Phantom Peak London — Attraction in London

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ An Unforgettable Immersive Adventure – 5 Stars Without Hesitation

Phantom Peak is hands-down one of the most unique and engaging experiences I’ve had in London. Nestled in Canada Water, it’s more than just a themed attraction – it’s a fully immersive steampunk world brought to life through roleplay, interactive technology, and incredibly dedicated cast members who stay in character at all times.

From the moment you step inside, you’re transported into a rich, living town filled with secrets, mysteries, and curious citizens. The way technology is woven into the storytelling is masterful – quests are accessed by scanning QR codes, which then guide you on interactive missions involving clues, puzzles, and interactions with townsfolk. It genuinely feels like you’re the main character in a real-life video game.

The actors are phenomenal. Every character you meet adds to the depth of the world, and their improvisation and wit make every interaction memorable. Their commitment to the lore and worldbuilding keeps the immersion strong from start to finish.

The food is a lovely bonus – I had the burger and it was excellent: cooked perfectly, well seasoned, and served quickly despite the busy setting. The dining spaces are also well-themed and comfortable.

While all ages are welcome, I personally feel the experience is best suited for teenagers and adults who can fully appreciate the layers of narrative, puzzles, and roleplay. Younger children can still attend and enjoy the atmosphere, but some of the more nuanced elements may be less accessible to them.

Suggestions for Improvement & Future Development

🔹 Better Explanation of Carnival Games and Mini Games: While the quests are explained clearly through the tech, it would be really helpful if the introductory material or signage included a short guide to the carnival-style games and other mini-events happening in the town. Some of these are run by characters – which is fantastic – but during our visit we only discovered them by chance. A simple note to say “keep an eye out for these live interactions” or a schedule-style board could help guests engage even more fully with these delightful extras.

🔹 Neurodiversity Room: A calm, quiet space would be a great addition for visitors who might feel overstimulated. The environment is buzzing with energy – which is fantastic – but can be overwhelming for some. A sensory-friendly retreat would make the experience even more inclusive.

🔹 Accessible Pricing Options: Following the example of places like London Zoo, Phantom Peak could consider introducing a tiered pricing model for guests on lower incomes. This would align well with the community spirit of the town and help more people enjoy this magical experience.

🔹 Expand the Character Card System: At the end of quests, you’re given beautifully designed character cards – a lovely souvenir. However, this system could evolve into something more substantial. Imagine logging your cards online, gaining XP, unlocking achievements, or even creating your own town citizen. Frequent visitors could build their profile and climb through character ranks – just like the in-world staff. It would create a sense of long-term progression and make return visits even more exciting.

Final Thoughts

Phantom Peak is a triumph of immersive storytelling, interactivity, and creativity. Whether you’re into gaming, puzzles, theatre, or simply looking for a day out unlike anything else – this place delivers. Every corner of the town is filled with detail and discovery, and it’s clear the creators have poured passion into crafting an unforgettable experience.

I’ll definitely be returning – and I’m already planning who I’ll bring along next time. Wholeheartedly...

I really wanted to enjoy this as I love immersive theatre and escape rooms and I have read so many positive things about it from escape room enthusiasts, but it fell so short for me. Reading other reviews, I find it astonishing that some of the major problems haven't been fixed as it would be quite easy to do so.

First, the good points:

It all looks nice Some actors give their all

Less good:

