The Man From BeyondStrange Bird ImmersiveEscape roomIRLFor us, weâve never experienced an escape room quite like this. The level of storytelling, the set design, and the performances from the live actors were the true highlights of the experience. The story itself wraps up perfectly, it feels like you just stepped foot into a whole movie from start to finish! Unfortunately, there were moments where some of the monologues felt a little too long. From the moment you step inside to the very end, the immersion of being in another world is never brokenâand thatâs a bit of a double-edged sword for us. One of our favourite things to do is chat with the GMs after a room and geek out over the mechanics. However, itâs clear SBI takes their world-building seriously: you never interact with anyone out of character, and you leave feeling like you truly entered this reality and never quite stepped out of it. While thatâs not necessarily our cup of tea, itâs something we can absolutely appreciate and respect. As others have mentioned, the escape room itself leans toward a more traditional lock-and-key style, which can feel a bit dated compared to newer rooms. That said, the puzzles are all themed around Houdini and blend seamlessly into the set and storyâthey donât necessarily stand out individually, but they contribute well to the overall experience. Even the clue system is fully integrated, to the point where you hardly think about there being a GM behind it. Because of this, and perhaps due to the more classic puzzle design, it feels more like a theatrical experience than a puzzle-driven escape room. Overall, this is still an incredible experience that I would recommend to anyone in the Houston area. If you want to feel like youâve stepped into a movie, this is absolutely worth traveling for. However, if youâre looking for a puzzle-heavy experience, it may be best to temper your expectations.
Phantom Files: The Investigation Of Lockturne ManorThe Escape Ventures - Port CharlotteEscape roomIRLThis was an incredible room from the atmosphere, quality of the set design, to the incorporation of a live actor throughout parts of the experience. This really wasnât something we had experienced before and we can see why itâs so highly rated! It really felt like we were ghost hunters. Our favourite part would be the start where there was a clear flow of logic behind each puzzle, and everything was connected. The latter part seemed to lack this flow, with a bigger room and a bunch of random locks to attend toâthere wasnât a clear connection between the answer to the puzzle and its corresponding lock (you had to just kinda assume). But the theming was so strong throughout the whole experience, even before you step through to the initial room. Just a lot of cool parts throughout, that will stick with us for a long time. One of them being the theme song.
A Not So Fairytale EndingLock, Clock, and Peril Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLOur hearts are so full after doing this room! While we were initially meant to do Teleporter Trials (but cursed traffic caused us to miss the booking), it appears the fairy magic đŞ pushed us to do this room insteadâand I can wholeheartedly say we do not regret it one bit. This whole room was endearing, feeling like a cozy homecooked meal. Even down to the little details, like with crocheted characters by Sarah (our GM). The story is child friendly and lighthearted but that does lessen its enjoyment. The whole set design and puzzles are full of character, it really felt like we fell into a childrenâs fairytale. Puzzles themselves arenât too difficult, very intuitive and logical, which meant that we had time to take in the setting. The GM also keeps watch throughout, and you can have fun little banter with them in character. There are multiple rooms of different styles, so the scale and adventure felt huge! I couldnât recommend LC&P enough, itâs clearly made with love. Take your time in the room, enjoy the beautiful design. Also make sure when youâre there to take a trip to the bathroom to see the shark toilet roll holder đŤĄ
EXTERMINATED: Terror at the JunkyardEvasive Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLWhat a fantastic showcase of the passion and talent of the team at Evasive Escape Rooms! Having done Fallout shelter just the night before, we were convinced by Trevor to try out this one despite my uncertainty with doing a scary escape room. I can confidently say that while I did indeed jump and get spooked, it was such an incredible and enjoyable experience that I am glad I gave it a go! So if you are worried about the level of scary, I think it was the perfect balance of spook that was timed well and thematic with the overall story. But the GMs are very accommodating to tailor the experience to your needs. The puzzles were original and so creatively mixed in with each roomâlike everything was on theme and made sense being there. For an experienced player, they were complex, but we were able to logic them given the context clues around the room, and without any nudging/GM clues. However, for more novice players, we can see this room being quite challenging. To emphasise the care that the team put into building immersion, every room even had a scent! This room was clearly built by escape room enthusiasts for escape room enthusiasts. It oozes originality from the story, the environment, to the puzzles. And we had a great time discussing the behind the scenes with our GMs Trevor and Chris.
