The Escape Games in "Geheimgang 188" in Winterthur combine tricky puzzles with exciting stories. Three of us were allowed to test one of the four virtual reality escape games.
The mysterious iron door, above which is written in yellow Geheimgang 188, leads into the catacombs of the former Sulzerhalle 188. The combination lock in the logo indicates that you have to crack puzzles down there if you want to successfully return to daylight. The décor downstairs is also stylish and well thought-out - even the deposit boxes have names of well-known personalities like Sherlock Holmes.
Three of us arrive punctually at the reception desk, where we are immediately greeted. After a short wait and the subsequent fitting and explanation of the equipment, we are divided into two groups in two rooms.
The Dagger of Time in the test
We chose "The Dagger of Time", one of the two games that can be played with three people. The game starts with an introduction, during which we choose our character on the one hand and we learn how to move in VR and how to grab or throw something on the other. We fool around and try things out until it finally starts.
The game is about saving the Empress Kaileena from an evil mage who is trying to restore the sand in the hourglass to create an army of sand monsters. To do this, we receive the Dagger of Time after the first successfully solved puzzles, which gives at least one character the power to control time. As soon as this character holds the dagger in his hand, he can slow down, stop or even rewind time. The other two characters also receive a weapon each in the course of the game: a sword and a hammer.
The pitfalls of the game
But the use of the weapons - apart from the hammer - is not that easy, especially if you have to time it exactly or if you have to hit something with the sword. In some tasks, the team challenge becomes a test of patience and you can quickly see how individuals react to it.
It was a pity that the one headphone did not work optimally and the connection between two players was thus cut on one side. Although our colleague reported this several times, the match management unfortunately did not react to it. Strange, because when my controller dropped out at short notice, he was immediately with me. It was explained to us afterwards that although the technology was now running very stably, VR was still in its infancy and bitched from time to time.
We mastered the 60-minute challenge, which is rated "difficult", in about 82 minutes. There are relatively many repetitions in the game as far as the tasks are concerned. Towards the end of the game, we got a bit fed up as a group and said so several times. That's probably why we got a tip from the game leader more and more often to move forward more quickly.
Conclusion: Recommended
Overall, however, I can recommend the game. The graphics of the fascinating world of Prince of Persia are very well realised and the possibility to interact as a team is very funny. Even our VR newcomer who initially said, "Hmm and this is the future? We're all going to be in boxes like that." had a lot of fun and found the experience exciting.
Secret passage 188 has three more VR Escape games from Ubisoft: The Lost Pyramid, Beyond Medusa's Gate and Huxley. Whether there will be more games in the future is still written in the stars. The main sales still come from the classic Escape games. This is because the VR offer is not yet so well known. Many customers only book VR when they see the offer on site.
I would say, try it out directly!
More info: geheimgang.ch/
Photos: tancredifotography
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