MetamorphosisThe Cipher Room St PetersEscape roomIRL🦋 I’M GOING THROUGH CHANGES 🦋 Cipher, my sweet cheese, my good time boy, I’ve finally come back for you!! Man, what a truly remarkable experience this was, after writing so many escape room reviews it really does become difficult to find new and meaningful ways to praise quality workmanship such as this but regardless, I will persist. Metamorphosis, a surprising, beautiful, left-of-centre adventure that for me, succeeded in subverting my expectations while still maintaining that Cipher charm I’ve consistently lauded over the years. It was compact, it was thrilling and it was clever. As a surprise to no one, the set design is top-tier. It’s right up there with some of the most inventive uses of space I’ve ever seen in an escape room; rivalling that of Intruders at Mission Escape. My mental layout of the environment was flipped on its head and spun around a few times which truly did wonders for the immersion, I always get such kick out of losing my bearings and this was no exception. Big tick. The puzzles, while relatively tame in their difficulty, were still gorgeous and varied. I think it’s damn near impossible to fault what some would call an “easy room” when every single element throughout is of such a high quality. At no point in our play-through did I feel disengaged or lost, we had a sea of interesting props, story-beats and wow-moments to sink our teeth into, it was nothing short of exceptional. I applaud Cipher for trying something new here, I think in this industry (and the world in general) creativity is fleeting, so to experience something which for me was just.. originality personified, it warmed my heart and gave me hope that people will continue to make really cool shit. A home run. A masterclass. A triumph. 9.7/10 🔏🧩
UnstoppableMission Escape George StEscape roomIRL🎟️ TICKETS PLEASE 🎟️ Mission Escape has always been such an interesting venue to me, depending on which enthusiast you ask, their rooms will either be lauded or detested depending on what you’re in to; are they too narrative-heavy? Too ambitious? Too overhyped? Too janky? Who’s to say? Either way there’s no such thing as bad press so I’m rolling the dice again. Unstoppable is a fantastically well-crafted and technologically impressive escape room that creates such a wonderful atmosphere of playfulness and urgency right from the word go, I genuinely loved it. What stood out to me comparative to their other experiences was the quantity and difficulty of the puzzles, those suckers were everywhere and they were so much fun to tackle in their tactile nature. I found the room had such a clever balance of story vs solves with our little tablet serving as a really useful tool for conveying new information and keeping us on track in such an expansive set. Very cool. In terms of feedback, there wasn’t anything throughout the game that I deemed to be overtly illogical or ridiculous; was the blind puzzle tricky? Yes. Was the pedal mini-game devious? Yes. Was I upset my train ticket cost $300?? YES. But ultimately these things didn’t detract but instead made us focus a little harder. My gripe with Mission is the same as it’s always been, stop giving players an A4 sheet of paper to read in the lobby pre-game. You build massive sets for these intricate narratives and yet you set the scene with generic blocks of text. Utilise your actors, gang. Overall a superb play-through that went off the rails (ha) very quickly. 8.6/10 🔏🧩
TurbulenceUrban EscapadeEscape roomIRLTHERE’S TERROR IN THE SKIES!! (me) My first crack at Urban Escapade and I ended up having a really nifty time! Coming straight from the real Sydney airport into a 1968-spy-mission-Sydney-airport was quite the jump-scare but hey, that’s what being a part-time (on call) air marshal is all about. Turbulence was a really interesting game for me, the set was clean, the premise unique and the tech impressive. My friends and I enjoyed ourselves as we navigated the space, making sure to lug our totally normal and non-suspicious suitcase with us wherever we went; fully buying into our responsibilities of foiling something dastardly and airborne, it was a good time. My main constructive feedback here is at best, a little redundant. As having now played 2 different airport-themed escape rooms, it becomes clear to me just how difficult it is to try and make fun puzzles out of air-travel gimmicks. The overuse of elements like correspondence, documentation, maps, arrival times, scheduling and staff info never really sparked joy for me and created more of a workflow than a puzzle-flow. And while the designers here have done a fantastic job with the space, I fear if they continue to keep the puzzles more “in-world” they’re gonna find themselves restricted by the rules and expectations of the environment they picked. While I can definitely see players getting a kick out of this one, I think it just wasn’t my bag (ha). Special honourable mention to the cinematic ending and our wonderful GM, Danielle! And a special dishonourable mention to all the AI content used throughout the room. Boo. 6.9/10 🔏🧩
