Continuum: Strangers (Poznan)

Don’t read. Just play.

The police once again received a report about noises coming from an old house in the forest near Lake Gałęzisty. Due to the fact that the local law enforcement officers are not very knowledgeable, they have come to you to help them drive away once and for all a gang of teenagers, known as “Strangers”. This seemingly simple mission gets out of control at the very beginning…

When we were planning our Polish escape room trip we consulted TERPECA like we always do, and made sure the top games were the anchors for each city. Then we started to branch out and fill in the blanks, adding games that were new or were recommended to us.

One such recommendation came from someone who’s been in the industry for a long time, and he said “…Strangers is so different and strange that I think it’s worth you playing”. So how could we not play it?!

We had also had a recommendation for another game at Continuum, Personality, which we played the day before. We enjoyed that game so had high hopes for Strangers but we went into this game knowing absolutely nothing about it.

Strangers is on a different floor to Personality, but still very easy to find, thanks to all the signage on the door. It’s also in the same building as DreamScape who have Dead Man’s Revenge, so that’s convenient!

We arrived, and were instantly thrown into the story as we were greeted by a detective working on the case of the missing strangers. We sat in the darkened hallway/seating area and the health and safety briefing and our mission seemed to blur together into what felt like a bit of an interrogation.

We signed a waiver, always a good sign, and then things took a darker turn as we were given goggles to wear so that we couldn’t see anything when we were individually escorted to the room. Oh yes, and we had to choose a safe word too….gulp!

As we were taken to the room we received narration from the gamesmaster that was a great way to give more story and explain what was going on. It was like listening to a play on a radio, only we were the main character. We were also warned that this game has a 100% fatality rate…

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

From the moment you enter this game you’re buried in immersion, and that continues throughout. Yes, it’s a horror game with live actors, but if you can push yourself out of your comfort zone to play it, then you will be rewarded. Although we use the word horror, it’s more like a comedy horror. We loved this game in the same way we loved Slasher Party in Barcelona.

Although not having the biggest footprint of some games we played in Poland, it uses the space well and each space felt distinct to the previous one. The smaller size is probably why the maximum number of players is four. We were a team of two and this was a great team size as we got to see everything and both interact with the actors.

The set won’t blow you away with grandeur, after all, it’s basically an old cabin in the woods. At times a bit grimy, at other times very dirty, but these are more things that just add to the experience.

This game is pretty far from accessible, so if you have issues with crawling, lying down (and getting back up) and going up and down stairs, then it’s probably not the game for you. But if you can find a way to make it work, we’d definitely recommend it.

Possibly one of the most enjoyable things for me was the use of music. I’m one of those people who doesn’t do anything without music playing, and this game nailed it. And that’s before we even talk about the ending to this game – wonderful!

PUZZLES

With a split-start to the game, early on we had to rely heavily on our communication and teamwork skills. As the game progressed, the puzzle types did too; searching, basic maths, observation, directions, logic,  and even some pop trivia made it in!

This was a game that did have a number of padlocks, and keys, but that felt in keeping with the setting. Even solving some of the puzzles resulted in more humour, and for one puzzle in particular I don’t think I’ve ever used my head quite so much before!

Strangers felt like it played out in a linear fashion, with one puzzle leading onto the next, and not much opportunity for splitting up. But this is often the case for games with live actors, as there need to be set points where they can appear to interact with players.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

The puzzles were good but where this game excelled was the live actors. We had no idea what to expect, but this game just took what would have been possibly a run of the mill game and made it into something special.

It’s a shame we didn’t really get a chance to talk much to our hosts after the game, as we wanted them to know how much we enjoyed their performance.

The clue system felt like a natural part of the story, and was done in a way that at times made it hard to know what was help, and what was part of the show. Although they certainly made sure we knew how stupid we were if we did need help!

Some games we would replay because of the great set design of puzzles. This one we’d replay because of the hosts.

ANYTHING ELSE

If you play an escape room and you have to choose a safe word, you know you’re in for a good time! Strangers was one of those games that we knew nothing about, yet somehow ended up becoming one of the highlights of our trip.

Yes the puzzles were fun, and the set was good, but this game shone because of the interactions with the host(s). It was hilarious and most of all fun – and isn’t ‘fun’ how escape rooms should be measured?

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 2 Players

Address: Święty Marcin 43/2p, 61-803 Poznań, Poland

Website: http://www.continuumpoznan.pl/