Crazy Train: The Ballad of Skeemin' PlotzDoldrick's Escape RoomEscape roomIRLThe set design and theming really elevated this room above the other escape rooms weâve tried around the area. I appreciate the linearity and flow of puzzles. There were clear story objectives set at each part that then leads to the final task, making each puzzle have a logical progression and all contributing to the overarching story. Unlike Spoopy Bones, the theme and story are intertwined nicely throughout, making the experience cohesive and like weâre really on a train and weâre really training raptor riders! Some areas of improvement: certain puzzles were quite tedious and repetitive, and the final puzzle also appeared to not require all elements to be used to work properly (we forgot to switch some things and it still worked fine?). It appears Doldrickâs has a strong emphasis on making kid-friendly, âgoofyâ themed rooms with stories that are meant to be humorous/satrical. While these arenât the type of rooms that we love, this one was still very enjoyable and fun to be in.
ExtractionThe Curium ExperienceEscape roomIRLWe are still quite new to the escape room scene so The Curium has blown our standards out of the waters. The quality, the thought, and the genuine passion that was felt from the experience was palpable. The puzzles were logical and flowed very well. Having the puzzles be not entirely linear also meant that, that you could focus more on enjoying interacting with the whole place rather than hyper-focused on one lock. Really couldnât recommend it enough!!
Mafia: The Golden RingAdventure Rooms - Melbourne (Bourke St)Escape roomIRLJust a super solid escape room both in story and set design. The puzzles were mostly logical and they did their best to immerse it in the setting. It was a bit difficult for only two people given the amount of things to do, but with a bit of extra time, we were able to clear it. We really enjoyed this one!
PlaygroundThe Escape Game - New JerseyEscape roomIRLAs two people, this was a room where we finally appreciate the recommended number of people required. While none of the puzzles were necessarily hard, with the sheer number of puzzles in the room, it was hard to run around and get it all done. This made this game quite challenging and physical for us. Though with more people, itâs definitely more accessible and easy as advertised! The set design and overall theming of the classroom and playground is just great! It really throws you back to your childhood. Puzzles themselves were truly nonlinearâthere was no order on which one to complete first. Escape Game rooms always nail the establishing the objective part, and this was no different. While puzzles were on theme, they werenât necessarily that logical. You wouldnât piece everything together thinking âoh this must go with thisâŚâ, itâs more like there is so much stuff around that if you keep prodding what you have with something around the room, itâll eventually work. This is why the room is definitely suited for more people where you can cover more ground. There were definitely many enjoyable and unique puzzles/moments that make this room a great one. I think itâs the best pick for large groups to have fun in at this Escape Game!
Earthrise OneEarthrise OneEscape roomIRLOne of the best escape rooms in terms of storyline and the flow of the puzzles! Everything made logical sense in being there, which made the immersion even better. There is a real sense of mystery and urgency. I especially enjoyed the special touch of having the GM communicate through a typed comms log.
Deep Space: DivinityUkiyoEscape roomIRLHonestly coming from the other space-related escape rooms around Melbourne and The Crumbling Prince series, the introduction to the Deep Space series leaves us wanting a bit more. Unfortunately, it felt more like the AI was a guide, directing us to specific actions, rather than a being to interact with to understand more lore of the story. So it didnât feel like we had much opportunity to interact with the lil guy, but perhaps thatâs because there was only two of us. Outside of that, the puzzles were unique but simple and minimal. The overall experience felt a bit short, and we didnât come out of it with a full appreciation for the story as we had hoped. As two people, the recommended minimum group number of four seemed quite a lot given the small space and puzzle amount. But maybe the larger group numbers allow for better interaction with the AI. That being said, the set design and the overarching story is intriguing. It is a good introduction to the series, and to story-based escape rooms for those who are less experienced. Although, as a standalone experience, we would like to see more.
