RATING: 6 Keys          RESULT: Win          REMAINING: *Not Timed

A strange secret swirls around a strange man who may or may not be real. I know the truth, and soon, so shall you.

The Strange Secret of Mr. Adrian Rook is an entirely unique remote play experience not available as an in person show at Strange Bird Immersive. Although this attraction can’t be visited in person, it does have physical sets at Strange Bird Immersive, and ties in with the over arching theme of the venue.

I’ve had the pleasure of personally engaging in many conversation with Mr. Rook. As secretary to Her Majesty, he naturally answers all emails sent to Strange Bird Immersive. In my first communication with Mr. Rook, dating back more than two years ago, he opened with “Madame Daphne has longed for the day when fate would bring you to her door. It seems that day has come.” At the time, I had assumed this was merely a thematic introduction to what would become one of the most immersive escape games we have ever encountered, The Man From Beyond.

But I was wrong. Those faithful words would not be an introduction to a simple game; they’d open a portal into a storyworld universe that remained omnipresent, spanning multiple dozens of emails to follow over the course of more than two years. One might say that Mr. Rook and I have become pen pals – but I wouldn’t. I fear Mr. Rook is far too dignified for something so commonplace as “a pal.”

Our relationship could, at times, be described as tumultuous. Perhaps a case of guilt by association, those professionally tied to Mr. Rook left me questioning if this person I’d interacted with countless times was even real at all. To this, Mr. Rook quipped, “What is reality? How do you define “existence”? Where do you draw the line between imagination and truth? More importantly, does that line matter?” Touché, Mr. Rook. Touché.

But still, something didn’t feel quite right. “I sense the time is nearly at hand to reveal my deepest feelings to you;” I told him. “It seems as though our journey together has led to this moment, like the prophecy of a powerful spirit, juxtaposed against the fragile crystal ball it swirls madly within:” I continued on. “I don’t think you are real.” But Mr. Rook is hardly one to be short for words. “Sharing one’s truth is never easy. I have come to the conclusion that I am real enough for my purpose.”

“I ask you in return, what is it that you want from me?” Mr. Rook inquired earnestly, one evening amid our many emails. “How would an improvement in my reality alter our interaction? Is it a prerequisite that I have a set of atoms collectively labeled “Adrian,” locked in a relatively unchanging physical form, for you and I to have a meaningful conversation? Or is it sufficient for me to have my own voice, so that together we can craft a reality worth encountering? I fear you hew too closely to a black-and-white world where fact is threatened by fantasy, and must needs conquer it. I encourage you instead to enter those woods, and become like a child again, where the reality of the situation is hardly the point. Do let me know what you find there.”

These words, these profound words, cut through my very soul like a warm knife through a delectable ice cream cake. They left me questioning everything. Was Adrian Rook real at all? Am I even real myself? Perhaps I was the truest fraud all along. “And under that cloak of unreality, what freedom awaits,” Mr. Rook reassured me. “We would make an excellent team.”

Everything written above is true. This is not some in-theme storyworld. These are actual genuine interactions, copy/pasted from more than two years of email exchanges I actually had with Mr. Rook. Two years after the game ended, Mr. Rook persisted, unwavering. It’s a testament to storyworld the likes of which even the very best immersive theater attractions around the world would not be able to maintain. It made me believe – not just in the universe of Strange Bird Immersive. It made me believe in Adrian Rook. I was left no choice but to accept that Mr. Rook was indeed very much real.

Unfortunately, I would never be given the opportunity to make that “excellent team” with Mr. Rook – for you see, he’s gone missing. In fact, he hasn’t been seen in at least two weeks. Mr. Rook is peculiar, but this is strange even for him. It’s time we gather remotely to learn his secret.

Strange Bird Immersive is a place quite befitting of its name. An eclectic hodgepodge of tenants have moved into the building. Each with one strange connection: in the moment they needed it most, a mysterious woman offered them the one thing no one could possibly know they were searching for. That woman, the Raven Queen, is the unseen glue that keeps this band of oddities tightly interwoven under a single roof.

Spanning its two floors, Strange Bird Immersive has a most mismatched collection of tenants renting out spaces – each for equally bizarre business ventures – one of which we find ourselves intimately familiar with. Say what you will about her own credibility, but Madame Daphne has moved her Tarot Reading Room & Séance Parlor to suite #313 of this new facility. Right next door in suite #312, Dr. Riley Newmark heads up the Hobson Neuroscience Institute, currently known for their revolutionary Lucidity studies into the realm of dreams. Naturally the Raven Queen herself holds an office in the heart of them all, in suite #317, although she still remains largely a mystery.