KidnappedUrban EscapadeEscape roomIRLI’VE BEEN SENT HERE BY A MR FONG. Mei, the daughter of a local businessman has been taken so naturally they called on me to help out. I mean it makes sense as I was the only one available and have extensive knowledge of 1920s San Fransisco Chinatown. Kidnapped is a really impressive traditional escape room, Urban Escapade have absolutely delivered once again in their set design and atmosphere, everything felt super clean and well-decorated, yippee!! The puzzles here also felt noticeably more varied than its turbulent counterpart with a mountain of tricky content which was all cleverly integrated into the case we were solving, it was a great time! While I’m usually pretty against something like a journal serving as a multi-use anchor for players to treat as their puzzle-solving bible, I actually found this one to be pretty clear cut. It didn’t have too much fluff and it’s clear a fair amount of effort went into the drawings and penmanship (if I find out the journal is AI I will scream). Only blemish was one puzzle that we accidentally cheesed that I think could be workshopped a touch as it felt needlessly convoluted and somewhat out of place. Oh well. Big ups on this one gang, the Tong’s never stood a chance. 7.3/10 🔏🧩
The Bank of Australia HeistEscape Hunt - SydneyEscape roomIRLEscape Hunt you make me UPSET. What’s there to say about The Bank of Australia Heist? It’s a room that’s apparently been open since the dawn of time judging by all the worn-down decor, props and puzzles. The story is uninspired (bordering on non-existent) and after slogging through a series of monotonous puzzles you’re congratulated with… an ear-splitting alarm. Amazing!! Also special shoutout to multiple rooms in this venue having the EXACT SAME final puzzle???? L A Z Y. Truthfully I played this room because it was relatively cheap and in the area but my god even just for getting the reps in, this was not worth it. Also, why do the Gamemasters here behave like they’re being held at gunpoint? I’ve seen more enthusiasm from people doing their taxes. There was no real debrief or congratulations or interest, they just kinda throw a video on the TV pre-game and call it a day. Boooooooooo Escape Hunt boooooooo! Truly an unmaintained relic of below-average escape rooms. Yuck. 3.9/10 🔏🧩
Assassin in the PubEscape Hunt - SydneyEscape roomIRLASSASSINATE ME NEXT PLEASE!!! So this was actually a back-to-back room for me; coming straight out of the cold, stale decor or the Bank and into the cold, stale decor of the Pub. Based on the reuse of props, puzzles and set decoration, it genuinely felt like I was just playing the same room again but this time, there’s been a murder?? And there’s like 50-odd suspects???? I don’t know. Assassin in the Pub is more of the same from Escape Hunt with lock boxes galore and a poorly maintained environment, it all just feels so unenergetic and boring. For an escape room that is so run-down I found it laughable that the final puzzle tries to make you care about/decipher ANY of its narrative beats. I mean there was just no real direction or purpose to anything yet the room demands you be attentive to a story that’s being told quietly in the background through a collect-a-thon of laminated sheets and random props. Badbadbad. Shockingly the staff did not magically become attentive and enthusiastic between this room and the last, I wish that whatever anguish weighs heavy in their heart relents soon because customer service might not be for them. Average room, average place. 4.1/10 🔏🧩
