The Code Agency Düsseldorf – Hekates Tears – Escape Room Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf / 2 – 7 Players / Price: 28 – 63 Euro per person / Rating: 9.2
Location: Stresemannplatz 4, 40210 Düsseldorf
Date of Play: 26.05.2022
Group Size: 3
After we have already visited Code Agency Düsseldorf several times to defeat the Poltergeist and find the Scepter of Light (to the review) by jumping through space and time, this time a new mission was waiting for us. The mission Hekate’s Tears is about averting an evil force in the form of a shadow mage.
The Code Agency is centrally located at Stresemannplatz in Düsseldorf. Due to the large window front, the waiting area is flooded with light and inviting. In the front area of the Code Agency there is a café where you can relax and chat before and after the game. Recently, the Code Agency also offers delicious catering in cooperation with a pizzeria, which we can recommend.
The game starts atmospherically with a short intro by our game master in an atmospheric agent’s office, which is equipped with various props from past adventures and made our anticipation for the game grow. Two nice gimmicks got us as players directly involved in the intro and allowed us to start our mission with various pieces of equipment.
Hekates Tears
An adventurous journey around the world to the Chamber of the Shadow Mage. Once dedicated to the good side, the shadow mage Tenebris now threatens the balance between good and evil. He lacks only one of seven magical artifacts to plunge the world irrevocably into darkness. Can you travel across the world to find the entrance to his underground chamber and steal one of his artifacts? Only those who use Hekate’s potion and solve the riddles along the way will be rewarded!
The Room
Throughout the 70 minutes of gameplay, we were treated to very varied backdrops that were designed to a high standard. Code Agency chooses surprising scenery transitions that we didn’t expect. Matching sound and lighting effects emphasize the immersive character of the various locations. Experienced players might discover parallels to Scepter of Light here, and indeed there is a nice Easter Egg in the course of the story. In our opinion, Code Agency with Hekate’s Tears could surpass Scepter of Light in terms of varied settings.
The Story
The story is a mission game. The settings fit the overall plot and we especially liked the visuals of the finale. Unfortunately, the story is not further told in the individual settings or supported with suitable background information. Nevertheless, the common thread runs through the entire game. The finale had a pleasantly hectic feel to it, as the final minutes decided the player’s success. A central group decision in the finale also provided a nice group feeling.
The Riddles
The game is a higher-level mission game, but it is based on a high-score principle. We only had a limited amount of playing time in each world, so we were under time pressure throughout. The more items we collected in each environment, the greater the reward in the finale. Please note that you may not be able to complete all the tasks in each world for this reason. Our frustration level was low during the game, since there are a large number of tasks to solve and many partial successes can be achieved quickly.
The tasks are not pure logic puzzles, but motional tasks that fit well into the individual settings. The tasks can be solved non-linearly, so that even a large group is kept busy throughout. Overall, the tasks were very entertaining and varied, with the motor tasks in particular being a major strength of the room. One task has remained positively in my memory to this day, as I would not have expected such an entertaining task in an Escape Room. On a positive note, the respective acoustic feedback during the solution of the tasks should be mentioned. Still, some tasks feel more like smaller mini-games within the world that don’t necessarily advance the story. In each world, there is a thematically appropriate display that visualizes the remaining time in each location.
The Gamemaster
As mentioned above, our game master delivered the intro in a motivating and entertaining way. During the game, we were supported by audio sequences. He appeared in the form of a character that was charmingly chosen for the first game location. Only at one point in the game would we have wished for some support, when we got stuck on the last task of the room and had to wait pointlessly for the rest of the time in the room due to lack of support.
Conclusion
Hekate’s Tears from Code Agency Düsseldorf presents a varied and exciting journey through a variety of structurally high-quality settings, where motor tasks are in the foreground. Supported by light and sound effects, a great game flow is created, which convinced us with surprising scene changes. We had a lot of fun in the room and recommend it especially for large groups. The highscore system was entertaining for us and makes the individual scenes hectic, especially towards the end of the game. Keep a cool head, collect all the items in the worlds and crack our high score at the end with the help of Heza’s tears.
At the end of the mission, we received a written overview of the worlds traveled, the tasks solved, and an evaluation of our group dynamics. This is a nice reminder of a game for which we would like to give a clear game recommendation.
Escape Maniac Transparency Promise: We were invited by Code Agency Düsseldorf and didn’t have to pay anything for playing Hekate’s Tears.
