Room Escape Artist

The donuts were great

Location: Athens, Greece

Date Played: January 27, 2025

Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 3-5

Duration: 120 minutes

Price: from 60€ per player for teams of 2 to 29€ per player for teams of 6

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: All players need to climb a ladder, crawl, and hide. There was fog.

Emergency Exit Rating: [F] We were locked in a confined space while an open flame was lit.

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Hide N Seek is a complicated game to review.

On one hand, Hide N Seek was an aesthetically impressive, intense horror game that mostly hit the mark. It had a strong intro (with amazing donuts), solid performer-driven gameplay, and an impactful conclusion. I just wish that Brainiac Escape Rooms had managed player consequence better.

On the other hand, Hide N Seek played insanely loose with fire safety. Brainiac Escape Rooms chose to introduce an open flame fueled by a powerful accelerant into a game with little-to-no emergency exit infrastructure. At the point where a flame was lit, I can say with confidence that we could not have escaped had there been a fire.

The open flame and accelerant were 100% unnecessary. There were other safer ways to convey the narrative beat that would not put Brainiac Escape Rooms’ players, employees, neighbors, and first responders in danger. We have written an open letter to the Greek Escape Room Owner community exploring the fundamental danger of fire as a trend in this region. If things don’t change, we believe that it’s a question of when — not if — someone dies in an escape room in Athens.

So long as Brainiac Escape Rooms is using an open flame in Hide N Seek, we do not recommend it. If this element is removed, then we are open to reevaluating our conclusions on this game.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Horror fans
• Best for players with at least some experience

Why play?

• The donuts
• Strong set design
• Intense actor-driven horror
• The donuts (I had another before leaving)

Story

While enjoying a drink and some donuts at our favorite cop bar on Halloween, we received a call to investigate a disturbance.

Setting

Hide N Seek begins in an exceptionally detailed Boston cop bar, complete with donut and water service. While the donuts were not the kind served in the United States, they were exceptional. I was much happier with these than the donuts that I am more familiar with (although I love both types.)

I want to be clear: the bar that we began the experience in was not the setting of the game itself. It was the location we (the police) were in when we received an emergency call.

Brainiac Escape Rooms is very secretive about the setting for the game itself, which was well designed and looked compelling… but wasn’t a mind-blowing reveal. Nevertheless, I am respecting their wishes here because I don’t think that the setting itself will be the determining factor in anyone’s decision to play Hide N Seek.

Gameplay

Brainiac Escape Rooms’ Hide N Seek was a horror escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around hiding, avoiding a menacing character, exploring the space, and solving puzzles.

Analysis

❌ Brainiac Escape Rooms used a blowtorch in a confined space, while players were in a space without any kind of fire exit.

❌ Hide N Seek used emergency push-to-exit buttons as a normal game interaction. This was made worse by the fact that there did not appear to be emergency release buttons for the game itself.

➕ The intro Boston pub set was compelling, and a very fun environment for on-boarding. It felt playful, comfortable, and relaxed.

➕ I’ve mentioned this a few times in this review, but the donuts served at the start of the game were amazing. I want more.

➕ The set design in general was strong. We always had a sense of presence, and each space within Hide N Seek clearly conveyed what it was. The set and performance elements were elevated by strong light and sound design.

➕ As the name Hide N Seek implies, there was a menacing character that would stalk and pursue us. Brainiac Escape Rooms provided good hiding places and enough of them. Additionally, the menace was good at adapting to the movements and ability of each player. The performers did a great job.

➖ While the menace was well-performed, we felt like the consequences were trivial and at times silly. This is always a problem when a menacing performer can catch players early in the game. (Read more on this subject.)

➕ While Hide N Seek was intense, it didn’t lean hard into jump scares.

➕/➖ Hide N Seek’s puzzles were generally pretty good for an intense horror game. One mid-game process puzzle left us wanting to pop an acetaminophen after it went on so long.

➕/➖ The end sequence was both very cool and lingered for far too long.

Tips For Visiting

• There was a great and affordable restaurant across the street called, Simply…Delicious (Απλά..Γευστικό).
• There appeared to be street parking in the area.
• For more about fire safety, please read Fire – Forbidden Escape Room Elements and An Open Letter to the Escape Room Owners of Athens Regarding Fire Safety in Your Games