Heart Of The MountainHeart Of The MountainEscape roomIRLHeart of the Mountain is an adventure room with problem solving challenges. It's a story heavy cinematic adventure styled as a love letter to the likes of Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider. With gorgeous large scale sets and a beautiful lighting and sound package, you feel like you have stepped onto a movie set. This is not an escape room but it's a wonderful adjacent experience and very accessible for newcomers to the hobby. Highly recommended this experience, our host, Steven, was fantastic.
Sweethearts Ice Cream ParlourThe Cool SpaceEscape roomIRLI scream for Sweehearts Ice Cream Parlour at The Cool Space! This room is a sweet delight. Building upon the success of their excellent first room Seance, the team at The Cool Space have delivered a much more ambitious project in Sweethearts. Achieving a very distinct design style that feels individual to them, it is wonderful to see their talents grow. The storyline is solid and succinct, featuring the trademark camp level of The Cool Space. The sets and dressings are very well done and the tech has been upgraded from what they have utilised in the past. And, as expected, the lighting and sound design is top tier, this aspect is (I believe) the strongest calling card of The Cool Space's rooms. The puzzles all work well, stay on theme and have excellent variety, difficult enough to keep you on your toes but still completable for your average group. Plus, keep an eye out for some very unique ones! There is a strong individual touch at work here, from how the story is delivered to the graphic design and post game debrief that makes this place feel special. There's nothing wrong with a chain but you just can't beat the product delivered to you by a dedicated small team of enthusiasts whose love for the industry shines through. Highly recommend this latest installation. 5🍦out of 5.
ExtractionThe Curium ExperienceEscape roomIRLOur hosts were the lovely owners of the business. They were very warm and extremely welcoming. A duo very passionate about game design and the industry. We felt very well taken care of and appreciated the opportunity to chat with them after the game. They have created a very ambitious experience with Extraction which does not disappoint. The decision to have staggered entry times ensures that groups of all experience levels get to see the entirety of this game. It makes very clever use of the space and has a wonderful mix of high and low tech elements. This game makes for a very hands on physical experience with a strong story. It had a really fun opening to the game and an extremely unique ending. Very impressive set design, stellar lighting job and exceptional sound design. If you like sci-fi, immersive spaces and an action packed adventure then this is the game for you. If you're in Melbourne make sure to check it out. Very reasonably priced for the experience provided. We're really looking forward to the next game.
Mafia: The Golden RingAdventure Rooms - Melbourne (Bourke St)Escape roomIRLFriendly staff here, Chelsea (i think that was her name) was very welcoming. Mafia was a delightful game with a strong theme and story. It had many inventive puzzles that always had a strong connection to the theme and story. We had a lot of fun with this one.
Australia's Original Escape RoomEscape Room Melbourne - ERMEscape roomIRLA novel experience that feels like an interactive museum exhibit. This is Australia's first ever escape room and it shows. Very old-school and not only can you see the inspiration that it gave to all the rooms that followed but you can feel the love that went into crafting this game originally. Don't expect any fancy tech but it doesn't need it with the amount of fun and well thought out puzzles it has.
BurlesqueEscapeXperienceEscape roomIRLMichael was a stellar host who is clearly very knowledgable and passionate about the industry. He ran our game very attentively and with much aplomb. A game master will make or break your experience and he definitely made ours. Burlesque is an old school game with a really fun energy. A good variety of puzzles with some inventive twists. The room had a strong through line and coherent story. Fans of murder mysteries will enjoy this one.
CarnivorousContainaphobiaEscape roomIRLCome prepared to have one of the most unique experiences in the industry. I don't want to spoil anything about it but just know that this is designed for enthusiasts. We brought along 2 non-enthusiasts and they told us their minds were blown by seeing just how incredible an escape room could be. It is due to close by the end of the year and it's a damn shame it is. The question you should be asking yourself is not "should I do it?", it should be "do I want to miss out on what will surely become the stuff of legend in escape room lore?". If you want to know absolutely nothing, STOP READING But there are a few aspects I'd like to shout out. I was uncertain of the decision to make this incompletable in one attempt, but it is worth the money to return as there are plenty of puzzles provided. Expect to visit 2-3 times to complete it all and expect the unexpected. It is so incredibly ambitious and expansive. And the sets and props are so lovingly and masterfully created. To top it off, it has the most unforgettable and unexpected opening to a game I've ever seen. Make the effort to get your team together and get out to Geelong. You'll be sorry if you miss it.
Mrs ClawsStrange World Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLMrs 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.
Area 1: Nuclear EnrichmentProject Immersive Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLProject 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 PortalProject Immersive Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLProject 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.