The DollmakerTime is KeyEscape roomIRLI’M ALL DOLL’D UP WITH NOWHERE TO GO :( What’s up Morty fans.. Mortinites? Morticians? (we’ll work on it) I’m f i n a l l y back in Ringwood and it just feels so right. The Dollmaker, a horror experience by Time is Key, years in the making, is here to play and scare the crap out of me at last!! If you were to think about how many creepy dolls might feature in an escape room called “The Dollmaker” you’d probably think, “yeah, a fair bit?” but I promise you it’s more, it’s so much more. GAH. It’s unsettling, it’s immersive and it’s so much fun. I loved this room, truly, I did. The creativity and dedication from Jayson and the team is so apparent from the jump. As an enthusiast, it’s so difficult to fault this level of passion and hard work in the industry, so I won’t try. The puzzles here were tactile and varied, the tech (which was very impressive for a homemade build) went off without a hitch and the story was expertly crafted into each solve the way God (or at least whichever psychopathic surgeon is trying to play God) intended. And without trying to state the obvious, the room was actually scary!! I know!!! You wouldn’t believe how many “SPOOKIEST ROOM IN MELBOURNE” ads I get thrown at me (looking at you, 400 variations of The Conjuring) but this one actually developed a strong atmosphere based on ORIGINAL storytelling, set design and tension, it was awesome! While the other two offerings at Time is Key are both really solid games, the leap in quality to their third is noticeable and appreciated. If you couldn’t already tell, this is a big recommendation from me, I strongly encourage any ER fan to get out there and support local businesses that are still cooking with gas (and originality). Much love ❤️ P.S. I’m sorry about Mrs Dollmaker. 8/10 🔏🧩
The SummoningThe Great Escape - Hole In One, MelbourneEscape roomIRL𝖢̶𝖮̶𝖭̶𝖩̶𝖴̶𝖱̶𝖤̶𝖣̶. 𝖢̶𝖮̶𝖭̶𝖩̶𝖮̶𝖨̶𝖭̶𝖤̶𝖣̶. SUMMONED ✅ Will the late (and copyright safe) Ned and Elaine Warren ever find peace in this realm? God no, there’s spooky nuns to be cashed in on. The Summoning is one of those rooms that does everything by the book, things move on their own, creepy dolls stare daggers at you and there’s enough ritualistic voodoo to make Satan blush. It was familiar and fun. The puzzles had a fair bit of variety which is always a plus, walking into a room and spotting six or more 4-digit locks can be a bit bothersome but I’m happy to report that this wasn't the case and all the props and tech went off without a hitch! Hooray! Although... there was a grandfather clock I had beef with, my tip is don’t be afraid to give that 2-handed bastard a firm jostle. Another easy room by any enthusiast’s standards, it wasn’t exactly brimming with content but I still found it to be an enjoyable play-through. Another quasi-horror experience in the books, my Latin is getting a lot better. 👹 6/10 🔏🧩
AsylumThe Great Escape - Hole In One, MelbourneEscape roomIRLA STRAIGHT JACKET?? DURING PRIDE MONTH????? (It’s July). A spooky mental institution was promised and a spooky mental institution was delivered. Asylum as an experience was a fun time, no two spaces felt the same and it was clear a decent amount of a thought had gone into the puzzles, props and tech. It definitely felt more challenging than the other rooms at the venue which was a welcome change; with the last room in particular providing a noticeable jump in difficulty. Groovy. The only real blemish was the story which, to be fair, carries an expected genericism within a theme like this. Crazed inmates, evil doctors and horrific experiments rarely have anything new or exciting to build on. Oh well. We still solved our puzzles and did… something? I think we were patients? Maybe we saved the patients? Who’s to say? You’re welcome. Overall it’s a really aesthetic new room that will give the average player their money’s worth and leave them rocking back and forth with excitement. Ha. 6.1/10 🔏🧩
The Further RealmThe Great Escape - Hole In One, MelbourneEscape roomIRLI’m sorry HOW much further??? The Great Escape have a new venue?? AND they have a realm that appears to be further than your average realm??? Tell me more!!!! (Ok I will, relax). The Further Realm at a glance is solid! I found the set dressing to be really clean, the props to be crisp, and the tech well-hidden and unproblematic, huzzah! My friends and I had a super enjoyable time navigating through the space which provided us with enough puzzle content and variety… for about 19 minutes. Gang, the room’s a breeze, and while I’m not discouraging or looking down on less challenging experiences, it (sadly) just felt like the quantity wasn’t there. Pair this with a vague spooky narrative and you’ll find yourself just doing simple puzzles because, well… simple puzzles. It’s not the end of the world of course but if you’ve got at least a handful of rooms under your belt, you won’t break a sweat here. Also for anyone worried about the “scare factor”, don’t be. Staff were lovely though, shoutout to our GM Liv who was upbeat and the right level of antagonistic 👹 5.7/10 🔏🧩
