Cronos: Resident Corporation (Valencia)

An interesting game, with plenty of Easter eggs

Year 2088. Base of operations of the Cronos Corporation.

The Corporation has been corrupted. It has exceeded moral limits and is genetically experimenting with some agents thanks to the help of another entity. The drastic measures they have taken over the years have cost far too many lives.

Someone has to stop them before their new project goes live.

An assault group of Cronos Resistance agents must enter the facility and put an end to such atrocities before it is too late … but there are creatures and … something “semi-human” … that will not allow it …

– The Black Dragon –

When we planned our trip to Valencia, we had initially scheduled in a rest day of sorts, i.e. a day without escape rooms. Instead we would have a bit of fun (at the Skill Room at Action Gates, which I suppose isn’t quite an escape room), followed by a day at the Valencia Zoo. But we’re actually terrible at tourism, and found ourselves looking for an extra game to add to the agenda once we finished admiring the animals.

Eventually we landed on Resident Corporation at Cronos; it was a short walk from our accommodation, and most importantly, it had availability. Plus, I love a zombie theme, and if you couldn’t already tell from the name, Resident Corporation draws a fair amount of inspiration from a particular video-game franchise. Like many games in Spain, Resident Corporation had different modes that could be booked. In this case, our options were Fear, or Adventure. Being the players we are, we chose Fear. In other words, the version with a live actor, turning this into more of a horror experience.

We arrived outside Cronos in plenty of time for our booking, despite our travels across the city from the zoo. It wasn’t long before the door opened, and we peered into the darkness beyond. The Spanish games love to just throw you straight in, and Resident Corporation was no exception. The experience began the moment the door opened and we were introduced to our host. This was to be a military operation, so she was stern, and quite succinct in ensuring we were fully briefed regarding our mission, and also, the creatures we might encounter.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

The start of the game was tight, with little space to manoeuvre, but it soon opened up. The lighting, sound, and ever-present threat of whatever might also be lurking within helped to give Resident Corporation an atmosphere not unlike the games and film from which it draws inspiration. There was a sense of exploration as we made our way through the darkness, trying to avoid whatever may be lurking around a corner, crawling into tiny spaces, and wondering where we might go next.

Resident Corporation is not a story driven game. The narrative was present, but we did not find secrets revealing themselves as we made our way further into the game, but the pace of the game, combined with the threat of the creatures, and the character interactions kept the intensity building, and the game driving forward, all the way to the finale.

PUZZLES

The puzzles in Resident Corporation were where the game fell down a bit. We didn’t gel with them particularly well, and felt like we were often needing guidance on where to go next. They just didn’t seem overly intuitive or well sign posted, and a few times, I’m not sure if we actually fluked the solution. A few search and observation fails certainly didn’t help our case though, making some of the challenges we encountered of our own making.

The game itself felt relatively linear, with one challenge leading on to the next, but fortunately many of the puzzles were layered enough that no one was left standing around for long. Other puzzles fell back on many classic escape room style tropes, relying on logic and communication, pattern recognition, and some colour, but also interspersed with some more physical tasks.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Walkie Talkies are a classic escape room clue delivery mechanism, and in the case of Resident Corporation, they actually fit into the story, rather than simply being a communication method. The only issue is that they were sometimes difficult to understand. Our host spoke English (much better than I speak Spanish, so we’re exceptionally grateful for that) but it can sometimes be tricky to understand even native speakers over a walkie, so adding accents on top of the crackle of the radio gave the communication an extra level of complexity that sometimes bordered on frustration and confusion.

But our host stuck with us, and played her part well, both as a drill instructor prepping us for our infiltration of the corporation, and throughout the game. The added scares and appearances of the “menace” added a little extra to the game, and the appearances were well timed, allowing opportunities to solve, without constantly being bombarded by scares.

ANYTHING ELSE

Put Resident Corporation in the UK, and I suspect it would be beloved, but when looked at through the same lens as many of the other games in Valencia, it just doesn’t shine as brightly. The set is impressive, and the game is full of atmosphere, but the puzzles were on the weaker side. But, if you’re a fan of Resident Evil, it may be worth playing just for the easter eggs.

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 4 Players

Address:C/ de Sevilla, 13, bajo, L’Eixample, 46006 València, Valencia, Spain

Website: https://www.cronosvalencia.com