As is so often the case, we didn’t know much about the Manifesto room from Dark Vision Project.
But since our other group had played the room right in front of us, we at least heard that they were very enthusiastic and that it was supposed to be a really great experience.
So we were really looking forward to the room and were very excited to see what was in store for us.
We were expecting a masterpiece of acting and felt like we were in the theater.

As I said, we had no idea what to expect.
We were all the more irritated when we were greeted by a very crazy actor right at the beginning, who even turned the obligatory trip to the toilet into an experience.
After a brief introduction, we went straight to the time machine and into the adventure.
Overall, the first few minutes were strange, but nothing special at first.
The actual start of the adventure after getting out of the time machine was more unusual.
Here we were able to dive straight into the story of Manifesto and witness the first wonderful play.
Overall, the first impression was mixed, but by no means bad.

When assessing the setting and quality, you have to make a very strong distinction between the atmosphere and the quality of the setting.
The atmosphere is very harmonious and everything – from the sound to the lighting – contributes to the fact that you can really get involved in the story.
Unfortunately, the quality of Manifesto’s setting is one of its weak points.
At times we could clearly see that it was still the highest quality setting.
We were also able to see the actors from time to time, as the setting was not perfectly matched to the appearance.
To summarize, I think the whole setting of Manifesto is okay, but nothing more.
Anyone expecting a setting a la Chapel & Catacombs will be disappointed here.

It is definitely an experience in the horror genre.
The whole setting and the story are very dark.
There are one or two jump scares, but the scare factor remains in the midfield.
Manifesto is a moderate horror game that is also suitable for players who do not yet have much experience with the horror experiences in Athens.
The intensity is also not particularly high, as you very often watch passively rather than being part of the action.
The intensity of the story increases greatly towards the end, but it is more comparable to a play or movie.
We were never so stressed that we couldn’t follow the story.

Without wanting to exaggerate: Manifesto offers a wonderful and outstanding acting performance.
You can tell that professionals are at work here.
It feels like a play and also because the acting is so to the point.
The space lives from the actors and the actors live this space.
I don’t want to say any more at this point, except that it was a really great experience.

As with many experiences that focus on horror, story or drama, the puzzles are not the main focus here either.
This means that all puzzles and tasks can be completed easily and you rarely need assistance.
However, this is not a negative aspect, but rather a perfect fit for this experience.
Manifesto succeeds in ensuring that the tasks fit in well with the story and that you learn more and more by completing them and progressing further.
This is how a real experience should be.
Puzzle fans may be a little disappointed, but overall everything was very coherent and fitted very well into the overall concept of the room.

Alongside the acting, the story is Manifesto’s outstanding strength.
The focus here is not on jump scares, scares or puzzles.
Instead, there is a well thought-out, complex story that the players only understand bit by bit.
This is continued perfectly through various forms of communication, primarily through acting, of course.
The story then culminates in a grandiose finale, which not only offers an outstanding acting performance, but also a very nice resolution to the story with a successful twist.
Congratulations to Manifesto for one of the best stories I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in Escaperooms.

Unfortunately, this time we couldn’t take as much time as we would have liked.
There was actually so much to discuss.
But we were able to establish one thing: The game directors, actors and operators are fully behind their space.
And Manifesto is brought to life by people who put their hearts into it and fill the whole thing with life.
I always like it when you don’t just have business people in front of you, but people who are passionate about what they do.
And that was definitely the case here.

For me, Manifesto is an experience that is suitable for almost all players.
Although it belongs to the horror genre, it can also be played by horror novices, as there are not too many jumpscares and no moments of isolation.
If you want to be part of a story and experience it up close, this is the game for you.
There are many scenes that you experience rather passively.
You should therefore take the time to immerse yourself in the story, because only then can you really experience the strength of Manifesto.
Three of us played the room and it was a very good group size.
I can well imagine that the room can also be played by two people and also with one more person.
I would advise against more than five players, as you run the risk of not experiencing all of the story and could also miss out on theater scenes.
There are very few physical requirements.
There are no great crawling and climbing moments.
Running away is also limited to short sections.
Only the time machine at the beginning can cause problems if you are not free from giddiness, as some of us in our group were.
However, you can simply let the operators know and they will take this into consideration.

Manifesto by Dark Vision Projekt is a really very good room that is strongly focused on story and acting.
It was one of the positive surprises on our first trip to Athens.
Overall, I would describe Manifesto as a great experience.
Not yet a must-play experience, however, as the scenery and setting were too weak for me.
However, if you focus on drama and story, you should definitely play this room, there are hardly any better ones.