Eureka!Escapade Escape Rooms BallaratEscape roomIRLI LOVE GOOOOOOOOOOOLD. Here I am, back in Ballarat with hate in my heart and treasure on my mind, I fear the long lost golden nugget never stood a chance. Shame. I found Escapade's newest venture, Eureka! to be a very quaint and charming game, with its narrative and content designed around a notorious piece of Ballarat's history; there was plenty to like! Although the puzzle flow didn't necessarily start too red-hot with a fair bit of reliance on simple hide and seek, the variety absolutely picked up in the back half which really improved the experience. From a storytelling perspective, I also really enjoyed being read a letter pre-game by our GM Ashley, as the manner in which it was written and delivered felt meaningful and gave my team and I a clear objective to follow, big tick. While I wouldn't say this is the strongest of the 3 rooms available here I think it still serves as a satisfactory family friendly play through with a lot going for it. Eureka? Nah, OUR-reka ❤️ 6.4/10 🔏🧩
Nautilus CryptoriumEscape roomIRLI'M GIVIN' HER ALL SHE'S GOT CAP'N! My first ever subterranean voyage and what an absolute doozy it was, there was beeping, there were alarms, there were beeping alarms, I was not running a very tight ship. Whoops. Nautilus as an escape room is exactly what you'd hope for with a theme like this, it's an expertly crafted, tactile experience that looks fantastic and constantly creates a sense of urgency amongst players. I'm also a big fan of any form of visual progression system in this medium and it's amazing how something as simple as a red light flicking over to green can keep a team of people on track, organised and validated. Some genuinely tricky solves throughout this one are what made it a really satisfying experience; not only are you tasked with identifying the issues around the sub but actually understanding each problem, paying attention to the details, and troubleshooting effectively. Maybe I just like working with my hands or maybe I just yearn for blue collar work, who's to say? Either way, it was such a good time! There was one puzzle that I think could be tweaked a touch as it feels a bit out of place in its obscurity but overall a minor blemish (watch your back, TRIANGLE PUZZLE). Definitely a room I'd recommend to others if you're out Bendigo way, it's one of the most impressive pre-packaged builds I've ever come across. LAND HO! 7.5/10 🔏🧩
The Haunting of Blackthorn HouseCryptoriumEscape roomIRLCOME! SIT BY THE FIRE! I'M SPINNIN' YARNS! A delightful little haunted house number from my pals at Cryptorium! For a (mostly) one room pre-packaged build, the set design was clean, atmospheric and spooky! Very cool! Considering this is a smaller scale room, I was pretty impressed by the amount of tech that was utilised throughout, with clever sound and lighting moments woven nicely into a handful of tricky puzzles, nothing ever felt dull. The story was the only aspect I found could use a bit more refinement as according to the lore, a friend of ours bought this cursed little place and then went missing. Did we end up finding them? Not sure. Are we bad friends? Maybe. The pre-existing ghosts kinda hijacked the narrative and made it all about them. Bastards. Anyway, all you need to know is that The Haunting of Blackthorn House is a really solid room that serves as a perfect introductory experience for the lovely folk of Bendigo. Also owners Harley and Rebecca were absolutely wonderful hosts and are so easy to talk to, thanks for having us guys! 6.5/10 🔏🧩
Sonata of ShadowsUkiyoEscape roomIRLTHE VOICES!!! Oh me oh my, what a fantastic room! Sonata of Shadows? More like, Sonata of HUGE BEAM OF LIGHT AND WONDER. I was so impressed with the set up here, this was my third experience at Ukiyo so I came in with a rough idea of what to expect and was instead met with a wonderful subversion of expectations. We’re talking a new space to explore, a story that works standalone or as a continuation, interesting NPCs and… puzzles! My god! My sweet boys finally made a puzzle-dense room! It’s beautiful! The set design was gorgeous, the puzzles were rustic and tactile, the story had urgency, the characters were layered (even comedic at times) and the dress ups were at their best. The 4 masks are also back in a big way with a slightly larger array of abilities and application, with the unique powers not only serving the story but acting as a more crucial puzzle-solving element too, a super ideal tweak in my opinion. Players also have two different game modes to choose from, “focused mode” for a more linear, story driven experience and “open world mode” for a multilinear, chaotic play-through; a really clever and accomodating addition. (If you favour player autonomy, choose the latter). While I’m usually not a massive fan of Ukiyo’s “save states” or “come back for part two” style of play, I have to admit this one was very cool and a narrative I’d be happy revisit and explore in the future. Enormous kudos to Mike and the team, they didn’t really put a foot wrong in this one. It’s head and shoulders my favourite room of theirs so… what are you doing? Stop reading my silly little review, grab a few of your most whimsical friends, and go save my darling, 👁️ The Herald 👁️ 8.6/10 🔏🧩
