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The Unplayed Melody

H
Aug 16
3 min read

Mission Escape - Pitt Street (Sydney, Australia)

Time limit: 80 minutes

Age limit: Recommended 12+

Player limit: 2-6

Difficulty: 4/5

Date visited: August 2025

We couldn't wait any longer. After giving it a few months to iron out any kinks following its release, we decided it was finally time to play The Unplayed Melody at Mission Escape. We had heard a lot of good things, so expectations were high, although sadly E couldn't join us this time due to illness.

Fortunately, Unplayed Melody met and exceeded those expectations! Apart from excellent theming and improved puzzle flow, Mission really took it to the next level with their tech and theatrics. Personally, I think this is Mission's best non-live-actor room, and second best room overall after the transcendent Intruders.

We had enjoyed all of Mission's other games to varying degrees, though with the exception of Intruders (which only I have played thus far), there was always something we could nitpick — whether it was theming that wasn't exactly on point, convoluted/illogical narratives, finicky tech puzzles, or even typos on printed materials. However, it felt like the designers of The Unplayed Melody took all of these former issues on board, corrected them, and elevated their game up a notch, pouring even more into the tech and production value to enhance immersion and cinematic moments.

First of all, this was a huge room, containing multiple areas that were cohesively themed and filled with well-made props and puzzles. No space was wasted and it really felt like we were making our way through a spooky mansion.

Secondly, perhaps drawing on prior experience, there were many wow-inducing cinematic moments where we had to stand and watch things unfold like a cut-scene in a video game. What's cool is that such moments in Mission's other rooms usually involved live actors, but here they were executed entirely through hi-tech theatrics coupled with meticulous lighting/sound design and special effects. While many of these atmospheric moments were supposed to be scary, we found ourselves more in awe of their ingenuity.

The brilliant tech extends to the puzzles as well. The Unplayed Melody uses lighting as a guide to let you know what area of the room you should focus on next. And apart from a couple of padlocks, all the puzzles were tech-based and quite varied, challenging us in a multitude of ways without requiring a lot of reading. I found the smooth game flow to be another positive compared to Mission's older rooms, even though some puzzles didn't necessarily blend with the narrative or required outside knowledge (albeit of things most people should know). That said, tech puzzles can still get finicky at times, and perhaps we were just lucky this time that nothing was unresponsive or malfunctioned.

Lastly, while Mission isn't exactly known for crafting engaging narratives for their non-live-actor rooms, The Unplayed Melody was driven by a strong story that was easy to follow and carried a surprising amount of emotional heft. We came out of the room thoroughly satisfied and with big smiles on our faces. Mission not only delivered once again but levelled up in all aspects, leaving us itching for their next room, whenever that may be.

Escape time: 58 minutes and 7 seconds out of 80