Once upon a time, impressive
You have been summoned to inform you of a historical archaeological find.
Your invitation is unique and non-transferable.
No escape room trip to Barcelona would be complete without visiting Escape Barcelona, and on our trip we had three games booked in with them. We had just played CyberCity 2049 and up next was K.O.N.G, but we decided to make it an Akasha sandwich and booked that in between the two (on a recommendation from a friend who had already played them). It’s worth pointing out that KONG and Cybercity are at a different venue to Tomb Hunter: Akasha´s Legend but it is very easy to walk between the two, like we did.
Cybercity and KONG are the new kids in town and quite rightly deserve a lot of attention. Akasha however has been around for a little longer. Debuting in the TERPECAs in 2019 as position 6; it has since dropped down the rankings and in 2024 it was ranked at 284. Still, that’s not a bad history so, of course, we decided to book it in.
We arrived a little early so sat on the seats outside the venue until it was our time. At the exact time of our booking our GM (Adrian, but using a character name which we have forgotten) appeared and ushered us inside. We stopped just inside the door at the top of a long corridor and were given a briefing and directed to leave our items in a trunk.
After receiving an enthusiastic and very much in-character briefing, we were escorted further down the darkened corridor until we were once again directed to stop. However on this occasion we were told to close our eyes, put our hands on the person in front of us’s shoulders, and then we were led into the room and placed in our starting positions, and then the real fun began.
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
I must admit that going into this game I had no idea what to expect, but thinking back now, there was not a single game we played in Barcelona where the set design was just painted walls. Akasha’s set was very impressive and I can see why it was ranked so highly in 2019, as when it was new I bet it was quite something. Unfortunately the years haven’t been kind to Akasha and some of the key parts of the game were showing their age and were starting to look a bit run down.
Still, this set was impressive, expansive, and fun to be in. We’ve played a fair few games now and it was nice to see something new with this game that we haven’t seen in others – it very much had the Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider feel about it (Liz’s favourite theme). Oh and it was rather sandy, so there’s a good chance you will come out of this experience a bit dirty!
Getting around the set was fun and exploring the different areas never got dull. There was some climbing involved in this game and I couldn’t see a work around so it’s quite likely that you’ll need to be very mobile to play Tomb Hunter. Also, if you’re not a fan of being chained/cuffed at the start then you may want to reconsider playing – although because of how this was done, in an emergency I think you would be released pretty much instantly.
PUZZLES
I have a feeling that a few of the puzzles in this game were broken, or at least past their prime – so I think we knew how to solve them but equally at times it felt like we were probably doing the right thing so we just got pushed on to the next. After the game the GM explained one of the puzzles and there was something that apparently not one of us in our group saw, so we’re pretty sure that aspect may have also been broken.
The puzzles that did work, generally revolved around; observation, teamwork, communication, and one puzzle that felt like something out of a childhood playground (and it was actually quite good fun).
Once solved, the puzzles generally resulted in some form of tech triggering, or perhaps a boobytrap…
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
Adrian did a good job as our GM, from his greeting in character, to his interactions with us in the room, and then as himself at the end of the game. I would hazard a guess that this was another venue in Barcelona where they hire trained actors for their games, and it shows.
If we needed clues/nudges/prompts in the game, they came via voiceover in the room. I can’t recall if we needed any help but I think we did hear this voice on a couple of occasions. Just when we thought we knew how this game was going to play out, there was another twist that we didn’t expect and it once again ramped up the adrenaline.
ANYTHING ELSE
In its prime I bet this game was something special. Unfortunately it has now past its prime and it shows as it’s a bit worn down in places (both in terms of set design and puzzles). Ignoring that, the set is very impressive and sure to wow. Just make sure you don’t wear your best clothes as you may get a little dirty!
Success / Failure
Final Rating:
| Operation | |
| Puzzles | |
| Room Design | |
| GM/Clues | |
| Excitement |
Team: 4 players
Address: Calle Baró 17 local, 08921 Santa Coloma de Gramenet
Website: https://www.escapebarcelona.com/en/
Leave a Reply