Who Killed Franz Schmid? (Game duration 70 minutes)
Fury team: Dimitar Smilyanov, Ivan Vladimirov, Boncho Dimitrov, Venelin Gornishki and Nadezhda Danabasheva
Date: August 30, 2020
Our time: 120:00 minutes (room record at the time of the visit)
I’ll start by saying that the room was made with intention, but a few things went wrong along the way. For those unaware, the room inherits the spaces of Dextrophobia Rooms – The First Room Vol. 1. In addition to the spaces, the new room has also inherited part of the inventory, which is NOT a bonus. But about that, in a moment.
Unfortunately, even after playing the room, I have no idea who Franz Schmid is, whether he was killed, and most importantly, by whom. The story revolves around some spirit, with some photos through which he tries to connect with us from beyond… but why, and ultimately what he wants to tell us, is unclear. According to the internet, the name Franz Schmid belongs to either a famous German composer or the executioner of Nuremberg. Unfortunately, I can’t say whether our Schmid is one of the two. Overall, the little information we received from him was that he would share the meaning of life, but after finishing, my life still seemed devoid of meaning. Perhaps I just didn’t understand something.
The problem with the story continues with the fact that our hosts apparently have the idea in their heads but fail to convey it in the game. Upon entering, they told us that we would enter a dream, then we would go outside the dream, and when we asked why this was so, they had an explanation. The problem is that all this is absolutely unclear unless someone tells you and explains it in detail. An escape room should tell its own story, guide you, and reveal parts of the puzzle until you see the big picture. There is still work to be done in this direction.
Respectively, with the unclear story, I also don’t understand what the bloodied medical gowns, artificial human limbs, or dozens of gearwheels and gadgets glued with silicone and unfortunately not stable enough have to do with it. None of these items are part of the game, which is logical because they were created as part of the Dextrophobia game and their mad professor, where experiments with people and the mad genius of the scientist fit perfectly. In the new room, this is confusing and obstructive. I understand that you had things at your disposal, but at the moment, they have no purpose and, together with the other “junk” or so-called items that are simply present to create an “atmosphere” (and here they are many), contribute to the complete loss of the plot and the purpose of the game.
Before sharing the positive aspects, I want to add that the welcoming part can be improved. We pass by the entrance, where a basement filled with construction debris is visible. We pass the familiar stairs with ropes to reach the lobby. Unfortunately, there is a dirty corridor that we do not see on entry because our eyes are closed, but on exit, I almost stumble into a cupboard covered with dust, tools, and whatever else, apparently a service one, but in the way of clients. I’ve written about this before, the room and the adventure are important, but you are still a business, welcoming customers, think a little about the overall vision, about comfort.
Now, onto the positive part: a few of the puzzles are truly interactive and interesting, and two of them I had not encountered in this form before. Which is cool, and I had fun. On the other hand, we skipped several puzzles because it turned out that a drawer that was supposed to be locked was unlocked, and we found what was supposed to be found and solved the tasks. Therefore, when, in the end, a nice gentleman with a hat entered the room and introduced himself as Franz, we looked a bit confused because we knew that we had more things to unlock, and we didn’t anticipate this was the end of the game. Perhaps part of the story was supposed to be learned from an item that we did not find for the explained reasons, and therefore, there is a gap in my head.
In conclusion, the room is open for visits, and in my opinion, it has potential, but it is far from ready. The hosts get extra bonus points because payment can be made via Revolut. FINALLY!
