Review: WINTERMAS, Phantom Peak
Photo credit: Alistair Veryard
Phantom Peak is a highly interactive immersive experience set in a unique space just over the ridge from Canada Water on the Jubilee line. It takes escape room puzzles to another level as you traverse the space from New Town along Canal Street to the indoor Phantom Deeps (Old Town) exploring sixty-two numbered locations and meeting a host of curious inhabitants with Wild West meets steampunk theming.
Besties, we had previously visited the Starlit Summer version in July 2024 and were invited to return for their Wintermas event. After a welcome from Pocket, the currently displaced mayor, you are encouraged to take up challenges in pre-programmed trails to earn coins that can be used to vote for or against her re-election as Mayor.
It is a four-hour experience, so is best enjoyed in small groups with stops for refreshments and food (burgers and hot dogs) as it involves quite a lot of walking back and forth between towns. It also requires an iphone to digitally engage on the trails to solve puzzles and answer questions to guide you to your rewards. You have a choice of Mystery or Adventure with a chance to opt out of the more physical elements and during our visit, we only managed to complete two trails.
First up was a mystery, Death of a Mailman, as we were apprenticed to Littlefield to deliver a letter to Rexford which mysteriously (by sleight of hand) changed contents to set us off on the mystery of mailman mascot Mr Blizzard and an encounter with the sinister Dr Winter in the Jonaslabs. The second after refreshments was adventure Hook, Line and Sinker in search of the lost Bois , Wendizla, Big Iggy and Jarod, which led to encounters with Sparks, Captain Book and Hogwood. You begin to get the picture of the inspiration the creators have taken from other stories.
The puzzles we encountered are a curious combination of complex leaps of logic, infantile humour and bizarre characterisations. Without the digital hints, we would have been lost boys ourselves and at over an hour to solve each puzzle, it feels laboured and confusing. Each started with a visit to the noticeboard for the first clue. We would have preferred four more concise different trails for shorter periods to refresh the adventure and take us on different routes.
You have to admire the attention to detail in the extensive settings which are brilliant and the commitment and consistency of the characterisations of the villagers and the ingenuity of the puzzle creators. Over the course of the evening, we visited the Jonagraph, Jonapost, Jonas Archive, Electric Games House, The Picture House, The Gilded Lake, The Hall of Art, The Undertakers, Jonavsion (multiple times), Spectre and Vox, Daimines, The Autohatter and the Jonalab Research Laboratory. It is mix of the games from Taskmaster (which was recently staged nearby), the character interaction of the wonderful Drowned Man experience of a few years ago, and the storytelling of the brilliant Dr Who Immersive just after Covid, but not quite up to the standard of any of those experiences for this reviewer. We recommend that if you go, you should:
Ensure your phone is fully charged
Don’t take big coats and bags as we could not find a left luggage space.
Go in a group of three or four to share the experience.
Be bold and brave and embrace the madness of it all – The more you give , the more you get.
It is clear that those who do this enjoy the experience and many return to complete all the trails; we heard from one fellow participant that their friends had gone on three consecutive nights to achieve this. It may not be the carefully controlled environment of Taskmaster, or have the excitement and joy of the Secret Cinema Star Wars experience that was staged nearby a few years ago, but it an interesting addition to the growing trend of immersive group party experiences and if that is what you are looking for, it’s worth a go.
This review was given in return for two free tickets and £30 of free food.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Nick Wayne
Phantom Peak’s Wintermas runs until 18 January, with further info here.