Entered: Demise of the Gricers (As)

Gricer: Noun. a fanatical railway enthusiast.

A new ‘Red Eye’ experience by Entered that will take place on a high-profile location; a classical, worn and desolate train shunting shed! This horror game won’t feature an intimate or personal story, but provide a small glimpse into a macabre world for you to discover. And maybe the title of this new project already provides more info than you think?

Demise of the Gricers is a game we had heard a lot about, for a long time. We had always planned to play it, but it wasn’t until there was the threat of closure that we finally got in gear and booked a trip to Belgium to play it. As it turns out, Gricers appears to have a stay of execution, so we needn’t have rushed – but still, it was good to play it just in case.

First thing to note about Demise of the Gricers is that it’s not really an escape room experience. Yes, there are technically some puzzles, but it’s more of an immersive experience with tasks to complete, so don’t go expecting a puzzle fest. Also, on first impressions it’s not a cheap experience, however when you consider it is over a 4 hour experience, the price/value argument skews slightly.

We arrived at the location for Gricers a little early as we planned to grab a bite to eat from the restaurant located in the old station there. As it would turn out, they were very busy so that plan failed and we ended up with snacks in the car park – which was oddly still pleasant. Then, when our time came, we moved to the super-secret-meet-point and waited for our agent to arrive.

After meeting with our agent, we were escorted down the tracks to a little shed near the train shed. In this shed we were given our super-high-tech gear, plus overalls and helmets to wear – very important! We left our personal belongings here, and then were instructed to head to a location where our experience would begin properly.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

I’ve never really been the type of person who finds excitement for trains. I live near a train station, and that’s very convenient for getting places – but perhaps the British rail system and constant delays/strikes/leaves on the track has made me bitter towards them. Saying that, I very much could appreciate how authentic this experience felt.

We played this game in the afternoon when it was still light out, and actually this was quite a nice way to do it as the early part of the game took place outside in the immediate area (locals were very confused what we were up to), but we then moved into the train shed and darkness became our world.

The Gricers, however you want to class it, is truly a unique experience. There is a lot to take in when you are told the rules but it all soon becomes second nature and it’s a very clever mechanic that makes you question the simplest things in the game, even like moving. Everything about this experience felt immersive, even the in-game tutorial on how things will work, before going into the shed.

I actually had some issues with my tech, which wasn’t ideal, but it happens. But even this was handled in a very clever way that solved my issue without breaking the immersion of the experience. Tech fails happen, it’s how they’re handled that matters – and this was handled perfectly. It just meant that I was out of the game for a little bit, but in a four hour experience, that didn’t matter too much.

The overalls and protective headwear and kneepads are 100% there for a reason. I lost count of how much crawling and climbing I did. Although that could be because I whacked my head so much that those memories are gone forever. The train shed was dirty, and with oily smells lingering in the air, but my trainers (and the rest of me) managed to make it through in one piece and nothing was destroyed.

I’m probably writing more in this section than I normally would, but Demise of the Gricers was much more about the experience than it was about the puzzles. That experience was enhanced by the characters contained within this world, at one point it was like we were watching a movie play out before our eyes.

PUZZLES

As I said, this experience isn’t about the puzzles, it’s about the experience. Saying that, there were puzzles, or tasks that we had to complete in order to progress the story and complete our mission. If you’re the type of person who gets lost in a supermarket, then Gricers will really be an experience for you! The puzzles/tasks generally revolved around; character interaction/role-play, logic, spatial awareness, observation, and teamwork – definitely teamwork.

Personally I can’t think of anything worse than role-playing/character interaction, but thankfully I was in a team with three actors and they carried me through it!

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

I’m not 100% sure who the games master was in this game as there were numerous people involved, but all the people we interacted with were exceptional. We had what can best be described as an in character games master and he was very good. Never once did he break character, even with my faulty tech, and he was able to guide us through the game without making it seem overly obvious that he was perhaps assisting us.

The entire team behind our experience were the real stars of the show, and a show it was. It was hard at times to know who was playing who, but we got to meet them back in the real world when the experience was over and it was clear to see how much they loved what they did and how much energy it took.

ANYTHING ELSE

Gricers was an interesting experience and I think one we both loved and appreciated, but also didn’t perhaps enjoy to the fullest. We found the tasks, at times, somewhat repetitive, and often we weren’t 100% sure what to do next.

According to the dictionary, Gricers means a fanatical railway enthusiast. For Demise of the Gricers I would use words like: exhausting, long, interesting, exciting, epic, clever, cinematic.

Hype is a dangerous thing, and Gricers has a lot of hype. Should you play it? Yes, I think you should. However, don’t expect an escape room, and be prepared for quite a workout.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players

Address: Monseigneur Koningsstraat 10, 3680 Maaseik

Website: https://entered.be/en