Expedition Escape Rooms - Redfern (Sydney, Australia)
Time limit: 60 minutes
Age limit: None
Player limit: 2-6 (recommended 2-4)
Difficulty: Medium-Hard (includes dexterity puzzle)
Date visited: July 2024
We had heard some good things about Expedition Sydney and wanted to try out one of its rooms. Our first choice was The Forgotten Son, their TERPECA-nominated room, but as I was taking my two nieces who did not want to do anything spooky or scary, we chose their Camelot-themed room, Kingdom Besieged.
This time, E was working and couldn’t go, so it was just me (H), Z and J, plus our niece C and her older sister, both of whom did Ex Libris at Next Level with us just a week ago.
One thing that’s important to note is that Kingdom Besieged involves a bit of role playing. Before the game begins, one player is taken away by the GM and put in shackles inside the room — but don’t worry, the team’s first job is to free him/her, so they won’t miss out on any part of the game.
First of all, the positives. Kingdom Besieged is a decently sized room with some innovative puzzles that utilise technology but hides it quite well, requiring you to think outside the box. The role play aspect does add to the narrative, though it could be a pro or a con depending on personal preference.
On the other hand, perhaps it’s because the bar had been raised too high by our previous room, The Marlowe Hotel, we ultimately came away somewhat disappointed — it’s a solid but slightly underwhelming experience given the relatively strong reviews. Our main issue was the nature of the puzzles and the game flow.
While most of the puzzles were solid, there was one very frustrating dexterity puzzle that was extremely finicky and wasted a lot of time (especially with kids fighting over who should be the ones to do it — and fail it repeatedly lol). There was another puzzle that did not make much sense to us (even when explained by the GM at the end), because it could be interpreted in a variety of ways. Additionally, there were a couple of other clues/puzzles that you see early on but cannot be utilised/solved until much later on, which has the potential to waste time and disrupt flow.
Furthermore, it is rather difficult to create an immersive experience for a Camelot theme because you’re not allowed to have real medieval weapons and objects, so some of the props came across as a little fake. Plus, while the props/puzzles are in line with the theme, they don’t necessary make sense in the space or the narrative, making it feel more like a theme designed around the props/puzzles than the other way around. It’s these little things and lack of attention to detail (for instance, the ceiling) that can break the immersion.
Now, despite having said all that, Kingdom Besieged is by no means a bad room. Our entire team still had fun (especially J, who got involved in the role playing). It’s just that — since escape rooms aren’t cheap — we were interested in doing only the best rooms in Sydney, and I don’t think Kingdom Besieged belongs in that category.
PS: Check out my review of The Forgotten Son, which we believe does belong in the upper echelons of Sydney escape rooms.
Escape time: 70 minutes (failed the initial 60 minutes and were given an additional 20 minutes)
Rating: 6.65
Player | Theming | Atmosphere | Puzzles | Creativity | Fun | Average |
H | 7 | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | 6.5 | 7 |
Z | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
J | 8 | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | 6.5 | 7.2 |
C | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Rating | 6.65 |
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