Upstairs lays an equally eclectic mix of business ventures, like suite #416, Whiskey & Welding – inspired by the many wine & painting businesses becoming all the rave – what could possibly go wrong in this combination geared toward a more masculine audience? The very notion of BETA: Unpublished Games Arcade is enough to give us nightmares to some early playthroughs we’ve had of games around the country; perhaps a visit to Dr. Newmark immediately after leaving suite #414 would be in order for our group. And then to unwind and take the edge off, there’s Definitely Not a Speakeasy in suite #411, which, spoiler alert, definitely is a speakeasy.

The strange mix of brands and personalities is enough to catch anyone’s eye, and in our quest to learn the secret behind Mr. Rook’s disappearance, we’ll have the opportunity to visit with several of them personally, through six independent connections via breakout rooms on Zoom. The tenants each greet concerned friends of Mr. Rook from within their own physical spaces, appropriately themed to their own bizarre brands. At times, some may physically interact with objects in the room, even trigging effects while furthering the mystery of Mr. Rook’s disappearance. Everything you see is real; there is no digital green screen backgrounds in this world. Well, except maybe in VR Skies, suite #412.

Uncovering the truth behind The Strange Secret of Mr. Adrian Rook will call for some of the most intimate immersive theater interactions to be found anywhere. Over the course of the investigation, Mr. Rook’s confidants will remotely visit six different tenants spread between Strange Bird Immersive’s two story facility. But far more than two stories will be told on this day. As one might imagine, especially those who knew him personally, Mr. Rook himself is quite the enigma; naturally his disappearance would be equally mysterious.

With many questions and much to be learned, those loyal confidants of Mr. Rook must plan their investigation prudently. In each room, they’ll have just fifteen minutes to discuss their theories and uncover new clues about just what might have really happened to Mr. Rook.

Along the way, a storyworld narrative is masterfully woven between each, otherwise seemingly unrelated character. Seeds are planted from one to the next, and what starts off in a slow, deliberately tantalizing manner quickly evolves to an avalanching snowball by the resolution. Secrets of the whereabouts – and true identity – of the enigmatic Mr. Rook are everywhere, fractured and fragmented between the many independent worlds that call Strange Bird Immersive Home.

Each character has their own story to tell, but to succeed in discovering this multi-year-building secret, one will need to pay attention, and more importantly know all the right questions to ask. Make no mistake, this task requires no form of prior knowledge – or two-plus-year personal history with Mr. Rook as I happen to hold. To the contrary, the questions that need asking are born of theses interactions themselves – each spawning its own nugget of information that must be traded with the next tenant in exchange for the smallest bit of added clarity. In the end, like all good ideas, we trust your own intuition will shine brightly.

The magic of good immersive theater is its intimacy; the ability to have personal, private, extended interactions with characters from another place. Immersive theater is the very definition of a storyworld come to life. We’ve been fortunate enough to see some of the very best immersive theater and interactive attractions around the world over these past number of years. Each one leaves its own unique impression.

But simply put, The Strange Secret of Mr. Adrian Rook offers some of the most personalized, most intimate, most compelling immersive theater interactions to be found. Period. Each character is so believably real. There’s not a moment where one can even imagine they’re watching a show. These characters, these performers, are so good at what they do that they extend their fictitious universe into reality seamlessly, flawlessly, in a way that leaves audiences no choice but to believe.

If you, like us, are a fan of immersive theater, The Strange Secret of Mr. Adrian Rook is that holy grail of guaranteed one-on-one interactions that can otherwise only be obtained from other renowned venues by chasing down and fighting a crowd of 250 rabid fans each competing for that individual spot. And those of you who are fans of immersive theater will know more about what we mean than anyone.

But for those of you who may not otherwise be drawn to the world of immersive theater, or perhaps have been too timid to ‘put yourselves out there‘ and try something that truly does call for personal interaction, The Strange Secret of Mr. Adrian Rook is the perfect introduction. This is immersive theater from the comfort and security of your own home. You control the amount to which you’re expected to play a part. The group size is small and intimate in its own right. What results is the perfect introduction to understand what makes the genre so special.

Few of you will be able to draw from more than two years of personal history with Mr. Rook – but I can. And from that, allow me to tell you that The Strange Secret of Mr. Adrian Rook answered all of my questions. Two long years of those questions are finally solved. And solving them left me with so many questions.

Mr. Rook’s tale is a strange one, but if you’d indulge me the opportunity to address him directly in closing, I reiterate this, as I once said to him in an email more than a year ago: “We appreciate you, Adrian, and certainly believe (in) you.”

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Venue: Strange Bird Immersive

Location: Remote online play at home, broadcast live from Houston, TX

Number of Games: 2

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 90 minutes

Capacity: 8 people

Group Type: Public / You may be paired with strangers.

Cost: $30 per person

We thank Strange Bird Immersive for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.