Escape room

The Cool Space

Seance

I had the pleasure of making Séance my 60th escape room. This game is truly, truly special. It ranks among the best games I have ever played. A truly immersive and unique theatrical feat. Short review: BOOK THIS IN NOW, even if you’re a scaredy cat. YOU WON’T REGRET IT. Run, don’t walk to The Cool Space. Long review: Read on.

Daniel and Josh are new in the owners’ circuit but clearly have the industry experience and passion to make this game sing. They have a strong sense of what makes puzzles fun, challenging and rewarding at the same time. Every solve was gratifying and encouraged many “aha!” moments. There is a wonderful variety of puzzles and all stay very well on theme.

The technical prowess on display is absolutely stunning. Everything went off without a hitch and the set design was perfect. They really knew how to use a small space by utilising such a unique concept. Staying seated throughout the entire experience never felt claustrophobic or limiting. If anything, it encouraged immersion in the story and setting and even enhanced the scare factor. The lighting is not only masterfully used to enhance the set but also the puzzles. The sound design is also the best I have ever seen in an escape room and truly blew me away.

I don’t usually enjoy live actors in escape rooms but I very much did so here. Instead of being used as a tool, the live actors felt like more of a guide to us on our journey and feel much more involved in the story. As opposed to being an addition to an experience, here they feel like an essential and beneficial part of the design.

Our arrival and exit at The Cool Space was a very easy and friendly experience. The location is easy to find and is close to public transport (we were able to grab street parking just around the corner). Our excitement to play was matched by our hosts and a very thorough debrief of the game was given to us after escaping. It was wonderful to chat with the owners about their game so passionately.

I am struck with a sense of awe knowing that Séance is only their first game. If this is what they can do on their first attempt, I cannot wait to see what they come up with in the future. 5/5 stars. I wish I could rate it higher. You must come and experience Séance for yourself.

Project Immersive Escape Rooms

Area 1: Nuclear Enrichment

Project Immersive is not your average escape room, it very much lives up to its name. They have the perfect venue that lends itself to the world presented. The story starts from the moment you arrive and they have a very clever use of language to impart regular escape room information without breaking immersion in the world. Damian helped facilitate our visit, was very generous and lovely to chat to.

For Nuclear Enrichment our game master August seamlessly took over from Tim (our gm for The Portal) after we solved our first "problem" at Area 1, they brought their own flair to the role and delightfully served us something a little more sinister. They facilitated the story with much aplomb and we loved that both scientist characters had a very distinct feeling from eachother. 

Nuclear Enrichment is still extremely story focused but felt a bit more like puzzle solving (which I loved) rather than the "doing science" feeling the puzzles in The Portal invoked. There was a stunning set and extremely authentic props and clutter but it was somehow still very intuitive to know what we actually needed to solve the puzzles and what was just theming, without breaking our immersion in the world. There was a stupendous use of tech, incredible sound design and a very beautiful finale.

We loved, loved LOVED this room. I just wish they had more experiences for us to try! This is the best example of a truly immersive escape room experience.

Area 1: The Portal

Project Immersive is not your average escape room, it very much lives up to its name. They have the perfect venue that lends itself to the world presented. The story starts from the moment you arrive and they have a very clever use of language to impart regular escape room information without breaking immersion in the world. Damian helped facilitate our visit, was very generous and lovely to chat to.

For The Portal, our game master Tim was superb, effortlessly maintaining character and was on the ball to ensure our game ran smoothly. He was our first point of contact when we arrived and convinced us of the world we were entering expertly with a wonderful dosing of humour. 

The most suitable words to describe The Portal are beyond cool and next level. It has a great use of space, fun tech and very neat puzzles that make you feel like a scientist. There is a heavy focus on story facilitated by great voice acting and stellar sound design. The set and props were excellent. I wouldn't call this room scary but it promotes an uneasy sense of what's coming with great theatricality.

We loved, loved LOVED this room. I just wish they had more experiences for us to try! This is the best example of a truly immersive escape room experience.

Next Level Escape

End of the Road

End of the Road is my favourite Next Level game to date. The way the game masters have been integrated into the game is really well done and creates a convincing in-universe line of communication. The use of the space and the theming is fantastic. This, coupled with the utilisation of the game master, creates a fully immersive world that was easy to suspend my disbelief in.
The puzzles were fun, on theme and intuitive. After 70 games it's rare to see unique puzzles but End of the Road has several wholly unique puzzles and many many more that put their own interesting twist on puzzles I have previously seen.
Your game master will make or break your experience here and Nikki was fantastic and really fun to volley with in-game. She customised our briefing to suit our experience level which was very appreciated and the tone was set expertly.
This is my new must-do Sydney recommendation for newbies and enthusiasts alike.

Strange World Escape Rooms

Mrs Claws

Mrs Claws was a spooky festive delight. Fans of bespoke escape rooms and haunted houses will find their niche here. The horror-averse need not despair as this game offers customisation to cater to your scare threshold (even if it's zero). There is a herculean effort pulled off by the scare actor and I recommend you fully buy into it to enjoy the broad scope of camp and horror on offer. The passion behind this game's design is on full display and I very much look forward to seeing what Strange World's next experience will offer.

Padlock'd 

The Abandoned Carnival

The Abandoned Carnival had many unexpected twists, turns and surprising reveals. There was a great variety of puzzles and 1 particularly exciting and fun moment that was a delight (sorry, no spoilers!).
The staff at Padlock'd were friendly and accommodating and our game master Zachary took good care of us.

Quest Room

Steampunk: Alchemist Revenge

Steampunk is a visual treat and tech delight. A very tactile room, it has fun theming and a smorgasbord of puzzles.
We felt extremely welcomed and most generously taken care of by our game master Lex, they truly went above and beyond to accommodate us. Great care and love has clearly been put into this business. We will definitely be back to check out their other experiences. This place is truly a gem.

Escape Manor

Cabin 13

Cabin 13 is delightfully spooky with theatrical moments and scares courtesy of our dear friend "Chris". The scare actor in this game is essential to the experience. They are extremely interactive, involved in the gameplay and set the vibe for your experience with great flair. I would encourage your team to fully buy in to what the actor is selling to maximise your experience (though this isn't too hard due to their skill). There is a big focus on story and the puzzles are fun. The staff at Escape Manor were also friendly and welcoming.

Fox in a Box Brisbane

The Other Side

The Other Side has a very strong concept with great theming choices and use of space. There were wonderful unexpected twists and turns and a mix of straightforward and unique puzzles that were satisfying to solve. The staff at Fox in a Box were friendly and ran a smooth operation with great enthusiasm.

Orphanage

Orphanage was a very difficult game with some fabulous unique puzzles (and locks!). It has beautifully creepy theatrical moments and is a must do for experienced escapists.
We felt extremely welcomed and most generously taken care of by our game master Lex, they truly went above and beyond to accommodate us. Great care and love has clearly been put into this business. We will definitely be back to check out their other experiences. This place is truly a gem.

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