Key Info
- Kentish Town, London, England
- 60 Minute Game
- 2 - 6 Players
- Not Stated
- £28 Per Player
- Kentish Town, Camden Town
- 5/10 Difficulty
We Escaped In
47 Minutes
- Pete, Nate
- February 2024
Room Brief
Based on the True Story of the lost passenger in South Kentish Town Tube Station.Â
In 1924, soon after South Kentish Town was closed down, a train stopped at the station by mistake, and a man absentmindedly alighted. The train departed, and Mr Brackett disappeared in the darkness.
No one knows if he ever escaped.
Are you brave enough to step down into the Ghost tube station and investigate the paranormal activity?
Only the most fearless will make it out on time!
Arrival
We’d been oddly fascinated by the story of the lost passenger for a while. After seeing numerous TikTok stores and Instagram reels about Mission Breakout’s authentic underground room we were really intrigued to take on the challenge. So on a cold and wet February weekend, we decided it was time to see if we could solve the mystery!Â
Arriving into Camden because Kentish town tube station is shut for maintenance, we made the walk up to the old South Kensington Tube station. We didn’t know that the old underground station building still stood quite so proudly 100 years after closing but it is without a doubt one of the more impressive venues we’ve visited. The classic red brick and Victorian style make positive first impressions for the games inside.Â
Getting in felt like an escape room in itself. There were two groups of us arriving at the same time and scrambling to collectively find the emailed code to open the door was more difficult than it needed to be. Thankfully the game before us had ended and we were able to scramble in as they made their way out of the building.Â
We climbed down the iron staircase into what looked to be an old passageway of the station. It was pretty damp and dimly lit and gave us a good idea of what lay in store for us in the game itself.Â
Immersion
Pete
Nate
South Kentish Town tube station is the absolute perfect place for an escape room to be housed. It could pass for any other station from the outside but once inside, its abandoned and somewhat derelict state of repair make for an awesome experience unlike any other room we have played before. Sure, we’ve played a couple train rooms before (NYC Escape, Sabotage) but nothing like this.Â
It’s hard not to feel immersed in the storyline of the Lost Passenger as soon as you enter the venue, let alone the game itself. The creepy storyline is absolutely enhanced by the dark and winding corridors which despite housing multiple escape rooms feel empty and cold.Â
We were somewhat surprised then, when the opening of our game took us somewhere a little more modern and familiar. We won’t give away spoilers so you can experience this for yourself but it was refreshing to see that Mission Breakout haven’t relied solely on their location to create a captivating escape room. Plenty of creativity and imagination has gone into building this experience with this first staging area a real highlight of the game despite not being part of the original station.Â
After making it through the first set of puzzles, we found ourselves once again in the ruins of the station. This started off extremely dark and very cramped but soon opened up into an impressive area that fully embraced the unique architecture of the station and wasn’t overloaded with props. Everything looked like it could have been there since 1924 and despite minimal use of furnishings there was still plenty to explore. The game areas set in the tubes could not have been better designed and there are some brilliant uses of awkward spaces that would normally be tucked away or covered up, but here they are integrated into gameplay seamlessly.Â
In its final stages the game once again transitions to the modern world where Mission Breakout have designed a set that isn’t part of the original architecture but is equally as convincing. It conjured up a sense of familiarity which after exploring the derelict parts of the station was a welcome feeling. There was some brilliant use of integrated technology in this part of the game which made this section particularly impressive.Â
Of course the set design and location are only part of the story here. The use of a live actor within the game also added a sense of fear and unease that enhanced the overall experience. We never knew where the lost passenger would pop up so were constantly on edge waiting to see him.Â
Puzzles & Challenges
Pete
Nate
The Lost Passenger is a game that’s all about embracing the location its in. As a result of this the puzzles we came across were predominantly interactive and involved use of the unique space in which the game is housed. The game throughout is fairly linear and though there are moments where we could split off, the bulk of the game required us to work together and complete challenges in a set order.Â
The game started well for us, the initial space was interactive and really well designed with puzzles that felt fitting for the environment we were in. Despite the small starting space there was plenty for four of us to be doing to progress. Once outside of this first space, the linear nature of the game worked against it somewhat as we found ourselves in an even tighter space with limited visibility and a puzzle that only some of us could solve. This meant others in our group were sat around for some time whilst we tried to figure it out.Â
As we worked through the rest of the game, opportunities to branch off and keep four of us entertained became more frequent and the game space opened up into more quirky and unusual spaces. The first set of which were more traditional lock and key based solutions. Unfortunately we found there were a couple of instances where clues were missing, one quite integral to the solution of a key puzzle which meant we ended up spending far longer than we needed to trying to solve something that was impossible without a hint from the GM.Â
Nearer the end of the game, it became a bit more mechanical with full use of some of the technology and fixtures fitted in the game space. As cool as this looked we found this to be a bit “style over substance” as despite messing around with the various levers, wheels and dials we didn’t actually know how we were making things work and the solution to getting out seemed very random. Even with an explanation from the GM I’m not sure how we managed it. We also found, despite the usual “dont use force,” there were some bits of equipment that did need excessive force to work.Â
Games Master & Clues
Pete
Nate
The games master at Mission Breakout was great from the moment we arrived. Really welcoming and able to make some jokes about what its like working in the tunnels. She took character for our briefing and did so really subtly so it didnt feel awkward or forced.Â
Clues for the lost passenger were delivered via a walkie talkie which can sometimes feel a bit cliche but fit well with the role we were playing as explorers of the underground. We decided to request clues rather than have them offered up as and when and there were a couple of instances where we needed them. When delivered they were clear and concise without giving us the answer directly. Frustratingly though, the GM had missed that an item was missing from the room and we did find ourselves in a bit of a circle at one point.Â
Following the room, the GM mentioned that the Lost Passenger is the easiest room on site and that the random nature of the mechanics in the room is entertaining for children, as a group of older players we would have been better suited to another room. This would have been good to know earlier!Â
Value for Money
Pete
Nate
As a team of four our experience at Mission Breakout cost us £28 per person which is probably about average for an escape experience, maybe slightly less than average within the capital. For the experience within the venue this was quite reasonable but it is hard to overlook the quality of the puzzles and missing items, so for that reason we have marked value down slightly.Â
. We took the tube to Camden Town and walked up which is probably the most cost effective way of reaching the venue. There did seem to be onstreet parking however for anyone that did want to brave London’s roads.Â
Enjoyment
Pete
Nate
We did enjoy the Lost Passenger as an escape game but probably more as a result of the novel surroundings and the jump scares more than the game itself, which left us feeling a little frustrated. It’s a room we’re glad to have played but not one we’d recommend to experienced players looking for a challenge.Â
