Stigmata by Dark Maze was one of the experiences I was most looking forward to on our first trip to Athens.
But it was also one of the experiences – along with Lethal Decision – that I was nervous about.
I had been told about real horror beforehand.
Of tears, screams and the game being stopped.
The tension was therefore high and I was excited to see what would await us.
After arriving on time, we opened the door and what awaited us was extraordinary.

Before we set off, we had to wait outside the door for a while.
The group in front of us had overstayed their welcome.
As a result, we were greeted by a loud backdrop and screams even before the actual game started.
As the whole thing was pretty impressive, we were already busy discussing what to expect.
It was definitely going to be impressive.
Then the show finally started and we entered.
What awaited us after that totally amazed me personally.
There was no sign that we had entered an escape room.
Nor that we were still standing in a busy area of Athens.
Quite the opposite.
We were immediately in the middle of the story and were able to interact with an actor in character.
We felt like we had been transported back in time and had a bit of a “Dracula” feeling.
Everything was perfect, from packing our luggage and the usual toilet visit to the transition to the next location.
Only the starting puzzle was too one-sided and a little persistent, but you can quickly overlook that.
For me, Stigmata offers one of the best starts of all the escape rooms I’ve played so far.
The atmosphere, the interactions with the actors and the entire setting are almost perfect.
A big compliment to Dark Maze, who have created something special here.

In contrast to many other horror experiences in Athens, Stigmata offers a high-quality backdrop that is rich in detail and where an effort has been made to create immersion not only through acting and atmosphere.
In addition to the grandiose start, the subsequent house is also realistically designed and you can look forward to a varied setting.
A high level of immersion is created right from the start.
We always felt as if we were directly in the situation.
Personally, I really enjoyed the first transition.
I found all the rooms suitable and the whole setting very immersive.

Stigmata offers everything you need for a high scare factor.
Some successful jumpscares, an eerie atmosphere, creepy actors and, in particular, intense moments of isolation.
In addition, there are always sections where you know that something is about to happen and therefore don’t dare to go any further.
I would rate the pure scare factor here as one of the highest of all the rooms I have seen so far.
Nevertheless, I would like to point out that I don’t just mean the pure fear, but the atmosphere in particular.
The intensity is very high almost all the time.
This is because you often know that something is going to happen soon and that you can never protect yourself from jumpscares.
Overall, it’s one of the highest levels of intensity I’ve seen in this type of horror.
I can now understand why I have heard many reports describing the room as very scary.

As with most immersive adventures in Athens, Stigmata shows just how much good acting can make a difference.
Both our contact and the ghostly apparition played their roles perfectly, sending cold sweats down our spines more than once.
The jumpscares were well timed and, unlike in one room or another, the screaming was kept to a minimum.
As a result, the fear of the actual event was played with more than the moment itself.
I remember an isolation moment near the end of the game that I found to be one of the scariest moments of the whole Athens trip.
Overall, very good performances from everyone involved, you can’t do much better than that.

The puzzles don’t have a high level of difficulty overall, which was right given the scare factor and intensity.
You don’t have enough peace and quiet to think about any tasks.
There is too much fear breathing down your neck.
Most of the puzzles are based more on searching or counting tasks.
Overall, there are no totally creative or surprising puzzles, but this is not necessary for such an experience.
All the puzzles were appropriate to the situation and there wasn’t a single moment when we got stuck.

What impressed me most about Stigmata was the well thought-out story with a wonderful twist at the end.
From the very beginning, we got more and more to the bottom of the “real” story.
I was particularly impressed by the resolution with a simple but impressive effect.
The whole story is coherent and there are no major gaps in logic.
All in all, very well told and realized.
Another aspect I would like to emphasize is that it is really about experiencing a story.
It is often the case that although there is a story in horror experiences, it takes a back seat to the atmosphere, the sound and the jump scares.
That’s not the case with Stigmata and that’s what I liked so much about it.

As so often in Athens, we took the time to talk to the operators, or at least the actors and gamemasters.
The gamemaster took a lot of time for us.
We went through many parts of the game again and talked about the entire escaperoom scene in Athens.
A great end to the day and we had a lot of fun after the game.
What’s very interesting is that in Athens, the “evil” or scary actors never actually leave their roles – not even after the game.
I’m ambivalent about this, as I think an immersion break after the game is a good thing, but I can certainly understand that they don’t want to reveal all the “secrets”.

Stigmata is the prototype of a totally fun but very scary horror room.
There is little contact with actors, as is usual for horror experiences in Greece.
You have to crawl or climb a little in a few places, but the physical demands are within reason.
There will be moments of isolation that you can’t escape.
As with most horror rooms, the intensity increases the fewer players there are.
I would recommend the room for 4 players, especially at the start.
As the name of the room suggests, it has a religious theme.
You shouldn’t have a problem with that.
Other than that, I don’t think there are any major special features or triggers that need to be pointed out.
It’s horror with a very high scare factor, you should be aware of that.

As you can see from the previous sections, Stigmata is one of my favorite games. There are few immersive adventures that are as coherent from start to finish as this one. There is hardly anything that was not perfectly coordinated. Stigmata is one of the must-play experiences and, in my opinion, one of the top rooms in the world. You can’t do much better than that.