London Adventures!

Last weekend we went down to London for two live experiences (now that we live further away we do try to pack in as much as possible when we visit).

Saturday was Phantom Peak, which describes itself as a Immersive Open-World Experience. What that translates to in practice is that they have turned a warehouse into a small town with its own lore and history in which you interact with the local population, played by actors, to solve puzzles related to an ongoing plot. On first entry the physical space and vibe reminded me a bit of the Bay Area’s Dickens Faire – a space that feels lived in, full of great detail, and people in costume. The other comparison we had been given by previous visitors was Disney/Galaxy’s Edge- obviously not the scale, but the cast interactions and existence of puzzles. But Phantom Peak has a much larger plot component than either of these, and of course it is an original creation and therefore able to be much wilder and anarchic.

The conceit is that you are in an old mining town with a misterious cult-leaderesque founder, mad science, steampunk technologies, and political power struggles leading to intrigue, murder, and superheroics. The vibe is a little bit Fallout, a little Bioshock, and a dash of Victorian health cult, and maybe sprinkle of Twin Peaks.

On the Sunday we did the Taskmaster Live Experience, which is also conveniently located at Canary Wharf. It sort of doubles as a TM museum and which I was very bad at and John won! He got a medal and we had some beers, and it was a lot of fun.