Chamber: The Bistro (Prague)

 Out of this world!

Dearest customer,

First of all, let us express our sincere gratitude for your life long-term support of our little shop. It is thanks to such enthusiastic fans that we are here!

We want to let you know that we’ve stocked up on a ton of comics, books, games, and other stuff that’s been unavailable lately. We’ve also managed to find a few rare pieces that might interest you as a comic geek.

The main and most interesting new item is definitely The Bistro, an absolute rarity, which many a comic book collector is interested in. And because we value you so much, we wanted to offer this issue to you first!

If you are interested in coming to see the comic and coming to see the comic and have a chat about a possible price, please stop by Cosmix, our store in Anděl, Prague. The exact address is Staropramenná 12. We’ll look forward to your visit..

Sincerely,

Alice Králíčková

COSMIX

Before I go full on into our review, I should point out that we played what could possibly be classed as a nearly ready Beta test of this game. It was still being fine tuned, but for all intents and purposes, it was a complete game.

We were in Prague for the Prague Escaping Summit, which included a conference and a couple of large immersive experiences – of which, we played ChamCorp. A perk of attending this event was that we got a chance to book in for the newest game by The Chamber, The Bistro, before it opened to the public.

Because slots were limited, we teamed up with a couple of relative unknowns, a team who goes by the name S2. Yes, that S2, the amazingly wonderful couple of Sarah and Sharan who have played well over 3,000 escape rooms. It was an honor to team up with them.

The venue for The Bistro was just a few minutes walk from our Botel (yep, that’s not a typo. Hotel + Boat = Botel), so we made it there with plenty of time to spare, and S2 turned up a few minutes later having driven over from their hotel. Parking seemed limited in the area, but there was some available.

When we arrived we were greeted by three of the staff at The Chamber and instructed to put any possessions in the lockers provided. With that done, we descended the stairs to the basement where the games were located.

Outside of the entrance to the Cosmix comic book shop we received our briefings and then we were on our own.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

First impressions were truly delightful. Just a wonderfully colourful room filled with colour and interesting things to look at – although it was on the cosier side! It helped that this area was playing music and we entered when it was playing one of my all time favourite songs – it’s like they knew it was my birthday (yes, it was actually my birthday).

It’s hard to talk about the set design of The Bistro without giving away the surprises, so I’m going to be particularly cryptic and stay light on the details. Suffice to say that this game takes you on a journey that is a bit bonkers, and a joy from start to finish.

This game was new, very new, so of course nothing was broken or showing any wear and tear. The set was beautiful, well I don’t know if beautiful is the word, cool? Yes, let’s go with that. This game was cool! As I was playing this game with three geniuses, I was able to just float along and I found myself just looking at all the lovely little details and cool design choices.

If you’re a comic book person or sci-fi fan (nerd?) then pay attention as there are plenty of little Easter eggs to give you a laugh. I’d be surprised if most people didn’t understand the movie reference in the final ‘scene’.

This game is not remotely accessible for those with limited mobility. Ignoring the fact that it’s in the basement, you’ll need to climb and descend ladders, crawl, duck, and generally navigate awkward surfaces.

PUZZLES

I was told that one key element of this game was like a certain video game that is high octane and set in a similar theme. I’ve personally not played it, but if I was to mention the name of the game, it would give away a lot, so I won’t. But what I will say is that this game has a bit of everything; teamwork, communication, minor searching, logic, pattern recognition, more teamwork, more communication, reactions, and colour. One puzzle in particular relied heavily on colour, so that was fun…

This was a tech heavy game, and there were no padlocks in use at all.  Solving puzzles generally resulted in something triggering or unlocking, but it was always clear what had happened and where we needed to go next.

Signposting was generally pretty good, especially considering it was a beta-test but there were a few areas where it could (and probably will) be improved.

Gameplay seemed quite linear in a number of places, but there were some occasions where we could split up and work on things simultaneously, and one key section where we were working both together and independently of each other.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

I’m never quiet about my love for clue systems that go above and beyond and do something different to just using, for example, walkie-talkies. The Bistro does exactly that, at least it does in the latter part of the game. I’m not actually sure how one would have gotten help in the first section, but later on it’s very clear where help comes from, and it’s adorable.

ANYTHING ELSE

Even though we played a beta-test of this game, it was close enough to being complete that I’m happy to be able to review it as it is, especially as it was a fun game.

We didn’t actually manage to play any other games by The Chamber on this trip, but from what I hear, this was a bit of a step up from their other games, so it will be interesting to see if it makes an appearance in the 2026 TERPECAs, certainly enough nominators will have played it in time.

The feedback that our group gave The Chamber on how to improve/refine the game was limited to audio volumes and subtle signposting, so nothing major at all.

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 5 Players

Address: Staropramenná 530/12, 150 00 Praha 5-Smíchov, Czechia

Website: https://thechamber.cz/en/