Next Level Escape (Sydney, Australia)
Time limit: 75 minutes
Age limit: None
Player limit: 2-8 (Recommended 3-6)
Difficulty: 5/5
Awards: TERPECA Nominee (2021-2023), Best of Morty 2023
Date visited: December 2024
As always, we were very excited coming back to Next Level for The Artefact, their highest-rated room on Morty but somehow also their only room NOT nominated by TERPECA in 2024. With this being our 25th in-person escape room and 3rd room at Next Level, we had seen and experienced enough be confident that we'd be able to handle what their hardest room (according to their own rating system) had to throw at us.
The Artefact turned out to be a rather fun, cheeky, and lighthearted experience, bolstered by the usual gamemaster interaction and humorous banter that Next Level is famous for. As a group of cryptologists, our team was tasked with investigating an alien artefact, aided by a smart-alec AI helper who would from time to time bring levity through quirky one-liners, music, or guidance when requested or deemed necessary. We ended up finishing the room with 20 minutes to spare, struggling a little to get going at first before finding our stride and cruising the rest of the way with only a few minor hiccups due to the tech-heavy nature of the puzzles.
The theming of The Artefact is relatively strong considering that Next Level's space is quite restricted given that the venue is in the basement level of an office building with low ceilings. The designers commendably managed to create several very different sections that felt fresh each time a door opened, keeping us engaged and delighted to explore something new.
The puzzles were also quite good, with the majority being hi-tech puzzles, mixed in with a few traditional padlocks, passcodes, hunt and seek, and dexterity-style brain teasers. The flow was excellent, as it never took very long for us to figure out which puzzles we had to tackle next. It's also a room that allowed teams to divide and conquer, which we did on a few occasions, though there were a few key puzzles that require at least two people to complete. The only issue some of us had with the puzzles was that they required a lot of reading (usually in the form of instructions and manuals), more than most other rooms we've done, which some impatient players might find a little tedious.
On the whole, we had another fun time at Next Level and will definitely be back for more. Our team is getting to the point where we feel experienced enough to be more critical of new rooms we're trying. With that in mind, I'd say that The Artefact was very solid across the board, without being exceptional in anything apart from the GM and the humour. Everything from the theming, atmosphere, puzzles to creativity reached the level expected of a high-quality escape room, but we weren't wowed by it like some of the most memorable rooms we've played to date.
Escape time: 55 minutes out of 75
Verdict: Solid in every facet,The Artefact is a strong room overall, highlighted by witty humour but just missing that special sauce or wow factor that would have made it truly magical.
Rating: 8.55
Player | Theming | Atmosphere | Puzzles | Creativity | Fun | Average |
H | 8.5 | 8 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 9 | 8.5 |
E | 8 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.9 |
Z | 9 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 8.8 |
J | 9 | 8.5 | 9 | 9.5 | 9 | 9 |
Rating | 8.55 |
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