The Vaccine Chase is an online game played through a chatbot created by Enibot, based in Israel.
Format
Style of Play:
- Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
- Play on demand
- Point-and-click
Required Equipment: computer with internet connection
Recommended Team Size: 1-2
Play Time: ~30 minutes
Price: $20 per ticket (per game on a single computer with up to 6 players)
Booking: purchase and play at your leisure
Description
Playing through a chatbot, we had to solve puzzles to usher a research scientist from their lab to the CDC to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine formula.
Note that although the subject matter is sensitive to many people at this time – the game pulls in real-time COVID-19 data and puzzle answers are dynamic – it also treats the material respectfully.
Hivemind Review Scale
Read more about our Hivemind Review format.
Tammy McLeod’s Reaction
This game has a very polished interface, beautiful art, and a catchy soundtrack. The puzzles were generally simple and straightforward. The exception to this is a series of questions about COVID-19, that made me feel exactly like I was doing a worksheet for school. One puzzle had instructions that were completely wrong (perhaps mistranslated). This was a very nice looking game, but the puzzles won’t provide much novelty to the veteran escape room player.
The Lone Puzzler’s Reaction
If you are quarantined and want something that is a light, easy set of puzzles, this online set of puzzles is pretty well done. It is short and it is easy, but it is still enjoyable for the right audience. It does touch on the pandemic, but to me it was pretty light and not a negative. The puzzles are all linear with an easy-to-use interface. The graphics were good, so no difficulties related to hard-to-see puzzle elements or other things that tend to make online puzzles difficult – the puzzle content is easy to follow. Nothing overly memorable, but likely a good time for a small group learning to play puzzles.
David Spira’s Reaction
I really wish that I liked The Vaccine Chase. It felt like the folks who created it put a lot of effort and love into their creation. On the plus side, the chatbot structure worked, and seemed like a robust build with a lot of potential, considering the tracking and scoring. Also, the COVID-19 vaccine content was handled respectfully.
My issue with The Vaccine Chase was that it just wasn’t especially fun or intriguing. It really felt like an edutainment game… which isn’t inherently bad, but at $20 per play, for escape room players, I just don’t see the appeal.
All of that said, there is some potential here. I just learned that one of the creators of my favorite game series of the past decade started off his career making edutainment titles. So, I hope that the folks from Enibot persevere.
Disclosure: Enibot provided the Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.