There are several light puzzle moments throughout so puzzle junkies may not be as enthused by that aspect of gameplay, but if you’re looking for an entertaining, super ambitious online game experience, I’d definitely recommend you check this one out!
Peih Gee Law’s Reaction
The folks behind Project Avatar have managed to create another video game-like experience via avatar play, this time a collection-style game in the vein of Animal Crossing, except totally different. Confused? Me too, but in the best possible way.
Immersion: Thanks to some delightfully whacky videos with pretty good production value, I totally bought into this bizarre world. The game takes place in an enormous abandoned building with multiple floors, and they really committed to the characters.
Puzzles: The puzzles are all really short and simple, but there are a lot of them. Things feel slightly chaotic because there is so much to do, in such a short amount of time. The good news is, these puzzles are seemingly “unending.” Basically, you just try to do as many of these puzzles as you can to advance to the next “stage,” while collecting “pieces.” These pieces combine to give you “points” and you’re trying to get the highest score.
Avatar: The avatar was great, with a lot of personality, despite being silent. I also loved the introduction of new characters who you only see in videos, but they still add a lot of personality to the game.
Interface: Just like in their first game, the functionality was great. There is another gamemaster behind the scenes who manages everything, with a soundtrack and videos that would trigger and overlay our view when we entered certain locations or points in the story. I’m continually impressed by the production value from this company.
Theresa W’s Reaction
This company changed gears for their new installment, Avatar Stalker, and focused their efforts on what they did best in the first game. This experience was much more of a scavenging, choose-your-own-adventure type of game with puzzles scattered throughout. They made so many incredible “cut scenes” that played throughout seamlessly and enhanced the experience greatly. The Avatar Stalker team was able to pull off an incredible performance while integrating elements you’d never be able to use in a normal escape room. Don’t go in expecting the first game all over again, as they are vastly different!
Disclosure: Legendary Quests provided the Hivemind reviewers with a discounted play.
[…] The game Gil mentions is Avatar Stalker, from the folks at Project Avatar. He also mentions The Nest, which was first mentioned on the show […]