Escape Reality - Escape Rooms Newcastle — Local services in Newcastle-Maitland

On our recent visit to Escape Reality Newcastle, we were greeted straight away by two friendly and accommodating games masters who instantly made us feel welcome. The venue itself has a great setup — a cosy waiting area complete with games to play while you wait, which really helps set the mood.

We took on Enigmista, Escape Reality’s horror-themed room. While it’s spooky and atmospheric, it never felt too scary — instead, it delivered a gripping storyline about escaping the lair of a serial killer. Our enthusiastic games master Caleb brought the narrative to life brilliantly, which helped immerse us in the experience right from the start.

The game kicked off in dramatic fashion, with us being blindfolded and handcuffed, but I won’t spoil the rest. What I can say is that the puzzles were excellent: a creative mix of audio challenges, lock-based tasks, and clever electronic elements. The addition of a live actor gave the room an extra edge, heightening the tension and atmosphere while also stepping in to guide us when needed.

We had a team of four, which felt like the perfect number — enough hands and brains to tackle everything without feeling overcrowded. The puzzles flowed nicely in a linear way, which made progress satisfying, though a few of us may have been guilty of overthinking! We also appreciated that the puzzles were diverse and never repetitive.

Another thing I liked about the game was the clue system, where the players are handed a mini iPad which can be used to scan an individual puzzle if you ever get stuck. The teams are given a certain number of clues per game but it was really helpful if you felt particularly challenged by a certain puzzle.

Although we didn’t escape this time (we were just 90 seconds away!), we later learned the room only has a 35% success rate, so we still felt proud of how close we came. A sweet little bonus at the end was being handed chocolate, which made us smile after all the adrenaline! More importantly, the experience was so much fun that we left buzzing and already talking about which room...

Last night, myself and 3 other people went to escape reality and successfully escaped the alcatraz room with 8 mins and 30 seconds to go! I heavily recommend Escape reality Newcastle. Both Ronan and Caleb made our experiences 10x better as well. Making jokes with us before, during & after the room. Caleb was definitely our favourite as he came into the room dressed up, helping us, giving us a dance, or just simply come in to give us a laugh. When we come out of the room we were also offered a lolly or chocolate from their Candy Salad. We stayed back an extra 15 mins or so just to have a chat with Ronan and Caleb, They explained exactly what their jobs look like and what they do, and also gave us a pamphlet to another room in Tuggerah that we maybe interested in, Which Btw we definitely are! Thank you Escape Reality and especially Caleb and Ronan for giving us a great experience and night! We will be back soon to try different rooms!...

Second time travelling up from Sydney to come here and we haven’t been disappointed for a second.

My wife and I have had the pleasure of having the same game master as last time (our email says it was Ronan but could be wrong, I’ll ask next time!), both times we visited he has made sure it’s a smooth and enjoyable experience. Prompt with giving clues, making sure to not just give you the answer but how to come across the answer ourselves. The immersion was great as Ronan stays in character each visit inside the room. It’s much more enjoyable to have the physical room visits for clues than trying to communicate over a walkie-talkie like other escape rooms. I just wish we had an escape room like this closer to home but can’t complain as the 2 hour each way road trip is well worth the experience we get from Escape Reality...