There has been very little talk about Houdini from Escape World so far. There are also hardly any reviews or reports on this room. I only included it in our schedule because a friend from Athens strongly advised us to definitely play Houdini. Of course, we were all the more excited about what to expect. It was guaranteed to be about magic and probably also about the dark.

The first impression at Houdini was… dark. Unfortunately, you can’t say much more about the setting, because we didn’t see anything. Absolutely nothing. But the darkness didn’t last long. We were greeted relatively quickly by someone who then introduced us to the story. We were then allowed to marvel at the first area of the experience and it really was a beautiful setting and great atmosphere. Overall, I thought the start was really nice, even if the first 2 minutes could have been a bit more immersive. However, this is certainly also due to the location, which is in the middle of a shopping street and therefore doesn’t really allow for immersion.

In Houdini, you immerse yourself in the magician’s world and experience a wide variety of very immersive and atmospheric settings. Overall, everything always felt very coherent and fitted in very well with the specific time of the story. The technical implementation was of a high standard and complemented the acting perfectly. There were some very nice effects and the lighting in particular was totally harmonious. I liked everything very much.

I would still describe Houdini as a horror experience, but overall the scare factor is not as high as many other experiences in Athens. There are a very small number of jumpscares and the atmosphere is dark rather than really scary. Compared to other rooms, I think the scare factor here is in the midfield. In any case, it is also suitable for players who are not so keen on intense psychological horror. The darkness and various effects always create a certain intensity. However, as with the scare factor, this is not as high as in many other experiences. Overall, Houdini builds up a medium intensity that fits in very well with the flow of the game.

Of course, acting is also very much at the heart of the Houdini experience. And when I talk about acting here, I mean real acting. It’s not about a simple jump scare or suddenly appearing and shouting at someone, but about really very good acting interludes that are ready for the theater. There were always beautiful little cinematic moments that left us amazed. I was particularly impressed by the finale. It was all perfectly timed and left a brilliant impression. Really great cinema at this point.

Unfortunately, the puzzles in Houdini were not a highlight, but we are used to that from many horror experiences in Athens by now. This is simply not the focus. Basically, most of the puzzles were rather simple and didn’t always seem to fit in with the story. However, as the story was very well-rounded overall, this didn’t bother us as much. There was always something to do, but unfortunately it didn’t really feel coherent. Overall, you can say that it wasn’t a total lowlight, even compared to other rooms. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement here.

The story in Houdini was simple, but overall very fitting. There wasn’t really much depth, but everything was very coherent. In particular, it went very well with the acting and the overall atmosphere we were given. Overall, I would say that while the story wasn’t the absolute highlight of the experience (that was definitely the actors), it still came off very well. There was little that bothered me in any way and everything was easy to follow.

During the game, we didn’t need any support from a game master and didn’t even notice that the game was being managed in any way. But of course it was, because everything is totally smooth and then it’s perfect if you don’t even notice anything. After the game, the actors took a lot of time for us and we talked things through. We felt very welcome at all times and had a lot of fun. Thank you very much for this!

Similar to Zoe, you can also say with a clear conscience that this room is suitable for almost everyone. Of course there are horror elements here and the room has quite a dark atmosphere, but all in all there aren’t too many jumpscares and there are also many quieter moments. The story and especially the acting are very much in the foreground here. In my opinion, the room can also be played well by horror novices, similar to Manifesto, for example. Houdini is almost more of an interactive theater piece than a real escape room. The story itself has a lot to do with demons and hell, like so many experiences in Athens. So if you have a problem with that, you should avoid the room. Apart from that, I don’t see any trigger dangers here. There is no physical contact and no other physical requirements. I can’t remember any moments where we had to do anything strenuous or were really physically active. There are also no moments of isolation or anything like that. I recommend the room for up to four players, as otherwise you would be standing on each other’s feet. But even with two players you have a lot of fun and can manage everything well.

Houdini was one of the surprises for me on this trip to Athens. You read about many other experiences in Facebook groups, but Houdini was relatively quiet. Perhaps that’s because it’s not a classic horror experience and doesn’t have much of a connection to other well-known horror rooms. In any case, I really enjoyed Houdini and this room is definitely one of the top rooms in Athens.