Forget jump scares in haunted houses – The Medium at INMERS Play is one of the most immersive and terrifying horror attraction I’ve experienced.
About INMERS Play
INMERS Play is an indoor entertainment centre that offers a unique blend of games: from digital physical game rooms (Floor is Lava) to board games, and their flagship experience, immersive escape rooms – offering hours of entertainment at one place.
The entire facility is at the second level of ORTO West Coast, which is conveniently across from the Haw Par Villa MRT station.
And now, let’s talk about their escape rooms. Unlike most horror-themed escape rooms in Singapore where you’re mostly left to your own devices (save for jump scares acting as distractions), INMERS throws you into a truly interactive haunted house experience, complete with performers and theatrical special effects that are central to the action. There are currently three escape room experiences, each offering a unique brand of terror:
1. Break Through The Soil (90 mins, $68/pax)
2. The Medium (Angel Edition*, 60 mins, $48/pax)
3. The Medium (Full Edition, 90mins, $88/pax) – featured in this article
* The Angel Edition has horror elements toned down.
All escape rooms experiences require 4 to 8 participants, and bookings must be made in advance with INMERS Play. You can use Promo Code NICHOLAS10 to get a 10% discount for your bookings!
The Medium – INMERS Play Escape Room Review
Comparing this to haunted houses at Halloween Horror Nights (where you follow a clear path from a defined start to a definitive end), the ‘safety net’ is yanked away at INMERS. Here, the experience is non-linear and feels relentless. You’ll feel trapped within a supernatural event, constantly on edge because you don’t know what might happen next, or if you’ll have to revisit an area where something new awaits.
The attraction’s power lies in its environments – the sets were crafted to transport you to a secluded, superstitious locale – a key element is the home of the Medium himself, who acts as your guide. The performers play characters that are possessed or deeply troubled, serving as powerful catalysts for fear. Even the initial safety briefing is cleverly woven into the Medium’s themed dialogue, immediately pulling you into the world.
And as this is an escape room, it’s filled with interactive tasks, often requiring the group to split up and explore the dark rooms and corridors – at times even solo. Add in the hidden theatrical effects, and the whole experience pushes fear and anxiety to the next level.
Of course, no attraction is perfect. The interactive and gameplay, when viewed strictly for an escape room game, sometimes felt like a cascading list of fetch quests across the scenes. There could also be better transitions between the technical effects, as there were a handful of occasions where effects felt noticeably delayed.
Nonetheless, if you’re a horror fan like me, then The Medium at INMERS is an absolute must-visit. Despite minor technical stumbles, it remains the scariest and most immersive experience I’ve had in a venue like this.
Inspired by folklore of the Mae Hong Son province in northern Thailand, The Medium transports you to a remote village house. In this experience, you enter the Medium’s home to uncover the truth behind a ritual that has gone wrong and unleashed a terrible evil.
Here’s a sneak peek of what could happen during your journey:
It starts peacefully, with a quiet meeting with the Medium outside his home after sunset. He lights a joss stick and offers it at the altar, but it soon begins to rain.
Lightning strikes and the windows burst open – and it appears that a spirit is materialising…
After a brief paranormal encounter, it’s time to head inside. But alas, the keys are nowhere to be found! Now, you need to actually “break in” and retrieve the spare key from the bedroom…
The storm has taken out all the power too, so all you have is the Medium’s torchlight illuminating this eerie home.
Once everyone managed to regroup inside, it’s time to apply talismans around the house to ward off further hauntings.
That appears to be a simple task, until… things start to move on their own, in a place where the air is deadly still.
The Medium then reveals that the haunting is the ghost of his son – and now we have to assist him with another ritual.
Time is tight, so there will be times where you have to part ways with the Medium and explore on your own.
As hauntings intensify, time is running out to get into the caverns that seemed to be a sacred site for rituals. Under the frightful gaze of the statue, you explore deeper to collect some peculiar objects for the Medium.
The spirit is relentless, and in one of the most intense moments, one of your friends will likely get a frightening close encounter.
As you return to familiar spaces, you’ll find that things have changed – such as the statue in the cavern broken – signaling that evil has been fully unshackled.
But what is the real truth behind the hauntings, the rituals, and the medium’s secret? Why is the spirit back? The real answers have been in plain sight since the very beginning.
Still, the overall story and experience was fantastic, even if, as a dedicated horror fan, the films that inspired this narrative became obvious to me in the final act. It’s thrilling to see how the team has combined them all into an original experience.
Survival Guide for INMERS Escape Rooms
Here are some essential tips from my experience to help you plan:
1. Group size is crucial. You can go between 4 to 8 people. Having more means more hands for tasks, and more bodies to hide behind! A smaller group will be more intimate and increase the fear factor.
2. Dress Comfortably. This is a highly physical experience that involves moving quickly around dark spaces, including stairs. Wear comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes for safety. You can store your bags and other items at the lockers provided so they don’t get lost in the (haunted) house!
3. Know Your Limits. It’s genuinely scary, and there’s no ‘safe spot’ inside the escape room. If you can’t take it anymore you may need to request to leave (and miss out the scares!) and rest outside where hundreds of board games can help you pass the time while your friends try to escape.
INMERS Play Escape Rooms Info
INMERS Play is located at Level 2, ORTO West Coast. It is open from 11AM to 9PM, but time slots vary for escape room experiences:
1. Break Through The Soil (90 mins, $68/pax)
2. The Medium (Angel Edition, 60 mins, $48/pax)
3. The Medium (Full Edition, 90mins, $88/pax) – featured in this article
All escape rooms experiences require 4 to 8 participants, and bookings must be made in advance with INMERS Play. You can use Promo Code NICHOLAS10 to get a 10% discount for your bookings!
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