The Crumbling Prince - Episode 1

We were on holiday with limited time, so we took on a marathon session and completed The Crumbling Prince (Parts 1 & 2) and Deep Space (Parts 1 & 2) all in one day. Deep Space was my personal favourite for the level of player agency it offers- your choices shape the experience. That said, many consider The Crumbling Prince their standout, and it really comes down to personal preference. Crumbling Prince is artistic, surreal, and dreamlike, with beautiful aesthetics and a unique mechanic where each player wears a different mask and has a unique ability. It follows a more linear narrative path, and while you interact with the Prince throughout, your choices don’t significantly alter the course of the story in the way Deep Space allows. Part 1 of Crumbling Prince ends quite abruptly, raising more questions than it answers- it definitely feels like just the beginning of a bigger journey. I would’ve felt a bit unsatisfied stopping there, so I was glad we had the time to jump straight into Part 2, which made the experience feel more complete and rewarding. I’m intrigued to see how the story continues in Part 3!

Absolutely amazing. We went with our 2 girls (10 and 11) and they loved it too. Can’t wait to go back for ep 2!

Truly an immersive experience interacting with the environment itself and the main storyteller of the room. The puzzles were woven into the environment were very creative in placement, making the room feel larger than it was. Each player gets a unique experience with the different masks provided, allowing you to really feel like you're in the setting, with a great story to follow along with it! There is a reason this room has so many good reviews!!

A completely different type of experience to your average escape room but one that I really enjoyed. Rather than keys, locks and puzzles being the focus, The Crumbling Prince focuses on immersing you in the world and the story to be unravelled. Everyone gets a mask with a special ability allowing a lot of moments for collaboration and discovery. The puzzles were pretty straightforward and overlapped a little with each other in terms of solve but nothing egregious. Speaking to The Prince in the room and getting real time responses is a very cool interactive process I’ve only seen utilised once or twice. The room does end rather abruptly, it felt a bit like as soon as we were getting into the story and it was getting a bit more engaging we were finished and invited back for episode 2. The masks also felt a bit uneven also as two of us were getting rich story and plot moments from the headphones while the other two were essentially just a UV and a regular torch. Honestly one of the few barriers I had to playing this room earlier is the price and after playing I’m still not convinced of the $80+ price tag per episode. We have yet to play the next part but I’ll be intrigued as to where it goes and if I think it’s worth paying such a high amount twice for utilisation of (mostly) the same space.

Not an ordinary escape room, felt like entering a Zelda game and becoming a main character. Storytelling based game while still having interactive puzzles.

Such a different experience than your average escape room being set in a beautiful Japanese garden with no real time pressure to progress through the story. The integration of AI and personalisation of the mask system were amazing features that really make Ukiyo stand out. Their focus on storytelling is really apparent and makes for a much more immersive experience overall.

The atmosphere and story telling is amazing. Full immersion with costumes and masks with specific abilities. A lot less puzzley than a typical escape room. You go into this for the story and experience basically. Quite expensive though. We had a lot of fun but the price point is a little high

This is a unique and really fun experience. Unlike other escape rooms, this doesn't have the race against the clock feel, we were just able to explore and take part in the story. The puzzles were fun and fairly easy to follow, even though it was basically all in the one room. Having different roles added to the fun as we all experienced the room a little differently. The dramatic ending made us very eager to continue the story in part 2!

Honestly one of the best escape rooms I’ve done. The set design is on point, the storyline is perfect and heavily incorporated into the puzzles. The puzzles itself were unique. Much more I’d an experience than your typical escape room. Staff were amazing too

Quite different from your run of the mill escape room. The dialogue with the prince itself is such a wonderfully different mechanic and the effort put in for the running stream was a nice touch in completing the atmosphere. We were served tea and a Mochi at the beginning and that was rather lovely!