HauntedDoctor Q Escape RoomEscape roomIRLI DON’T HAVE YOUR DAMN BABY! Jesus H. F*** I’m not sure my heart rate has fully come back down after this one. Haunted is very much Doctor Q’s crown jewel; a fully immersive 90-minute horror experience complete with live actor(s) and a maze-like environment to run around in terror. Oh joy. On every level, this is an exhilarating play-through. Forget the puzzles, forget the story, if we’re just talking about the scares and the atmosphere, Haunted did a fantastic job of terrorising the shit out of me and my friends. The live actor was consistently brutal in their choice of appearance, popping up at some of the most vulnerable and unexpected of opportunities, it was HELL. And due to the labyrinth nature of the space, losing your bearings becomes inevitable. We were constantly forgetting which way we’d just come from AND which rooms we’d already explored. I’ve honestly never felt more like a sitting duck which I guess really added to the immersion/dread of the whole thing. Now if we ARE talking about the puzzles and the story, it’s a pretty rough venture. Doctor Q tells the story of this one through HUGE chunks of text spelt out on a plethora of A4 sheets of paper found around the game. This, as you can imagine, became very tedious very quickly, but I think what’s worse is that even with this level of exposition, I still had no idea what was happening due to the adrenaline. If you’re gonna go all out in this genre, I think it’s best to just keep the narrative simple. As for the puzzles, for a 90-minute experience I think I counted about 4 or 5 in total which most of the time didn’t make any sense or needed to be heavily clarified by the GM over the walkie talkie, not good! The space itself was huge and impressive in its layout but just so poor in the amount of damage that it has sustained over the years. While the “rundown” look lends itself well to the theme, there’s only so many holes in the plaster you can get away with before it looks simply unprofessional. Overall an outrageous game that I’d recommend to the horror-buffs and thrill seekers but not to my fellow puzzle fiends. 6.8/10 🔏🧩
Star CrewEarthrise OneEscape roomIRLSHIELDS UP!! Oh Earthrise One, you beautiful, high-tech rascals. They’ve gone and done it again, an even more technologically impressive game with even MORE space-themed shenanigans to dive into. If there’s one thing these guys do well, it’s making a spaceship and then immediately putting that spaceship in PERIL. I absolutely ADORED the assigned roles amongst the crew, with each player pre-game being given specialised responsibilities, a designated work station, and even a stylish coloured vest to boot! This provided us with such a strong sense of purpose and direction, it was fantastic! That’s not to say you’re locked into these roles however, with the ever-changing, chaotic nature of the game, players are often required to adapt on the fly, with an infinite amount of tasks that could require your attention at anytime. It was a real blast dealing with every curveball that was tossed our way. I understand the narrative here has been tweaked a bunch with the version we played recently being the latest and greatest rendition, overall it felt like a much more complete experience/story. Massive props to Jack and the ERO team for always taking on feedback and striving to give players the best possible experience. While the average enthusiast might argue this is not an escape room, I would argue the whimsical content, narrative, problem-solving, role-playing and immersion of Star Crew absolutely capture the essence of what every escape room is going for. It’s such a good time! Another banger in the books for these guys, I only wish my crew’s engineering department found a way to activate the shields in the middle of combat 👁️👄👁️ Glory to The Tide. 8.3/10 🔏🧩
