The best escape rooms in Melbourne

Outcome: Success! 
Atmosphere: 4/5
Creativity of puzzles: 4/5
Difficulty: 3/5
Fun: 5/5
Best quote: "....Guys?" "Oh, I forgot we had to set you free." 
Our tip: If you want to race against the clock — and potentially beat the room's record for the fastest escape — don't be afraid to split up and try to solve multiple puzzles simultaneously. 

If you're after the horror variety, Lost has three rooms that are sure to scare your socks off. As you descend the stairs into the dimly lit basement, faint screams from other hopeful escapees echo off the walls, serving as the first clue that you're in for one hell of a ride.

The rooms are rated based on difficulty, level of physical activity involved and fear factor. We did Survivor, which is considered the least terrifying of the bunch, but that's not saying much. The year is 2024, and a deadly zombie virus has spread rapidly across the globe, decimating much of the world's population. But there's good news: a doctor has successfully developed a vaccine to fight the virus.

Of course, there's a catch. The hospital he works in was attacked and he was killed, leaving the cure trapped within the hospital's zombie-infested halls. You and your friends are among the world's few survivors, and you've bravely decided to help track down the cure and help save what remains of the human race. 

Before you begin, one member of your team will be asked to volunteer as a prisoner who starts the game chained to the wall. Don't worry, it won't be long before he rejoins you — as long as you remember to set him free. You start the game in the back entrance to the hospital, and from this point forward, it's a race against the clock. Unlike most escape rooms where the entire game basically takes place in one space, Survivor spans multiple areas, each with its own set of challenges.

While it's not an unfamiliar story — in fact, it sounds a whole lot like the plot of I Am Legend — it remains exciting thanks to a frequent change in environment and a range of unusual puzzles. Thanks to eerie soundscapes, unsettling décor and a few well-timed jump scares, you and your mates are likely to be those same faint screams that the next group hears on its way in. It's also a very approachable room for beginners, and our team managed to escape with nearly a half-hour left to spare. 

And if you really want to up the ante and try something nightmare-inducing, opt for the creepy Shanghai murder mystery 'Before Midnight' room or the Annabelle storyline, oft-considered the scariest escape room in Melbourne. 

Outcome: Success!
Atmosphere: 3/5
Creativity of puzzles: 3/5
Difficulty: 4/5
Fun: 4/5
Best quote: "We're not responsible for any friendships getting broken" 
Our tip: If you're a completionist and want to solve every puzzle, make sure to use your clues before the puzzles have a chance to solve themselves. 

Did you know that there's an escape room centre tucked away on the third floor of Melbourne Central? Neither did we, and the first challenge is finding it. Our ragtag team of hopeful escapees struggled, but we'll give you a hint: it's nestled within the expanse of Strike Bowling.

Once you've managed to track it down, you'll have a choice between two challenging rooms: Shutdown, where a critical AI system has been sabotaged and you're tasked with bringing it back online, and the Old Haunt, where you seek refuge from a storm in an old abandoned mansion filled with secrets.

We opted for the Old Haunt and were led into a room by the gamemaster, eyes closed, through a cacophony of thunder and a mist simulating the harsh conditions. Once inside the door slams shut behind you, and when you open your eyes, you're in a dark, dilapidated mansion that seems frozen in time. As you begin to explore, you realise that you're not alone: the spirit of Alice haunts the property, and she begs you to reunite her with her long-lost love, John.

If you want to help her, you must solve around 20 puzzles within 60 minutes. We're no mathematicians, but we can tell you that works out to solving about one puzzle every three minutes – a bit full-on, but you can use up to three clues if you get stuck. And if you still can't solve the puzzle, it will eventually solve itself to ensure that your team keeps moving along the story at the right pace. 

As you move through the sequence of puzzles, more is revealed about the ill-fated couple, and this room's poweerful storyline is perhaps its strongest selling point. There's a wide array of challenges, including magnet retrieval, deciphering of dates and codes, tracking down hidden objects and even completing physical tests. While some challenges may start to feel a bit pedantic or repetitive, and it was sometimes tricky to know if you solved the puzzle yourself or if it was solved for you, the room still excels at ensuring all players can participate. 

Outcome: Success!
Atmosphere: 5/5
Creativity of puzzles: 3/5
Difficulty: 3/5
Fun: 5/5
Best quote: “I like that room because of the aircon, but I don't want to be in there because I don't like all the screaming.”
Our tip: Double check everything, some clues are easy to overlook due to your sheer terror.