The "trails" are boring, repetitive and unchallenging. At no point does it feel as though your actions have any agency. You are just following a set path, walking from one location to another and inputting words and numbers into a web app on your phone. Many of these are gleaned from watching videos, occasionally from completing something more fun eg. throwing some beanbags at a target. But mostly it's dull. This seems to have been something that has been raised in reviews for at least a year. Given that the trails are refreshed every quarter, it seems bizarre to me that there wouldn't be at least one "challenging" trail added where you actually have to think or solve something. I guess this means that those running it either don't listen to their customers or are so arrogant that they think nothing needs changing. Either way: bad. The stories are nonsensical. I was going to use the word "silly" but I quite like silly things. They are "random" in a teenage improv troupe kind of way. Non-sequitur plot twists and no satisfying or interesting storylines at all. The actors are so busy that they deal with you in the most efficient way possible, removing any illusion that you are interacting with them. One asked "What point are you up to?" - another sharply dismissed us when it turned out we were talking to the wrong person. The trail instructions suggest you might have to coax some information out of them, or try to gently persuade them to do something. That would have been great fun. However, that's not what happens. The actors see you in their vicinity and try to process you quickly. I don't really know who this is for. There were some kids there, and they were dressed up in Christmas attire, with cute reindeer horns on etc and the randomness and simplicity of the challenges would make them the perfect audience but yet one of the pre-recorded videos we saw accused us of being "perverts" because we have been "inserting things into ourselves". So, not really for kids. I don't think it's for intelligent adults because the level of challenge is basically nil. I think possibly it's for obsessive types who think it's essential that they must complete every trail and get every souvenir card. The sessions are timed over lunch and dinner times on purpose, so most people go in hungry. You are told not to bring in your own food (It causes problems for the platypi apparently; perhaps it starves them of income). However, the food options inside looked pretty gross to me. Burgers, chicken wings and hot dogs. Nothing remotely healthy or non-fried. Even if you buy something to eat, there's a severe lack of available tables and chairs. This is possibly less of a problem in the summer when you can sit outside, or on off-peak days. Although I've noticed that when sales are low they give away tickets via seat-filling services, presumably on the basis that they will sell more food and drink, so perhaps it's always rammed to capacity.

I gave two stars because it's not totally terrible and our group had some fun. There's no way I would...

I had bought tickets for this 6 p.m. experience on a Saturday night after New Year's Day. It was bitterly cold waiting for entry. There was a 10-minute introduction outside, mainly going through the rules and a QR code scan to agree with their T&Cs. The crowd were mainly wrapped up warm with a minority choosing cowboy hats for dressing up.

Thankfully, there were no bag searches to worry about, and quickly sorted out a place to sit and order some food. The main area was like a Western frontier town with a balcony to look down at the action.

Food ordering was very easy using a touchscreen panel. Having checked the menu on the website before attending, there were fewer options, which were either sold out or just didn't show at all. After payment, you get a vibrating gizmo when the order is ready which takes 10-15 minutes. Food was tasty and portion sizes were ample. A burger each would be enough but shared some pulled pork chips.

Drinks were ok too. Slightly confusing that the bar's menu didn't show the cocktails but were available when asked. Despite them being pre-made, they hit the spot. The hot drinks later were very welcome for the cold venue.

For the main experience, it started off with an amateurish skit to introduce the mayor of the town character to set up the scene and make sense of the missions given. Attending as a couple, we both registered using their 'Jonassist' website to go through the clues and received different missions. Some nice options at the start to check if you're ok with crawling around and for those anxious about talking to actors.

Although it started off ok, we found many of the answers we input to help progress further didn't match the form. It felt as if we had overtaken the clue script so some backtracking and asking the info kiosk was required.

A few interactions with the actors helped at the start with a couple of them playing their part well whilst still being helpful and funny with it. Later, however, some clue questions didn't quite make sense or felt we had to backtrack just to get back on the script. It was after an awkward and almost rude experience with one of the actors that killed the vibe for me. Having been directed by a previous clue to approach a character, the actor, who kept his cantankerous nature to the point of being rude, put me off approaching any others. He did however point out that the Jonassist could be cheated clicking the '?' button for more clues and the eventual answer to progress.

As part of the clues, the video games and animated films were very well produced and, in places, very funny, albeit a little 'out there' (a talking duck-billed platypus being a main feature). The carnival games were fun too, such as the basketball and coconut shire-like games. However, there were some missing printed clues required to progress which hindered us at times.

Towards the end, having almost giving up the mission, we checked out all the activities and areas. After re-entering the outside part of the venue, the cold and freezing rain signalled an early exit and it seemed a lot of others didn't feel obliged to hang around for the final scene. Overall, it was a cross between an ambitiously huge escape room and a low-key...