The HackersGriff’s PlaceEscape roomIRLSHOW ME A MAINFRAME AND ILL SHOW YOU A… HACKED.. MAINFRAME. idk man. Boy oh boy did I have an absolute BLAST in this one!! Griff’s Place is a relatively new venue that boasts a number of fun activities; arcade machines, mini golf, escape rooms, a god damn MUSEUM?? It was amazing how lively and charming the venue felt. As for The Hackers I was genuinely so impressed with how it was designed. Jason (one of the owners) has enough retro Apple, PC and gaming equipment to send a nerd like me into cardiac arrest, so naturally this was all implemented wonderfully into each element of the room. Not necessarily a difficult experience, but still designed in a way that encourages you to play around with every element at your disposal and really pay attention. You have free rein of the place and it felt so refreshing interacting with such awesome equipment over and over. Honestly the definition of a hidden gem out in Cockatoo, so much to like! I only wish they had enough space to make more rooms! 7.7/10 🔏🧩
The Science LabGriff’s PlaceEscape roomIRLAH! THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE! Now usually when venues throw around terms like “expert difficulty”, I do tend to brace for impact as this usually ends up meaning the puzzles are silly or it’s just a blatant exaggeration. But by god, was The Science Lab a genuinely difficult, well balanced game! It’s kind of crazy to consider that this is Sam’s (one of the owners) first time designing an escape room because I was really impressed by the variety and complexity of not only the puzzles but the narrative that was interwoven. 6 scientists, 6 fields, 6 passwords all scattered across the lab in a gauntlet of content. Big fan. Sam actually provides players with a small booklet pre-game that serves as both a notepad and a clue guide for each puzzle, such a clever addition which can be used as much or as little as players desire. I had a really great time working my way through this one and watching the heartfelt video of all the scientists at the conclusion was very cute and tied the whole thing together really nicely. I’m not crying, you’re crying. 7.3/10 🔏🧩
The OutsiderTrapt Bar & Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLIS THE SPACE POPE REPTILIAN?? Trapt’s newest offering! Hooray! I was actually asked to come in and play a very early beta version of The Outsider by management so it’s hard to give a concrete review as I know there are still many changes and tweaks to be made. But overall I can say the bones of this one are solid! An intriguing (bordering on creepy) premise that creates a sense of mystery that I wish more escape rooms would incorporate. It’s clear from the get go that something’s not right here, stepping into the home (definitely not lair) of your bizarre next door neighbour is a really fun idea that I understand is still being fleshed out and played with. The content varied in difficulty, there were some real gimmes out the gate but a bit of a hectic difficulty spike to conclude. Between all the fun props to play around with and the unsettling set design, this one has the makings to be one of Trapt’s most unique rooms. Very cool and very excited to see the finished product.
The RoomDoctor Q Escape RoomEscape roomIRLYOU’RE TEARING ME APART LISA!! Aw jeez, Doctor Q what’re you doing to me. Even with relatively low expectations The Room left me so glaringly confused that it took me a little while to narrow down my likes and dislikes. To start positive, like all Doctor Q rooms, the size and scale of the experience was immense and had a real wow factor to it; the damn thing JUST. KEPT. GOING. There’s something whimsical in having that level of exploration available in an escape room but sadly when the content just doesn’t step up, you’re not left with much. We were told pre-game that this was a puzzle room, no story, just a series of props and trinkets scattered about the place to be solved in a linear format. Easy enough. Except apparently there is a story? That is, according to the website? This is so bizarre because for a puzzle box experience there were such specific props and notes to be found that are clearly part of something bigger. Why remove it? God knows we needed to some form of guidance because somehow, even without any reliance on narrative, NOTHING made sense. Gah! Sure enough, a few of the classic Doctor Q tropes snuck their way in too, the janky tech, the leaps in logic, the barren set design, the worn down environment, all contributing to an experience that seemingly doesn’t really know what it wants to be. I don’t know why I keep coming back, maybe my love for puzzles has grown toxic. Tale as old as time: so much more could be done with this one. 4.3/10 🔏🧩
