Melbourne: VR Escape Room Adventure & Team Challenge

4.96

(136 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“Don’t worry, you can’t actually fall off the moon,” our host joked as he handed me the headset. I guess he could tell I was a bit nervous — or maybe just excited in that jittery way you get before something totally new. The place smelled faintly of fresh electronics and that plasticky-clean scent you get at arcades. We each got our own little room (I kept peeking out to wave at my friend through the glass), but once we put on the VR gear, it felt like we were standing side by side somewhere completely different.

The mission started fast — suddenly we were in ancient Egypt, sand crunching under our virtual feet and sunlight glinting off stone walls. Our guide’s voice popped up now and then with gentle hints (“Try looking behind the statue!”) but mostly let us fumble around together. At one point I tried to pick up a torch and accidentally threw it across the digital room — my teammate cracked up so hard I nearly took off my headset just to see her face. It’s weird how real it all feels when you’re working together like that, even though you’re technically alone in your booth.

I didn’t expect how much we’d talk to each other — shouting ideas, laughing when someone got stuck inside a puzzle (me, obviously), or just marveling at the weirdness of being on the moon one minute and deciphering hieroglyphs the next. Forty minutes zipped by. When we finally “saved the world” (their words, not mine), they snapped some silly photos of us posing with props. I still think about that floating feeling from zero gravity — or maybe it was just relief that I didn’t embarrass myself too badly this time.