End Game Escape - Disconnected Review (Sydney)

Hi everyone

Back in April 2021, the “lite” version of my team went and played Disconnected by End Game Escape.  They are based in Frenchs Forest, which is about a 25 minute drive from the Sydney CBD. 

My wife had already played Disconnected with my daughter, cousin and aunty, so I went along with the other 2 members of our usual 4 person team.  Disconnected was our 184^th room to date.  Here is the room description, from their website:

 Welcome to The Lab. It belongs to mad scientist Prof Dr Ludwig Von Zweistein. He’s a leading quantum physicist who has gotten stuck inside his electronic mobile phone. For the last two weeks we’ve been trying to get him out and now our circuits are fried. We’re looking for a fresh young group of scientists to rescue the good Doctor. And if you don’t… well it’s not going to look good on your recommendation letters.

Here is what we thought of Disconnected:

• the room had some nice theming. The room’s storyline made sense and there were some nice videos used in the experience;

• the room didn’t use any traditional padlocks, but instead largely used magnetic locks that released when players solved the various puzzles;

• the puzzles were all fun and quite varied.  I don’t think we saw any puzzle types that we hadn’t seen elsewhere, but they all made sense and were fun to solve; and

• unfortunately, we had some technical difficulties at one point, with video/audio not triggering properly.  This made it even more challenging to solve a particular puzzle (an audio puzzle), but our game master was able to override the system to help us to progress through that puzzle.

I would describe Disconnected as being on the easier side.  We escaped in about half the allowed time (very close to the record for the room).  Given the theming, this room is therefore best-suited I think to newer players and family groups.  For more experienced players, I think the room could do with at least a few more puzzles (but I totally appreciate that their target market is likely newer players).

Where:                         Unit 10/25 Frenchs Forest Road East, Frenchs Forest

Duration:                      60 minutes

Themes:                       1 theme

Price:                           $40 each (3 players)

Overall Rating:             A solid room best suited to newer players/families 

More details:                https://www.endgameescape.com/

 

 

Mission Sydney - The Sacrifice Review (Sydney)

Hi all

My team returned to Mission Sydney in April 2021, having last been there in October 2019 when we played Trapped.  You can check out my reviews of all of the other Mission Sydney rooms here:  Vampire Castle, Dr M, The Lost Mine, Unstoppable and Trapped.  This time we were back to play their latest room, The Sacrifice.  All 5 of our previous experiences at Mission were really enjoyable, so we had high expectations going in to play The Sacrifice.

The Sacrifice was my 183^rd room to date.  The theme of the room is as follows:

Your friend who loves investigating old folk tales and mysteries, tells you about an old legend that he is looking into. He travels to where the legend originated, but disappeared and never came back.

He never said too much on what the investigation was about, only ever mentioned that it was an old legend involving a mythical creature. If this creature was to be found, then any wish can be granted.

With limited knowledge on the situation, you go to his studio hoping to find out more about his investigation and his whereabouts.

Here’s what we thought of The Sacrifice:

• this experience is enormous.  I lost count of how many different rooms/areas there were in The Sacrifice, but I’m pretty sure it’s the largest escape room I have played in Australia;

• the theming is really impressive.  I think ever since their Unstoppable room, Mission Sydney really stepped up its game with respect to the quality of its theming and props.  The Sacrifice is a step up again – there are sections that are truly beautiful and where an incredible amount of attention to detail has been applied.  In several areas of the experience, we had totally forgotten that we were in the Sydney CBD, which is really hard to achieve – the level of immersion was excellent;

• at 100 minutes, I think The Sacrifice is the longest duration room in Sydney (and possibly the country – if anyone knows of a longer room currently available, please let me know).  The downside is that The Sacrifice is also the most expensive escape room that I am aware of in Sydney, at $67.50 per player.  My view is that the room is strong enough to justify the price tag (especially given that it is 2/3 longer than most rooms in the market);

• the puzzles in The Sacrifice were all really strong and made sense.  There isn’t an old-school padlock to be seen in this room (as is typical of Mission Sydney’s rooms).  They have carved out the “high tech” section of the escape room market in Sydney;

• another unique aspect of The Sacrifice is that it contains a live actor.  This is something that’s really common overseas but not that common here in Australia.  I have probably paid 10 or so rooms to date here that have live actor interactions.  It was a really cool interaction in The Sacrifice; and

• this room is scary, really scary.  There were certain elements that had some in my team screaming and grabbing each other (and running).  So the room definitely is not family-friendly, but if you’re into scary themes like me then I’m sure you will enjoy it.

My team all really enjoyed The Sacrifice.  I think it’s probably my equal favourite Mission Sydney, together with Unstoppable.  The theming is excellent, the immersion is up there with the best and the puzzles are all really strong.  It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you enjoy a good scare and a great, immersive escape room experience, this room is definitely for you.

Where:                         Suite 502, 724 George Street, Sydney

Duration:                      100 minutes

Themes:                       7 themes

Cost:                             $67.50pp (but we played at the invitation of the owners)

Overall Rating:             Scary, immersive and enormous – I loved it!