Real talk: Its Nightmare is genuinely scary, so if you can’t make it through a horror movie without wetting yourself then we suggest trying another of Rush Escape Games' rooms. There are six at the South Yarra location, and themes span everything from regal mediaeval halls to superhero hangouts (a favourite for kids). There’s even a super tough room available that was so hard (it had a 5 per cent success rate) Rush had to modify it slightly.

But back to 60 minutes of puzzling, R15+ terror that is Its Nightmare, the escape room. Time Out's bravest decided to review. After being led down a dark, glowing red corridor, our intrepid escapees are informed that not only do many people receive bad news shortly after exiting this cursed room, but even the CCTV is said to cut out occasionally (though we had plenty of assistance when needed).

After making our way down an even darker hallway (with bonus creepy crawlies at our feet) we emerge into the set of a horror flick, complete with bloody handprints and possessed paintings. Genuine screams occurred more than once as we picked our way through the room’s puzzles and tried not to freak out when we had to pat down faceless, creepy child mannequins (anything for a clue).

The flow of each escape room varies at Rush. Its Nightmare is a more intuitive room where you enter with little instruction or direction – a choice that adds to the overall unsettling environs. Read all notes you find carefully for clues, and don’t be afraid to stick your hands into strange holes – if you want to escape alive, that is.

Outcome: Success!
Atmosphere: 5/5
Creativity of puzzles: 3/5
Difficulty: 3/5
Fun: 4/5
Best quote: “Hang on, I can't hear you, the voices in my head are talking to me.”
Our tip: If you get stuck, just ask the Prince for help. He's full of useful info and on your side. Maybe.

The Crumbling Prince Part 1 (yes, there's a part 2) room is set in a beautiful Japanese garden. There's a cherry tree in full blossom in the corner, and a real waterfall burbles gently into the stream that bisects the room. The centre of one wall is dominated by a humanoid figure with glowing eyes in a robe – this is the titular Prince. He's very interactive, answering and asking questions. He's an ally – kind of. 

But he's not the only one in the room. Each of us is given a vulpine mask to wear in the room, and these contain secrets of their own. The Mask of the Lost and Mask of the Wild have headphones inside, and voices direct these players towards certain puzzles and provide warnings and information. The Mask of the Moon and Mask of the Sun contain special lights to help discover secret messages and markings hidden throughout the room. The player wearing the Mask of the Lost is given the most information, but be warned – the voices might be helpful, but it's important not to let the Prince know that you can hear them. The Prince himself has very keen hearing and eyesight, and he gets jealous and pouty if he doesn't know what you're doing. Keeping the Prince on side while appeasing the voices in your mask can be a tall order.

Outcome: Success!
Atmosphere: 5/5
Creativity of puzzles: 4/5
Difficulty: 3/5
Fun: 5/5
Best quote: "I think he just blew his eye out... and presumably his brain."
Our tip: Pay special attention to the story – even when things get a little hairy. Doing so might just save your skin.

First things first: despite the name, you will not die if you fail to escape in time at Escape or Die. Though Evan Raif, the creator and head of Escape or Die, says people have definitely called up asking just that. And having worked our way through the escape room, the great storytelling means that there are definitely moments where you feel like your life is in peril.

Escape or Die pitches itself as a little different to your average escape room, but the core concept is the same. Your team enters a room and you have a set amount of time to escape from said room by solving puzzles. Where Escape or Die differs is in how it’s more story-based, and your ability to follow the story plays a big role in your success. 

The premise of the room is that you and your mates are new employees at a haunted house, and you’ve just started your first day of work. What first appears as a delightfully hammy attraction, however, soon becomes increasingly sinister as you realise all is not right with the haunted house’s staff. There are quite a few video interludes between puzzles (think of them like cutscenes in a video game), which really do place you right in the narrative, thanks to some clever techniques featuring recorded audio and video. The videos are varied too, switching from advertisements to found footage to quirky (yet disturbing) animations. 

Escape or Die doesn’t have the hardest puzzles we’ve encountered, but they are creative and require a healthy dose of lateral thinking – and some teamwork – to solve. Again, you’ll be rewarded for paying attention to tiny details and for not disregarding items at face value. We loved the fact that while the game starts out pretty normal and unthreatening, by the time you enter the second room there’s absolutely no time for chit chat as you race to escape from what might be the goriest escape room we’ve tried. At times we had to remind ourselves: “It’s only a game, it’s not real, it’s only a game.”

