Room Escape Artist

Amnesia Online is a browser-based escape game created by ParadigmQ in Vancouver, WA.

Format

Style of Play:

• Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
• Play on demand
• Light puzzle hunt
• Included video elements

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection, pen and paper

A printer is not required, but there are documents that you can print out to help with solving the puzzles.

Recommended Team Size: 1-3

Play Time: 60 minutes

Price: $20 per team

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

This is a play-on-demand game where everyone has their own version of the game and plays simultaneously in their own browser. You will need a separate tool like Zoom to see and talk to each other. Answers should be coordinated to keep everyone in sync.

This is a companion game to their on-location game Amnesia (review from Escape Games PDX in July 2017), and can be played before or after the in-person game.

Hivemind Review Scale

Cindi S’ Reaction

Congrats! You’ve been hired by AMN Labs as interns to find and report bugs in their online testing site. But you quickly realize there’s something else going on… if you could only remember! As a companion game to their live-action escape room Amnesia (which I have not played), Amnesia Online is quite fun. The underlying story is light – a few background details would have enhanced the experience. The focus instead is more on the puzzles, which are unique and clever and really make you think. We played in a team of three, and it was helpful having other people to talk through ideas to solve the puzzles. On the other hand, sometimes it was hard to stay in sync, as we were all working off of our own version of the game. Overall, I liked the variety and creativity of Amnesia Online.

Joel Smileypeacefun Reaction

We were hired for a weird job, almost like the test subjects of a crazy doctor. By hacking into his computer, we tried to stop him.

At its best, the theme of the game was nicely implemented. The puzzles were interesting, had a few aha moments, and genuinely felt unique. The story wasn’t mind-blowingly new, but made sense within the game. The platform that the puzzles were presented on looked great too.

At its worst, the game felt pretty short. It could use one more chapter of puzzles to have a bigger impact on the players. Also, some parts had us use Photoshop. The other option would have been printing things out. It’d be nice if these puzzles could be turned into interactive parts where you can drag around pieces with your mouse.

ParadigmQ is definitely on the right track with this one. Wanting more of their game is somewhat of a good thing, after all. They also offer a fun remote escape room SOS: Sasquatch on Site.

Theresa W’s Reaction

Amnesia Online was a neat take on a browser-based puzzle game with fun solves and unexpected twists. The gameplay centered around finding your way through a website and solving some psychological “tests” to onboard the players, while deeper meanings started to emerge around you. ParadigmQ implemented a really interesting story detail that made the experience shine, yet the game just seemed to end abruptly. We occasionally spent more time explaining to other players how to navigate to the puzzle than of actually solving it, so I definitely recommend playing with a smaller team. If you’re looking to introduce new puzzlers to this type of game, this is a good choice!

Disclosure: ParadigmQ provided the Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.