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

 

Social Escape Rooms - Ransom Review (Sydney)

Hi all

My team returned to Social Escape Rooms in April 2021, having last been there in May 2018 when we played their Bank Heist room.  You can check out my reviews of all of the other Social rooms here:  Paris, Baker Street and Bank Heist.

We have always had great experiences at Social Escape Rooms.  The owner Mark is a fellow escape room enthusiast and he genuinely cares that players all have a great time in his rooms.

Ransom was my 182^nd room to date.  The theme of the room is as follows:

Disaster has struck; an unexpected disappearance of your loved one. How could this have possibly happened?

 

The delivery of a mysterious box, which contains a cryptic ransom note, will start you on a fast paced thriller that will have you gripped 'til the end. With great elements of action, a lot of suspense and intriguing puzzles, you will be kept on your toes for the entire 60 minutes.

 

Prepare to be challenged as you work your way through the kidnapper's demands, all while unravelling the clues to save your loved one.

Here’s what we thought of Ransom:

• we really enjoyed Ransom!  We loved the use of misdirection, which was really unique;

• Ramson is packed full of puzzles.  We were kept very busy during the entire experience.  I would describe the room as pretty non-linear, but with some bottle neck points (which require players to come back together);

• the quality of the theming and props were all strong.  All of the puzzle elements made sense in the space.  The space itself looked awesome;

• we escaped in about 38 minutes, which probably means the game is of about average difficulty (compared to all of the other rooms we have played).  That being said, we were guilty of that old rookie error of putting a relevant puzzle piece down (and totally forgetting about it for a while).  That really threw us off at the end, but we did get there eventually; and
  

• I would describe Ransom as being challenging but not impossibly hard, so I think it is suited to newer players and experienced players alike.  It’s also not dark and scary, so it’s therefore fine for younger players.

As always, the test of a great room is whether we enjoyed ourselves and we definitely did.  It’s always great to have the owner and designer walk us through the room afterwards and point out all of the puzzle elements, easter eggs, etc.  It was also great catching up with Mark (who we hadn’t seen for 3 years (!)). 

Where:                         Level 1, 62 Wyndham Street, Alexandria

Duration:                      60 minutes

Themes:                       4 different themes

Cost:                            $45 ea (4 players), but we played at the kind invitation of the owner

Overall Rating:             An awesome room of misdirection and challenging puzzles

More details:                http://www.socialescape.com.au/

 

Labyrinth Escape Rooms - Game Night (formerly known as Excluded) Review (Sydney)

Hi everyone

Back in April 2021, not long after having been down to Canberra and playing all of the rooms there, my team returned to Labyrinth Escape Rooms in Parramatta.  We have been to Labyrinth several times in the past and this was our second time to their new premises (having previously played CirCurse).  We have always really enjoyed our experiences at Labyrinth.

On the other side of Victoria Road from their new premises is a Coles with an attached underground secure parking lot (not overly expensive).  After grabbing some dinner, we parked there and then walked across the road to Labyrinth.

At the time that we played, the room was called Excluded.  However, I understand that it has since been re-badged as “Game Night”.  Game Night was our 181^st room to date.  Here is the room description, from their website:

Tuesdays are for tasty food, tenacious friends and triumphant games. But when your neighbour Dave, doesn’t get invited, he devises a plan to take you and your friends hostage in the hopes he can prove himself a worthy game night contender. Is he just a lonely guy wanting to make new friends or has he been spying on you and has something more sinister planned? Make your way through his puzzle filled house to discover the truth.

Here is what we thought of Game Night:

• this was a really fun room!  Joan and Frank had let us sneak our heads in while they were building the room and told us about the theme and I immediately loved the idea.  It is a really nice take on an escape room – much more light-hearted than the typical murderous villain who has captured you in their lair.  There is a really lovely sense of humour throughout Game Night, including right up to the very end, which we really enjoyed;

• the puzzles were all fun and varied.  They were all logical and made sense.  I don’t recall needing to ask for a hint and we managed to escape in good time (we escaped in 33 minutes and 50 seconds).  So I think the room could probably do with a couple of extra puzzles, but I also appreciate that the target market is more for families and newer players (and this room definitely suits those markets well);

• the theming is really well done.  The props all make sense in the space and the puzzle elements all involve items you would expect to find in Dave’s house;

• there are no dark sections and this room would therefore suit families and younger players; and
  

• the room is rated “medium to hard” on their website.  Given we escaped in just over half of the allowed time, I think this room is more at the medium end (particularly for more experienced teams). 

Our fifth time back to Labyrinth Escape Rooms was as much as fun as the other four times.  Joan and Frank have a great escape room business with awesome rooms. 

Where:                         1B Victoria Road, Parramatta

Duration:                      60 minutes

Themes:                       4 themes (but others currently under construction)

                                   Price:                            $43 each (4 players)

Overall Rating:             A fun (and funny) room that we really enjoyed  

More details:                http://labyrinthescaperooms.com.au