Hiding within an unassuming office block in the heart of the CBD is a portal to another world – well, several in fact. It’s just a short elevator ride to the basement complex of escape rooms at Next Level, the brainchildren of co-owners Daniel Thomason and Aaron Hooper, where you can pit your wits against some of the most inventive brainteasers in the city.
Sydneysiders have a fair few escape room experiences to choose from but what sets Next Level’s apart is the clever ways its rooms amp up the theatricality, making the gameplay even more immersive and exciting. This is especially true in its most difficult room to date.
An ancient, otherworldly object has been uncovered by the CIA, and your team of investigators has been tasked with unlocking its secrets – the latest conscripts to make such an attempt following the eerie disappearance of the agents who first tangled with the alien device. But where did it come from? What does it want? How will you unriddle its mysteries? You’ll have just 75 minutes to answer these questions and more, but don’t worry, you’ll also have a not-at-all deranged, totally not moody AI system with an inexplicable vendetta against Tasmania to help you.
Immediately, the attention to detail in the room’s design transports us to a world of sci-fi intrigue, as you receive your first instructions in the decontamination chamber. The best escape rooms know how to gradually up the ante as the game evolves, and this is brilliantly achieved here with the discovery of surprising additional rooms and gizmos and gadgets that ingeniously challenge players while drawing them even deeper into the storytelling.
But perhaps the greatest masterstroke of this escape room is the way it incorporates interaction with the game masters. It’s standard practice at most escape rooms to have some connection to the game’s operators so they can offer helpful hints when the challenges get too baffling. However in this game, help comes via an AI computer, which can be quite demanding in an utterly hilarious way – no spoilers, but maybe do a few stretches before entering. It supplies an inspired infusion of humour to the action that will particularly tickle fans of Kubrick’s 2001: a Space Odyessy, as well as playing a vital role in the storytelling of the gameplay.
Be aware: this is a dizzyingly complex escape room, with many of the puzzles requiring as many as eight steps to solve, often in a non-linear way that requires multiple callbacks to previous discoveries. If you’re an escape room newbie or easily frustrated, this may be a little overwhelming, but for those who want to wrestle with feats of deductive logic that have truly satisfying payoffs, this is the challenge you’ve been waiting for.
Outcome: Success!
Atmosphere: ✮✮✮✮✮
Creativity of puzzles: ✮✮✮✮✮
Difficulty: ✮✮✮✮✮
Fun: ✮✮✮✮✮
Best quote: “Does anyone know 'the Robot'?"
Our tip: Everyday objects can be more remarkable than you realise.