ExtractionThe Curium ExperienceEscape roomIRLIf you’re hunting for an escape room that goes above and beyond, Extraction at The Curium Experience is the one. I went in with my girlfriend, dad, and two cousins, and we were completely blown away. From the moment we stepped inside, it was clear this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill puzzle game. The immersive atmosphere pulled us in straight away; every detail, from the meticulously crafted puzzles to the atmospheric sounds, kept us engaged the entire time. The design of the room felt polished and purposeful, and the challenges were clever, flowing perfectly without being either too easy or frustratingly obscure. It’s hands down the best escape room I’ve ever experienced; and my group unanimously agreed. If you love escape rooms, this one sets the standard. We left buzzing about it for hours afterward. Highly recommended to anyone looking to take their escape room adventures to the next level.
Area 1: The PortalProject Immersive Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThe experience was fantastic from start to finish! The set and prop design were top-notch, with a lot of creative, unique puzzles and an atmosphere that kept us fully immersed. We really appreciated the staff's dedication; they were “on” from the moment we stepped into the car park and stayed in character all the way until we left, which added so much to the experience.
Steampunk: Alchemist RevengeQuest RoomEscape roomIRLWe recently tackled the steampunk adventure at Quest, and it was an absolute blast! The tech blew us away; no traditional locks or keys; everything was beautifully electronic and seamlessly integrated. The puzzles were reasonably challenging, keeping us on our toes and completely engaged, with the time flying by as we worked our way through. My father and I finished the 90-minute room with just 3 minutes and 36 seconds to spare! A huge shoutout to Lex, the fantastic manager. Not only did he help us during our adventure, but he also went above and beyond to make the experience special for my dad’s birthday. Lex added six personalized messages and three images that I had sent in advance, integrating them into the room as unlockable secrets. It was an incredibly thoughtful touch that made the experience truly memorable. Highly recommended!
Quest For The Wand of IlluminationArcadium AdventuresEscape roomIRLAbsolutely Magical Experience from Start to Finish! I can't recommend Arcadium Adventures enough! From the very first email exchange, I was blown away by their commitment to creating an immersive and magical experience. For a bit of fun, I sent in our booking request in character, and Joie from Arcadium completely played along – not breaking the 4th wall even once, from the emails to when we left their doors. It set the tone for the entire experience, and we were completely enchanted before we even arrived! Upon arrival, the magic continued. We were greeted by a scroll on the floor with a personalized poem that incorporated our group’s names and details I had sent through earlier, including our names with character titles I’d made up. As a graphic designer, I even created little avatars for each of us, which I sent to Arcadium, and to my absolute delight, they had printed them out and used them around the table in the bar area, complete with beautiful calligraphy for each place setting. The attention to detail was incredible! Once the quest began, we found ourselves truly immersed in the story and atmosphere. The puzzles were engaging and challenging, and while we did get stuck a few times, there was a helpful "assistant" who, if you paid close attention, subtly gave us the clues we needed without breaking the immersion. It was just the right amount of assistance, we felt challenged but supported, which made completing the quest even more rewarding. One of the coolest parts was that there were six of us and six different puzzles. Each time we solved one, we received the next clue along with a character card personalized with our avatars. We even got to take all of these custom pieces home as a memento, which added an extra special touch to an already perfect experience. Honestly, this was 100 out of 10. The effort and personalization that went into making our adventure unforgettable cannot be overstated. If you're looking for a truly unique and immersive escape room experience, look no further than Arcadium Adventures!
Pursuit Of The Elixir Of LifeArcadium AdventuresEscape roomIRLWe tackled The Elixir of Life in Arcadium's Realm of Magic, and it was a standout! The room was crafted to draw us into a world of mystery and sorcery, and the puzzles kept us engaged without any frustrating lulls. Time flew by as we dove deeper into each clue, so we were honestly surprised to hear the five-minute and one-minute warnings; but, somehow, we made it out with just 34 seconds to spare! As experienced escape roomers, we appreciated the perfect balance between challenge and flow. Special shoutout to our incredible host, Zulpa! Her energy and commitment to the theme made her feel like part of the room itself, guiding us as an ally on the quest. Arcadium knows how to pull players into immersive gameplay with attention to detail in storytelling and design. Highly recommended!
