Review of Mission Escape - Dr. M theme

My group (of 4 adults) checked out Mission Escape Sydney back in September, not too long after they had opened and we did their Vampire Castle theme.  We then returned in January 2015 to do their longer Dr. M theme.  It was our eighth escape room in Sydney and it was one that I had been looking forward to for months.  It did not disappoint (and I think it is the best escape room in Sydney)!

Firstly, they can be a little tricky to find (although we had no problems).  You enter through glass doors on Pitt Street into a small foyer area between a hairdresser and a Vodafone store.  You then take the lifts up to level 3.

The atmosphere there is cool.  When you arrive, you sit down in a small waiting area where you are given instructions and a few puzzles to solve to get you warmed up for the main event.  

First off, I'll say what I enjoyed most about Mission Escape Sydney's Dr. M theme:

• the atmosphere was really cool.  They only had 3 staff members when we were there (unlike other outfits like Escape Hunt Sydney which have 8 staff members), but this seemed to be perfect (mainly because the staff were attentive, particularly while we were in the room and asked for a hint).  We had a lot of fun.  We were blindfolded and had to walk from the waiting room into the hunt room - which was both silly and fun (and a really nice way to start the room);
• having already done their Vampire Castle room, I knew that the quality of the puzzles was going to be very high tech.  They did not disappoint.  The puzzles were all perfectly designed and perfectly executed - they all worked without any delay and all completely matched the theme.  All of the puzzles and mechanisms were bespoke and home-made, which I absolutely love;
• you are allowed 80 minutes to escape the Dr. M room.  As far as I am aware, this is the longest escape room in Sydney.  We had a heap of fun and managed to escape with about 19 minutes left on the clock.  We then spent another 5 minutes walking back through Dr.M again, mesmerised by the quality (and quantity) of puzzles that we had managed to solve; and
• the theme was incredibly well done.  I can't overstate this enough.  It was eerie, at times scary and the high tech puzzles made the over all theming 100% perfect.  

Now, for what could have been improved:  honestly, nothing.

I accept that they are expensive at $45 per person, but the escape is 80 minutes long, which is 20 minutes (or one third) longer than most rooms and 30 minutes (or more than one half) longer than some rooms in Sydney.  The money is worth it.  Dr.M is honestly the best escape room in all of Sydney (of those that I have tried so far as at January 2015).

I wouldn't recommend this room to first timers - it's difficult and I think much better suited to experienced players.  I would suggest trying other easier places first before trying to tackle either Vampire Castle or Dr. M. 

Where:                   Suite 301-303 Pitt Street, Sydney

Duration:               80 mins

Themes:                 Currently 2 (Dr. M and Vampire Castle)

Cost:                      $45 each (4 players)

Overall rating:      5 out of 5 stars

More details:         http://www.missionsydney.com/