Category: Reviews

Omescape – Pursuit of Assassin Artist [Hivemind Review]

by Lisa Spira, posted in Hivemind, OMEscape

Pursuit of Assassin Artist is a time loop escape game, created for livestreamed play through an avatar, created by Omescape in San Jose, CA.

The artist walking around in his home.

Format

Style of Play: time loop style escape room, livestreamed and played through an avatar, and designed for livestream play

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection, phone that can call a US number

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 90 minutes

Price: $179 per team, for up to 8 connections

Booking: book online for a specific time slot.

Description

This was a typical avatar-driven game with a pair of twists.

  1. There was a live actor as antagonist.
  2. Your avatar was a character trapped in a time loop. If you – through the avatar – make a critical failure, the avatar dies, and your avatar immediately returns to the start of the game with no memory of what has happened. Everything in the game world reset.

Expect the unexpected. This game plays with time resets, character improvisation, outside knowledge, and accumulated knowledge. Be ready for anything.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

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Oblivity – The Profoctor Predicament [Hivemind Review]

by Lisa Spira, posted in Hivemind

The Profoctor Predicament is a light puzzle hunt created by Oblivity, and set in the world of their podcast.

A person with a rougish look and an eye patch standing beside a uniformed person with a blading head and 1 finger raised.

Format

Style of Play: light puzzle hunt with many audio and video clips for the story

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Of note, the printer is optional, but some reviewers found having printed materials to be extremely helpful.

Recommended Team Size: 1-4

Play Time: The website says there is no time pressure and the game is about the experience, so it should be enjoyed over a couple of hours, with snacks. It’s probably about 60-90 minutes, more if you engage with all the audio and video material.

Price: £5

Booking: To get The Profoctor Predicament, go to their Ko-fi page, linked from their website, and give at least £5. You’ll receive an automated Ko-fi email receipt containing your 8-digit pass-code. Use your pass-code to start the game from the link on their website.

Description

The game takes place within The Profoctor Predicament online game space, and players are advanced from one section to the next by entering numerical answers to puzzles. There is a “base journal” that contains all of the puzzles, and it may be printed or downloaded. Hints are received as audio, video, and written clues, all delivered in character by cartoon figures that represent the cast of the Oblivity podcast. There is no video chat interface for the team of players. We set up our own Google Meet, and then divided up the puzzles.

A maniacal looking person sitting in a futuristic chair in front of a smiliarly complex computer and screen setup.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

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Mystery Mansion Regina – The Detective’s Office [Hivemind Review]

by Lisa Spira, posted in Hivemind

The Detective’s Office is a Real-life escape room livestreamed and played through an avatar created by Mystery Mansion Regina in Regina, Canada.

An old desk with a typewriter.

Format

Style of Play: real-life escape room livestreamed and played through an avatar

Required Equipment: computer with an internet connection; pen and paper were helpful

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: about an hour

Price: $21 CAD per ticket

Booking:

Description

This is a standard avatar adaptation of a live escape room, which includes a first-person live view of the room, a separate webpage for keeping track of your inventory, and interactive views of the room.

Image of a gloved hand using a crowbar on a door.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

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Shine On Collective – Welcome Home [Review]

by Sarah Willson, posted in Los Angeles, Reviews

Dinner and a disappearance.

Location:  at home in Los Angeles

Date Played: September 8, 2020

Team size: 2-4

Duration: about 75 minutes to 2 hours

Price: $40 per person (party of 2) or $30 per person (party of 4)

REA Reaction

Welcome Home was an immersive experience that combined audio storytelling, found objects, light puzzling, and a hot meal delivered to our door.

The experience revolved around a story box created by Shine On Collective, an immersive theater company based in Los Angeles. The story unfolded like an interactive audio play, self-guided and supported by written documents and puzzly interactions. 

Due to the heavy storyline, Welcome Home wasn’t exactly “fun.” The tone was melancholy and sometimes sinister. But Shine On Collective weaved a compelling story about suburban secrets and what it really means to be a good neighbor.

The gameplay aspect of Welcome Home didn’t provide a significant challenge. The interactions were more guided, allowing the story to take center stage.

This was a limited run, but Welcome Home will be returning to Los Angeles on October 23 and 24. If you don’t require a serious puzzling challenge and the experimental storytelling sounds intriguing, Welcome Home is an experience worth investigating.

The closed game box, marked "Welcome Home," with a pamphlet reading "Welcome to Town!"

Who is this for?

  • Story seekers
  • Immersive theater fans
  • Any experience level

Why play?

  • Experimental format
  • Haunting story
  • Help solve a mystery

Story

We had just moved into a new house whose previous occupant had gone missing. Our welcome package of a meal and some information about our new neighborhood led us on a journey to discover Eli’s fate.

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THE BASEMENT – My Name is Jamie [Hivemind Review]

by Lisa Spira, posted in Hivemind, THE BASEMENT

My Name is Jamie is a real-life escape room livestreamed and played through an avatar game created by THE BASEMENT in Los Angeles.

Jamie on the floor and looking very beat up. An elaborate interface surrounds him.

Format

Style of Play: real-life escape room livestreamed and played through an avatar

Required Equipment: computer with an internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-6

Play Time: 45 minutes

Price: $20 per person

Booking: book online for a specific time slot. The bookings are all public with a maximum of 6 players, so you could be playing with strangers unless you buy all 6 tickets.

Description

This is a live escape room played via a live actor. You log in with Zoom to their custom interface, which will include a live feed to the actor in the room, a map, an inventory system, and a whiteboard for taking notes.

An unknown person speaking through and elaborate interface.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

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Continue reading “THE BASEMENT – My Name is Jamie [Hivemind Review]” →