Outcome: Success! But, dear reader, we must confess. We cheated just an eensy bit. Four different puzzles delivered four different numbers for a lock, and we got three of them and their order. Rather than do the last puzzle (which was multi-stage and was eating into our time), we locked in the three numbers we knew and used trial and error to find out the last number. Our deception was immediately noticed – the walkie talkie we had for hints crackled to life, and our host said, "Um, how did you get that open?" We do not condone cheating. But we're just saying, it can be done. 
Atmosphere: 4/5
Creativity of puzzles: 5/5
Difficulty: 4/5
Fun:  5/5
Best quote: “God, old-timey people are super creepy.”
Our tip: Pay attention to the audio as it plays. It adds to the story but will also help you solve your puzzles.

There are four different rooms to be done at this venue, and we are trying our luck at Fractured. Players are trapped inside the mind of Robert, a World War II veteran who has suffered from PTSD and is in a coma. The object of the game is to make connections between his memories, wake him up and reconnect him with his family. 

We are initially brought into a small room with white walls and little adornment. A plinth in the middle contains a sepia-toned photo album and a one-sentence instruction on a piece of paper. On one wall is an old-fashioned radio, another contains a military jacket, hat and canteen, and a spooky video projection plays on the main wall.  

That's about it, but the deceptively simple room holds some pretty cool secrets and a very impressive reveal. It's a race against the clock (70 minutes), but more than that, it feels like a race against Robert's potential death. It somehow feels like a very personal story, and we are emotionally invested in bringing Robert out of his coma and reuniting him with his loved ones.  

Outcome: Success!
Atmosphere: 4/5
Creativity of puzzles: 4/5
Difficulty: 4/5
Fun: 4/5
Best quote: “These rocks are trying to speak to me.”
Our tip: Look outside the box. Look outside the room. Look… outside.

Months after creating Melbourne's first escape room in Flemington in 2014, Owen Spear and Ali Cheetham opened a second one inside a converted factory in South Melbourne. The couple meets us out on the street, then leads us down a dark corridor. We stop at an unassuming door, grasping torches and a walkie-talkie. Deep breath – here we go again.

The door clicks shut behind us and instantly we’re transported to the control station of an old mine. Low, yellow light picks up a typed note sitting on a desk, warning us that there’s been a blockage inside the mine: our mates could be inside. We must locate the source of the fault – or else. At times our three-person team ponders puzzles alone, but at others, we’re huddled over a rock, a jar, a map, waiting for that moment when the answer comes to one, two or all three of us at once. We encounter audio-based clues, physical challenges and strange symbols.

Eventually, it all comes down to a final code that we’ll need to save the mine. With sweaty palms, we punch in the numbers for the third time… and we’ve done it! We’re safe, and our puppet masters enter the room with smiles on their faces. These guys have as much fun watching us as we do solving their puzzles. 

Outcome: Success!
Atmosphere: 5/5
Creativity of puzzles: 5/5
Difficulty: 3/5
Fun: 5/5
Best quote: “Have you checked under the dead body?”
Our tip: Don’t forget about clues at the start – you may need them again later.

Saw, arguably, is the original escape game. Heck, the film franchise’s Jigsaw Killer even infamously says “I want to play a game”. So it makes perfect sense that Rush Escape Game drew inspiration from the classic horror film to create an escape room for its second venue. 

Hacksaw is the first escape room built at Rush Escape Game’s second venue in Hawthorn (the original Rush is still open for business in South Yarra). As with the movie it’s inspired by, you’ll start Hacksaw chained up and will have to solve some very creative riddles if you want to escape alive (don’t worry, for legal reasons all guests do escape alive). 

The set design in Hacksaw is genuinely creepy and true to the feeling of the films, with the whole room built by hand. The escape room takes place inside a shed decked out to resemble a dingy bathroom complete with a shower and toilet (which, as we’re gently reminded, does not work, so please pee beforehand). Steel yourself if you’re irked by dirt, blood, needles, dead bodies or small spaces, as the room pulls no punches in creating its eerie atmosphere. 

Teamwork is key to solving the puzzles, but for the average escape room player, we would suggest a max of four people so that everyone can feel involved. Rush also informs us that the gory escape room is also popular with couples looking for an alternative date idea. Nothing brings you closer than trauma, after all. There’s a smidge of math involved too, so keep that in mind when deciding who to play with. 

