Modern Fables isn’t just an escape game but a borderline immersive experience. You’re told that you’re heading to a bar called The Escapist to help out due to the owner’s disappearance.
On arrival, you walk into an eerie warehouse space where black-and-white films flicker over candlelit room. A slightly unsettling barman appears, takes you into a recreation pub and unnervingly gives you the story of the mysterious vanishing of the landlady, while 1940s jazz crackles from a radio. You’re left alone, you find a secret door and suddenly you’re plunged into the mystery around the owner’s disappearance, taking you through a series of inventive challenges and impressively built sets whose dedication to a consistent backstory is a cut above most other London efforts.
Is its location a bit off the beaten track? Yes. Is it also one of the most well-thought-through escape games that London’s seen in a long time? Also yes. Other escape games take note: the bar has just been raised.