Modrophenia is a classic murder mystery puzzle hunt with a twist! You and your team take on the roles of a gang of Mods in 1964 Brighton who are investigating the murder of one of their friends. Puzzles, riddles and discovery will lead you to uncover more and more of the story, but will you find out what happened in time? This super cool retro game features some of the finest items the 60s has to offer, including a genuine 1963 Vespa and a working 1964 pinball machine.
	60 minutes
	2-8 players
	Difficult
	£20-27.50 per person depending on team size in peak time
	Brighton
	pierpressure.co.uk
	Played by Daiman, Jenny, Paul, Bharath
	August 2018
	Escaped with 4 minutes remaining

Theming

5/10I’m not sure about this – there’s nothing particularly wrong with the design or the way that the room’s been put together but two things were clear to me with Modrophenia. Firstly, it was set in an apartment – these locations are never really that interesting to explore and, whilst the era added a bit of twist, it was all superfluous detail. It looked good for what it was supposed to be but the starting concept didn’t really speak to me. Leading on from this, the puzzles were all very much out of sync with the theme. There was very little that we had to do that actually made sense within the space – the puzzles and theme definitely clash in this game. It’s way more noticeable when the game intends to shadow a real-life event.

 Daiman

10/10As a room designed on the mods, this had everything. From the moment the host arrives in character to the end, it was epic. You walk into the room for the start where the intro is given. Admittedly I was solely focused on the mod designed Vespa that I may have missed a few key bits. The setting was the home of the lead mod crew where the set had bikes, posters, props and room attire set to the mod theme. It was epic, however, don’t be fooled, the further you get into the game the better. Hands down the best music in any room I’ve ever played! I didn’t want to leave this game!

Jenny

9/10I loved the unique Mod theme, which is based on a local true story. You’re in a house from the 60’s and you need to piece together the evidence to work out who murdered your friend. It’s kitted out with a record player, groovy wallpaper, an original pinball machine and an original Vespa scooter! A radio station with on-theme music plays in the background. Help was given to us by the in-character DJ which I thought was ingenious! The puzzles made good use of the theme as well.

Paul

9/10As with the other rooms at this venue, the theme is based on events that happened in Brighton, in this instance the mod era. It was a fun story line that got you involved in the room especially as they make you part of the story/game. The host was in character and kept in character throughout the game giving clues like a radio dj. I liked how she tried to get you engaged into the story. There was themed music while you were solving puzzles.

 Bharath

Puzzles

6/10I liked the idea of each puzzle rewarding you with a piece of the penultimate ‘big’ puzzle, it gave all the tasks a level of cohesion and also allowed for non-linear progression. It was absolutely clear that all the parts needed to be collected before you could move onto the finale, this meant that we didn’t suffer our usual opening puzzle bottleneck as there was plenty to do from the outset. As mentioned earlier, I just don’t think the majority of the puzzles in the game make any sense in Modrophenia’s narrative, it’s an extremely convoluted set setup. I appreciate that the game needs to be fun but I just wish it toed the line better. As for the activities themselves – there was a slight leaning towards observation focused activities with a few cool little touches here and there. Pay attention to the details – they’re important!

 Daiman

9/10The selling point in this room was that it wasn’t linear. As a team of four, we were all pretty occupied that nobody was left bored and could continue with a nice selection of varied puzzles. The tasks were heavily set to the theme. Admittedly we stumbled on the usual looking for things but it didn’t ruin our experience. The use of the props, in particular, the use of a prop coming back in fashion, was fantastic! The games were tricky, but logical and had a great diverse range. The finale may not be dramatic but I still loved it.

Jenny

8/10The puzzles are tough but logical with multiple games that can be worked on at any one time. They are varied and mostly very fun to play. This is certainly trickier than their other room Pavilion Perplex. Completing each puzzle awards you with some information which will help you solve the murder mystery. You need to piece all of this info together as you have to pick who you think did the crime from 6 potential candidates. You’re only allowed one chance at answering this so don’t rush your choice!

Paul

9/10If you love puzzles, this is the room for you as there’s lots of them, making it more challenging as you need to be getting through them at a good pace! Due to the number of puzzles, people could get on with their own puzzles quite easily but wits some requiring teamwork and they were all quite varied and in line with that era. Also no padlocks in the room at all.

 Bharath

Enjoyment

7/10Yeah, this game was fun – there was a nice flow to the game and it kept us busy for the hour. The puzzles all seemed fair and there weren’t really any moments where I felt we were hopelessly stuck – it’s very well designed in that sense.

 Daiman

10/10I loved this room. The music may be the strongest factor, but the theme was so stand out which is important to me. The room also encourages a lot of teamwork which is a big boost for me! The host was really entertaining and really made this a genuinely fun experience. Similar to The Pavilion Perplex, this room was also based on a true story.

Jenny

9/10I loved the theme, it was really fun and so different. I also really enjoyed listening to music whilst playing – more rooms should do that! There were multiple spaces that opened up as the game progressed. Collating information isn’t a personal favourite of mine, but this was designed in a way that you didn’t need to make notes which improved it for me. They offered assistance without us asking for it. For the lights puzzle, the help they gave was too detailed and left little for us to work out ourselves which was a shame.

Paul

9/10I had a lot of fun in this room, especially as some of the puzzles were not the bog standard puzzles you get in a lot of escape rooms.

 Bharath

Value

7/10The price of the game is very reasonable – it’s absolutely worth playing at this price. My one caveat here is that the theme is a bit tired – yes, its themed to a specific era but that’s ultimately set dressing – the choice of a particular carpet, what pictures hang on the wall etc. – for the most part, its interchangeable with any other apartment set minus a couple of ‘set-piece’ items.

 Daiman

10/10At the small price of £23.50 this room gives everything you need in way of an escape room – passionate staff, entertaining hosts, excellence in theming and an all-in-all great escape room with limited key/padlock scenarios. The fact the games linked to a historical event is a plus. Similar to The Pavilion Express, you again get a card with unique stamps. It was nice to get a good grade other than ‘easily distracted’! You will not go wrong with booking this room!

Jenny

9/10With Modrophenia, you get a fantastic all-round experience with great challenging puzzles, a very well themed room and bags of added fun. And all for the very reasonable price of £23.50. Of Pier Pressure’s two rooms, this edges it for me due to the more exciting theme and the trickier puzzles. But they are both hits and I’m excited to see what they come up with next.

Paul

9/10I highly recommend this room, value for money wise. You are taken on a story with twists and turns.

 Bharath

Overall scores