A few years ago, an escape-roomrevolution broke out in Budapest, and now these exciting games are just as much a part of the city’s hallmarks as ruin pubs and thermalbaths. There are plenty of places around Budapest to go for the thrilling excitement of being locked up and figuring out how to regain your freedom, such as MystiqueRoom near Jászai Mari Square, where previously the magical doors teleported daredevils to a medieval cathedral, to Japan, or to Egypt. Now we can jump even greater distances, as in their new game – called Cosmos – we are sent straight up to space, and at the same time, to the first virtual escape room of Central Europe.
Stepping into the playing chamber, the first striking difference is that we are not welcomed by bizarre decorations and designs, but by six armchairs placed under a cool, starry “LED sky”. In the armchairs we find six oculus rifts, which are special virtual reality headsets.
Before we start the game, we have to calibrate these sets, which means we need to make them recognize and memorize our hands, as we’ll be relying on them to play the game from this point on.
When we’re all set, the game begins: we wake up as an avatar at the space station, and after admiring our new metallic virtual hands, we can take a glimpse at our friends around us as well all try to figure out what’s next. From here, we have 60 minutes to ‘escape’, but to do so, we need to experiment with kinetic energies, lasers, and even with flying. As it is a group game, we always have to work together to accomplish the mission. We really can’t reveal any more secrets, but we encourage everyone to have a good look around, as this 3D virtual world is beautifully designed.
Before starting the game, the team holds a brief training to explain hand movements, and if we get stuck somewhere, they gladly share some tips and tricks. They also follow our game through a camera, and they see the players outside the game as well. When the game is over, we can watch ourselves on a video, and it can be hilarious to see our eager hand movements reaching out to nothing.
If you don’t belong to the tech-nerd generation of the 2000s, you might think it would be too difficult to use this technology and enjoy it, but in reality, it is very easy, and everyone quickly gets the hang of it. The team of MystiqueRoom told us that they already welcomed grandparents, who enjoyed virtual reality so much they hardly wanted to escape from it. Thus, feel free to bring the whole family, and even though probably the youngest members of the group will be the best, the game and the headsets hold an innovative and mind-blowing 60 minutes for everyone, and these tools cannot actually be tried out anywhere else in Budapest. The program (4,990 per person) is available in various languages, and you can book an appointment here.
