Mr Pepper’s Toy ShopThe Cipher Room St PetersEscape roomIRLThe Cipher Room continues to pump out absolute bangers and Mr Pepper’s is no exception. With challenging puzzles and an amazing amazing amazing set design we were fully immersed from the beginning. One of the craziest and also most satisfying ends I’ve seen in any escape room, we left absolutely awestruck. Our Game Master Frank was a joy and allowed us to replay the ending after one of our team members was too scared and missed it which was very kind. A MUST if you’re playing rooms in Sydney.
La RébellionThe Cipher Room St PetersEscape roomIRLHoly moly. What an incredible room. After having this room recommended over and over and seeing all the awards I must admit I went in with high expectations. These were exceeded immensely. Potentially my favourite room to date with insanely high immersion and a theme I’ve never encountered before. The puzzles were challenging but never felt impossible, there was so much content and it all fit perfectly within the theme. The set design is second to none, and I cannot wait for their new room. Our Game Master Ace was great and chatting to the owner Marise beforehand was a joy. We also loved the pins we collected along the way for completing all of the rooms. Vive la résistance ✊🏻
女王と国のために [For Queen & Country]Studio Escape NipponbashiEscape roomIRLI do say, our second room back to back at Studio Escape and another certified BANGER. Another stunning room, the set was truly incredible. The puzzles all related well and made sense within the space although we did have a little bit more trouble with some of the tech stuff in this one. The storyline was funny and well crafted, packed with sinister reveals, evil laughs and even a personalised message from the Queen. What more could you want? I love what Studio Escape are doing and can’t wait to come back for Shadow Zen which was unfortunately out of commission whilst I was on holidays.
The WarrensUltimate RoomscapeEscape roomIRLThis room is what a challenging room should look like. The puzzles flowed into one another seamlessly with the occasional call-back to a prop or item from a prior room that kept us engaging with every aspect from start to finish. The scares were well done and had me standing as far from every new door as I could. The storyline was a spook in itself as was the opening briefing given to us by the staff that left us already a bit uneasy before our time even began. Truly one of WA's best rooms that I've experienced and a recommendation to all my friends who visit.
ExtractionThe Curium ExperienceEscape roomIRLWow. What an experience. The highest immersion I’ve ever felt in an escape room, traversing various levels and transitional spaces it felt like it would never end. It’s interactive in every way and has a clever mix of traditional mechanical, skill based, and tech forward puzzles. The storyline is engaging and makes you feel like you’re in your own movie keeping the sense of urgency heightened at all times. The owners are clearly passionate about challenging what an escape room can be and have set the bar extremely high. A must do for any enthusiast, a room you won’t soon forget.
Sweethearts Ice Cream ParlourThe Cool SpaceEscape roomIRLWith Mr Sweetheart keeping his secret recipe close to his chest and giving us the cold shoulder when we tried to extract information from him, there was only one appropriate course of action. A HEIST. Finally, we made our long awaited return to The Cool Space and ended up doing what we know best, kicking ice and looking cool doing it. From the get go set design is super funky, really leaning into the old school Ice-Cream Parlour vibe that the narrative is placed in. I am especially fond of a space with story-driven dynamic lighting. I think it’s a super under-utilised element within escape rooms and The Cool Space use it extremely well. This experience has some super unique puzzles and I think that’s one of the best features of both the games here. Everything feels tailored specifically to the room from the actual working fridges to the straw dispenser. Just another banger from Josh and Daniel. They’ve built it so full of heart and this really shows. We’ll be back for the next room, probably a couple weeks after its opening as seems to be our tradition.
SeanceThe Cool SpaceEscape roomIRLAfter hearing about the unique seated nature of this room my friends and I decided we had to try it, even just to see if it would even work. And work it does. From start to finish this room was a blast, though you’re confined to your seat you never feel the need to get up as there is plenty of puzzles to keep you busy. It’s one of the most collaborative, linear rooms I’ve played where each new puzzles requires a lot of teamwork and communication. The puzzles were unique and fit the theme, upping the immersion with each new solve. Some very cool tech with a great scare factor, Seance blew me away. The owners Josh and Daniel were fantastic, they are clearly very passionate about the industry and were more than happy to chat with us, answering any and all questions we had. A few touch ups are still to come and I think they will help smooth out some minor issues but these are easily forgivable given upon our playing of this room it had only been open a total of 9 days. A truly impressive debut from The Cool Space you have to check out.
The SacrificeMission Escape George StEscape roomIRLIt's hard to play rooms in Sydney without having the games at Mission mentioned. After reading some reviews and hearing about the style of each game we decided on The Sacrifice. I don't know if my expectations were too high or I went in with the wrong mindset but I didn't love this game. The set is no doubt grand and impressive and the space itself feels pretty large. Beyond this though I didn't really feel engaged or immersed by the content. There were not a heap of puzzles which is fine but those that were in the room weren't really anything inspired with seemingly more than half just some form of Simon Says. There's a whole illustrious set design and then an "acromantula" that is a glorified K-Mart Halloween decoration glued to the ceiling. The gap between the good and the bad design is pretty stark. There's a lot of emphasis on the live actors in the room with this often being used to justify their pretty steep pricing. Out of the 80 odd minutes we spent in room maybe 15 seconds of those included any live actor. One moment was even so short a good portion of our group missed it happening. I also don't love being handed a story to read prior to the room beginning. You'd think given there are actors on site it could be presented by the staff in a more immersive way. I feel like even though we tried our best to follow along the story, we still found ourselves guessing the answers towards the end. Some cool moments but far from my favourite in Sydney.
The Marlowe HotelThe Cipher Room NewtownEscape roomIRLFrom the moment you open your eyes in the Marlowe Hotel you are transported into a film noir set with an entirely black and white set design. The puzzles were varied and mostly challenging but connected very well with the theme. There are lots of little clues hidden around so you need to be extremely perceptive to get everything you require. Their recommendation to wear all black and white is a must to get the most out of the unique immersion factor and really made us feel in the world. Our Game Master Tess was lovely to chat to and kept us entertained while we waited.
Mrs ClawsStrange World Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLHOE HOE HOLY SH*T What a truly phenomenal experience. Mrs Claws is an entertaining hour of erotica, humour, puzzles and scares definitely not for the faint-hearted/prudish. Part drag show, part horror comedy we had an absolute blast trying (allegedly) to save Santa's life. I feel like we did so much beyond your standard puzzling; we traversed a maze, played plinko, met a vampire and even performed a séance. Sadly this room was in it's final days when we played as is the ephemeral design of Strange World Escapes. It will however live on as one of the funniest, raunchiest escape rooms I've played. Big thank you to co-owners/stars/extraordinaires Tan and Will for putting together a one of a kind experience and also taking the time to chat us through the room afterwards. We're sad to see the room go but very excited to see what is to come in the future.
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