Forest of Echoes

Next Level Escape (Sydney, Australia)

Time limit: 90 minutes

Age limit: 16+ (negotiable for families)

Player limit: 2-8 (4-6 recommended)

Difficulty: 5/5

Awards: TERPECA Finalist (2024), TERPECA Nominee (023), Golden Lock Winner (2024), Best of Morty (2023)

Date visited: April 2025

Next Level's Forest of Echoes might be the hardest room I've had to review to date. It's certainly the most polarising room among our players, and the room that most exposes the flaws in our rating system.

The premise of Forest of Echoes is relatively simple: You are scouts heading into the woods for a big adventure, but when your guide (ie, your in-character GM) leaves you to fetch a map, you find yourselves trapped in the forest with restless spirits. Figure out their puzzles to set them — and yourselves — free!

Despite the "ghost" theme, Forest of Echoes is not a scary room, not even a creepy one. Apart from a bit of darkness in the beginning when you first enter, there's nothing less courageous players need to worry about. As with most of Next Level's rooms, the vibe is one of cheeky fun.

So why is the room so polarising? Well, let me start off with what we could all agree with: This was an absolutely beautiful room, with some of the most visually impressive theming we've seen to date. Of course, there weren't any real trees, plants, or animals, but Next Level did its best to replicate the environment as closely as possible, with trees, rocks, caves, birds, and a canopy of forest leaves across the ceiling.

However, it's not a big space, and is essentially a one-room game, which I know some players will be apprehensive about. That said, the room was packed with puzzles (it would have to be for it to be a 90-minute game), and employed different forms of lighting — which you can control — to transform the room, letting you know what areas to focus on and which puzzles to tackle. So essentially, this was a non-linear room where you could choose which puzzles to do first.

Now, let me explain why the room proved to be divisive among us. First of all, it was very heavy on the narrative, and required listening to quite a few voiceovers (mostly performed by professional voice actors). Z and I didn't mind it too much, though E and C found it tedious and confusing. But to be perfectly honest, all of us just wanted to get on with the puzzles.

Secondly, as the game was set in essentially one room, it required us to constantly walk back-and-forth in the same space. While Z and I thought using lighting to endow this space with different visuals was ingenious, and were blown away by mind-boggling amount of hidden tech needed to create so many different puzzles, E and C found it all a little confusing, as there were times when we were left wondering what to do next, and which props were relevant to which puzzles.

Thirdly, while the non-linear, choose-your-own-path design offered us more freedom, it also added to the confusion at times. Had we moved on to another set of puzzles? Or were we still stuck on the same ones? It's definitely a format that less experienced players or those who prefer a linear, guided flow might struggle with.

So as you will see in our ratings below, there is quite a bit of variance in our scores. But the other issue is that our scores don't necessary reflect how we feel about the room overall. In terms of theming, atmosphere, creativity, and utilisation of technology, Forest of Echoes was absolutely incredible in my opinion, and my scores reflect this in each of the categories. That said, on the whole, I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed The Game or End of the Road. But despite giving it a lower rating in the "fun" category, my average rating for Forest of Echoes is higher overall, which is a little misleading.

Anyway, I don't want to make it seem like this is not a fantastic room — it absolutely is! You can really sense the thought, attention, care, and effort that Next Level has poured into the design of not just the theming but also the puzzles and narrative. There are elements of this room that are truly wonderful and unique. For these reasons alone, I feel it is a must-play game if you ever visit Next Level, just so you can experience it for yourself.

Verdict: A aesthetically stunning ad truly unique room that can also be polarising for players.

Rating: 8.65

Player	Theming	Atmosphere	Puzzles	Creativity	Fun	Average
H	10	9	8.5	10	8	9.1
E	8	8	7	8	7	7.6
Z	10	9.5	8.5	9.5	8.5	9.2
J	9.5	8.5	8	9	8.5	8.7
C	8	8	7	8	7	7.6
Rating						8.65

Regarding the 16+ age requirement

We initially thought we'd have to wait a few years before tackling Forest of Echoes as it is advertised as for 16+ only. However, our GMs for The Artefact and End of the Road let us know that the rule is flexible and only in place for 2 reasons:

1. The game has some light drug references; and

2. The props are very expensive and delicate.

To be honest, the drug references aren't even noticeable, so it's really just to deter kids who might run around and break things. It's also why you can't book the room for parties, something I wholeheartedly agree with, because it would be a shame if anything was broken in this beautiful room.

So if you have kids who are old enough to listen to instructions and/or have a bit of escape room experience, email Next Level in advance to see if they'd waive the 16+ requirement.