Outcome: Success (we finished the first escape room but didn't have time for the second, more challenging part).
Atmosphere: 3/5
Creativity of puzzles: 4/5
Difficulty: 4/5
Fun: 3/5
Best quote: "Is this lady saying ‘Omina’ or ‘Omega’? Her accent’s really weird!”
Our tip: Don’t use it to cheat, but we suggest bringing your phone or good torch in – the one they’ve provided isn’t strong enough and you will definitely need it to see in darkened corners of the room.

Please note this particular escape room is no longer available.

Trapt’s ‘Space’ room teleports us into a futuristic space station far, far away from Earth. After signing a waiver to submit ourselves to inter-galactic travels, the five of us were ushered into this spacious, futuristic room with an array of electronic displays in front of us. It was like entering the USS Enterprise, except there’s no trusty Captain James T. Kirk around to help us. We had 50 minutes to escape from this suspicious space station, before it self-destructed and annihilated planet Earth.

The staff said this was Trapt’s most challenging escape room, having technically two “escapes” combined into one. You reach a point in the escape where you have the chance to finish and exit through your exit door, or you can choose to continue to a second, more difficult challenge in a separate room. It’s suggested you only start the second part if you have time to spare – those who have done many escape rooms will likely want to challenge themselves with both parts.

The room had an intricate mix of numerical and interactive symbol-based puzzles sprawled over the first two areas, which we managed to unlock with great effort. We punched in a lot of numerical combinations, yelled at each other across rooms about codes that barely even makes sense, and even accidentally forced open a cabinet just because we were that enthusiastic in finding clues.

Although some of the props were a bit flimsy (and there were a few red herrings – beware!), it was still an exciting experience overall.

Also at Trapt, the biggest incentive for beating the clock is getting to the cocktails in the adjoining bar. The low-lit basement bar is a speakeasy-style den; all exposed brick walls, dark wooden columns and leather couches. Cocktails are sorted by each escape room theme, which is cool. Take your time when deciding what to order; the menu offers page after page of classic cocktails, as well as an impressive selection of whiskies and a mostly local range of craft beer and wine. Sticking around for a meal? While Trapt doesn’t do food, they’ll let you order a Crust pizza from upstairs to eat in the bar.

Outcome: Success!
Atmosphere: 5/5
Creativity of puzzles: 4/5
Difficulty: 4/5
Fun:  4/5
Best quote: “These dolls are going to haunt my nightmares.”
Our tip: There’s a lot to get done if you want to make it out before time is up. Sometimes, you’ll need to split up and work on several puzzles at a time.

Please note this particular escape room is no longer available.

There are now so many similarly named escape room venues in Melbourne that these days, what really sets them apart is the creativity of their themed rooms.

So imagine our excitement to discover Escape Hunt: one branch of a huge global company that changes up its four rooms every nine months on average. In the majority of rooms, willing captors are cast as detectives, hired to solve everything from the thief of a secret beer recipe (‘Secrets of the Brewery’) to the murder of our colleagues (‘Law and Disorder’).

This time around, we decide to go for ‘Odditorium’ – an experience set in a spooky museum. In the comfortable waiting room, our friendly hosts informs us that our four-person team has been hired to find out why employees of the Odditorium have been mysteriously disappearing. The current curator Oliver has begun acting strangely; how long will it be until he vanishes?

We step into the small, dimly lit space, and begin to let our eyes adjust to our surroundings. We’re surrounded by bookshelves, with shelf after shelf filled with statues, books and other oddities. So far, so normal (if a little bit creepy). It’s only until ten minutes later that we realise that this room is just the beginning of a much larger journey.

As consummate puzzle-masters, Escape Hunt know how to weave a devious plot through the entire experience. Slowly, the mystery of the Odditorium unfolds, and it’s much darker than we imagined. As we venture deep into the occult, there’s a thrilling feeling that anything could happen – not to mention a genuine sense of growing uneasiness. The farther we go, the more often we need to ask for clues through our walkie-talkie; the combination of visual, logical and mathematical puzzles means that we’re constantly on our toes. Unfortunately, a major prop in the centre of the final room turns out to be a red herring; not intentionally, but because the game-makers have shifted things around, and it’s no longer part of the game. It’s the one disappointing point to an otherwise devilishly difficult escape room that is full of surprises. When the Odditorium changes guise and a new room opens, we’ll be there.