G-Factor Group: Through the Mirror (Athens)

Mirror | rorriM

Since the creation of time, the Big Bang has caused the birth of the universe. What many do not know is that his birth was not the only one. At the same time an image was created, a clone, an opposite reality.

After seventeen billion years, a scientist, alone in his office, managed to break the existing laws of reality and come into contact with this dimension. But his story was not believed by the scientific community.

The enthusiasm for the discovery soon went insane, as the scientist’s story was considered unreal, and he was driven to depression and isolation. A few days after his disappearance, anxious associates rush to reveal the details of the experiment. But they did not wait to find out the truth …

This game was actually a bit of a first for me, it was the first game I’d played as a team of two where my partner wasn’t Liz. We were in Athens for a week with our friends James and Charlie from Deadlocked Escape Rooms, but Liz and Charlie decided they wanted to go off out in search of culture in the city, James and I had other plans so booked ourselves in for two escape rooms at G-Factor Group (which then turned in to three escape rooms; Whoops).

G-Factor Group is a bit of an odd name for an escape room company and doesn’t give much insight into their experiences at all, but I gather they do other party events so it’s not just about escape rooms for them. At the time we played, they had three escape rooms available and they were all playable in English, so of course, we played them all.

G-Factor group was about a 30 minute walk from our accommodation so it was quite nice to get out in the warm Athens weather and stretch our legs. When we arrived we were greeted by our GM and I believe he was also the owner, although I must confess that I can’t recall his name. There was a very large reception area and they certainly had space for entertaining larger parties, which it looked like they probably often do.

After a quick chat with our host it was time for our first game, Through the Mirror. This is a game that had been recommended to us and just from looking at the previous team photos it was the one I was most looking forward to.

We climbed the spiral staircase and then stood outside different doors, as this was a split start game. Our GM gave us our mission briefing and then we were told to open the doors and our time began.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

I must admit, the story for this game was lost on me, but I am terrible at story in general. However, first impressions of this room were interesting, it had a very cheap/ikea type feel to it, but with one major difference that I wasn’t expecting. Yes it was a split start, but we still had to work together to be reunited.

The set for this game really comes into its own as you progress through it and encounter the different spaces. Having now played over 400 escape rooms, it’s always pleasing when you see something new and different, and that is exactly what Through the Mirror was. Such a simple concept that has been used in other industries for years, but it was a great addition to an escape room and I’d love to see more games with this feature.

Each space we encountered felt unique and distinctly different to the previous space. I can’t recall if there was any ambient music playing or not, but this was a really enjoyable game to play and I must admit that I was a little sad when it was over. That was the only negative, this is a short game and the ending was a bit flat. When we exited the game into the hallway I was a bit miffed that we had completed it so fast and there wasn’t more to it. You probably can play this in a bigger team, but a team of two felt like the right size to us.

PUZZLES

Although this was the first physical game that James and I had played together as a team of two, we had played online games and real games in a bigger team so we each knew how the other thinks and where our strengths were. I think this, and our experience, was a massive help in this game but I’d still hazard a guess that this game is on the easier end of the spectrum as we managed to get through it, without rushing, in around 36 minutes.

Despite being on the easier side it was great to see some unique and original puzzles, and they were all very satisfying to solve. The puzzles generally fitted into the following categories; communication (massively so), observation, searching (minor), lateral thinking, colour, and then a few more physical/spatial relation type puzzles.

I can’t recall if we needed any assistance from our GM, but I believe we did have a minor search fail that delayed us a little. It was something we needed that was hidden in plain sight – a typical downfall!

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Clues for this game weren’t particularly immersive and if any help was needed it would simply be radioed in over the speaker system. If we needed help, we simply had to ask out loud for it. Although, the one point where we were looking a bit lost I think our GM used his initiative and chimed in early enough to save us from our frustrations.

ANYTHING ELSE

This game was a surprise of our Athens trip. I wasn’t expecting much, but, thanks to its original set and puzzles, it was a joy to play. I would have liked there to have been more to it or perhaps a stronger ending, but this game just went back to the main reason we play escape rooms: fun.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 2 players – escaped in 36:21

Address: Αθηνάς 43, Kallithea 176 73, Greece

Website: https://gfg.gr