The Next Victim — The Victims' Game Outdoor Escape Room Spoiler-Free Review

“The Next Victim” is an outdoor escape game co-created by Greener Grass Film — the production team behind Taiwan’s acclaimed 2020 drama The Victims’ Game — and game design studio Clubon. This post will cover what outdoor escape games are, who The Next Victim is best suited for, and my honest spoiler-free impressions after playing.

What is an outdoor escape game?

An outdoor escape game means leaving behind the internet, computers, and gaming consoles, and going into the real world to solve puzzles. It’s a bit like escape rooms, but the space is much larger — you’re outside.
Both outdoor escape games I’ve played so far (the other being For the Benefit of the Enemy) rely heavily on your phone and mobile data. Your phone is your link to the story, so everyone needs to make sure their battery is charged.

Teams need at least two players and can’t exceed five. You purchase a game kit before playing, and the game is configured based on the registered player count — if your group size changes, make sure to contact the game company.
The game was maintained until April 28, 2021, meaning you could buy the kit in advance and just needed to finish before that date. Pick a nice day and head out XD. Just make sure to check for any venue closures or schedule changes before you leave.

Compared to the Devotion ARG, both are grounded in the real world, but in Devotion you play as yourself; in The Next Victim, you’re playing a character designed within the game’s story. Because of this, the character immersion might not be as strong as a true ARG.
Another difference: you’re confined to the area around Zhongshan MRT Station from the start. The boundaries are clearly defined, which makes it simpler and more beginner-friendly — but also loses some of that breathless excitement (remember how everyone was running all over Taiwan for Devotion XD).
Finally, we consciously purchase and enter this game; in Devotion, that sense of deliberate participation was less pronounced. The feeling is just different. Neither is better or worse.

The Victims’ Game — How does The Next Victim connect to the series?

Can you play this without having watched The Victims’ Game?
I’m sure a lot of people are wondering whether they can invite friends who haven’t seen the show. My answer: yes, you can.

The game is set before the events of the drama series. The character you play isn’t from the show, but you’ll have some scenes alongside the series’ leads.
Because the timeline is set before the drama, players who haven’t watched it can still enjoy it easily. There are also a few props that hint at events from the show — maybe enough to pull them into the fandom (?)
Fans who have already seen the show will get to enjoy some extra Easter eggs with the familiar characters. Though… honestly, there aren’t that many XD.

The Victims’ Game characters appear in The Next Victim — fans of the drama will feel a warm sense of familiarity, while new players can still enjoy the game without any spoilers. (Image source: Clubon)

You can also check out the game’s trailer for an overview of the story!

Tips

We played in the afternoon on 2020/06/21, and it seemed like another group was playing at the same time.
We had five people total. Here are a few small tips for anyone planning to play:

1. Make sure your phone is charged: this game relies heavily on your phone for both story content and puzzles;
2. Confirm headcount in advance — no dropping out mid-game: the game won’t let you proceed to the next stage until all players have completed the current one. If your group size changes, contact the game company right away;
3. Follow the instructions: this is an outdoor game, so you’ll be stopping and starting all over the area. But a few times everyone started thinking “hey, do we actually need to do XXXX?” — we tried those shortcuts and, no surprise, they came back to bite us XD. Trust the process XD;
4. The game can glitch — refresh if you hit a bug: we were on Android phones and encountered broken images at both the beginning and the end. A lot of people also accidentally skipped to the next stage. If that happens, don’t panic — just refresh;
5. Mind the sun: it’s not easy to get a big group together on a nice day. If your play day turns out to be brutally hot, make sure you’re hydrating regularly XD.

Impressions

Personally, I’d say this game is worth it.
It has a great wrapper — The Victims’ Game — and whether or not you’ve seen the show, there’s still plenty to enjoy.
The difficulty leans easy (though a few puzzles stumped us briefly), but its packaging is effective, which makes it a good game to use when introducing friends to this style of gaming.
It’s also a great excuse to discover some nice shops and spots around Zhongshan Station.

That said, I do think there’s room for improvement.
Setting aside the minor bugs (most of my teammates were engineers, so they immediately started analyzing why the images broke and why the bugs happened XD) —
I didn’t feel fully invested in the story. Part of it might be that we were playing as a character but hadn’t built any emotional foundation for them beforehand. The story is also somewhat constrained by the existing Victims’ Game characters, and maybe could’ve been developed more deeply as a standalone.
Also, while we visited quite a few spots around Zhongshan Station and the game mentions specific places the show’s characters shopped, it would’ve been a fun touch if players got like a NT$5 coupon at those places. We probably would’ve happily spent money there XD. Not really a criticism, just a thought about how the marketing could’ve been tied together more tightly.

Clubon seems to have plenty of other game titles — if I get to play another one, I’ll write about it here :D

Thanks for reading :D

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