The Mystery of The Missing ProfessorArcadium AdventuresEscape roomIRLWe took on The Mystery of the Missing Professor in Arcadium’s Realm of Mystery, and it was a total blast! Arriving early, we were met with the amazing Zulpa and Cosmo, who not only welcomed us warmly but let us start ahead of schedule; a true testament to Arcadium’s great service. The room’s Egypt-inspired theme was beautifully crafted, intricate yet easy to navigate, which made the experience so immersive for us as history fans. Every puzzle had a natural flow, and we could easily see connections between clues and items as we went along. We ended up solving the room with a record-breaking 25 minutes to spare, clocking in at 35 minutes total! Such an energizing experience, and it really shows how well the room was designed for a smooth but thrilling flow. Big thanks to Zulpa and Cosmo for adding that extra magic; they were fantastic guides, making us feel like true adventurers.
Tesla's MysteryFox in a Box BrisbaneEscape roomIRL⭐️☆☆☆☆ (1/5) I’ve done a lot of escape rooms around Australia, including some genuinely outstanding, award-winning ones like Curium’s “Extraction” in Melbourne, so I feel like I’ve got a fair baseline for comparison. We played “Tesla’s Mystery” at Fox in a Box Brisbane, their “hardest” room, and overall we had fun, but it left us feeling a bit underwhelmed by the end. We finished the room with 12:45 left on the clock (47:15 total) and only needed 2-3 clues the whole time. That’s not a brag so much as context: for the venue’s hardest room, we expected a bit more in terms of depth, surprise, and variety. Theming and atmosphere: The theming itself was genuinely great. The set design and overall vibe were on point and it felt like care had gone into the aesthetic. A few of the mechanical and magnetic puzzles were really enjoyable and fit nicely with the Tesla theme. However, the majority of the gameplay leaned heavily on code-breaking and combination locks. After a while it felt like we were just cycling through “find numbers → enter combo → repeat.” With so many locks of a similar style, the puzzle variety started to blur together and become repetitive. By the time we hit the final puzzle and the room ended, we both had that “oh… that’s it?” feeling instead of a big payoff. Immersion issues: One of the biggest things that hurt the experience was that we could clearly hear people shouting, banging, and reacting to jumpscares in other rooms through the walls. The venue was absolutely packed when we visited, which is great for business, but it broke immersion and made it feel more like throughput-focused entertainment than a genuine, contained escape experience. Some soundproofing or staggered start times would go a long way in fixing this. The ‘letter from Tesla’ and intro: Before the room, you’re given a letter “from Nikola Tesla” and told to find your room, which is a nice idea in theory and adds flavour. In practice, our room was literally just around the corner with a big sign on the door, so the “hunt” for the room felt more like a brief gimmick than an immersive moment. Once inside, a staff member essentially repeated what we’d already read on the website and again in the letter. It made the build-up feel redundant, like hearing the same intro three times instead of being drawn deeper into the experience. The team name situation: This was a small thing on paper but honestly the part that really got under my skin. We came up with what we thought was a brilliant themed team name, “Teslaticles”, which fit the room perfectly and gave us a sense of identity and fun. Without asking us, staff changed it to “Peanuts.” It might sound trivial, but after putting effort into the experience, finishing strong, and riding the post-room buzz, seeing our name replaced with something unrelated and generic felt unnecessarily dismissive and patronising. We messaged afterwards to ask why, and never received a reply, the silence made it feel worse than the swap itself. Overall: We still had a good time. The room looks great, the vibes are solid, and there are some fun mechanical moments sprinkled in. But for a venue’s hardest room, the puzzle structure leans too much on repeated lock-based patterns, the finale doesn’t quite land with impact, and the immersion is badly undercut by noise bleed from neighbouring rooms and a rushed, high-throughput environment. Combined with the team-name situation, the experience felt chipped-away by several unnecessary details. With more puzzle variety, stronger sound control, a more climactic ending, and a bit more respect for player experience choices (including how they name their team), this could be a standout room. As it stands, it’s a decent experience with great theming that doesn’t quite live up to its potential. My 1-star rating reflects the cumulative impact of multiple avoidable issues, and at its current standard I would not recommend this room over other options in Brisbane.
Dr. Irov's laboratoryPuzzled Room EscapeEscape roomIRLDr. Irov’s Lab at Puzzled Room Escape is an engaging and immersive escape experience with a well-crafted atmosphere that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The puzzles are clever, challenging, and rewarding, requiring solid teamwork to crack. You’ll definitely need a team to get through—we tackled it with four players and just made it in time! If you’re looking for a fun and brain-teasing escape room that keeps you thinking until the very last second, this one is well worth a try. Highly recommend!
