Pandora Experience

A couple of days ago, my cousins and I went to Kelapa Gading to play at this famous escape house in Jakarta named Pandora Experience. You see, we were basically escape-house virgins, so we were not familiar with how this game goes, let alone how it works. I booked a slot over a phone call for the Forest of the Dead, which is the theme of the game. There are numerous theme for one place and, turned out, I happen to chose the most extreme one of all the themes available. “The difficulty is five out of five, the fear factor is five out of five as well, while the physical activity is four out of five,” said Nuning, a cousin of mine, reading the information written on the official website about the theme we were about to undergo as we were driving to Mall Kelapa Gading. Shit, I thought to myself, I’d probably shit my pants playing this escape game. 

Left to right: Gavin, Nadja, me, Nuning, and Adji

Imagine going to a cinema to watch a movie, but instead of doing so, you are going to a dark building with splashing color of black and red and being put inside a chamber for two hours to find your way out by finding clues and solving riddles; that’s how the escape game works. Within each theme, the duration of the game differs, as well as the amount of players needed to play the game. Mine needed, at least, four persons to play, and it can be up to ten persons. 

Out game started at 8:30PM. We arrived a bit early, got briefed by the game master about the dos and don’ts, stored our belongings inside a locker provided by Pandora Experience, and went to the third floor to our game chamber. We were given a walkie talkie. That’s it. No flash lights, no candles, nothing to light up the expected dark and eerie chamber. The walkie talkie is used to communicate with the game master in case we stumbled upon a dead end and needed a help from the game master himself to solve the mystery. Very handy and useful, and we used the particular equipment a lot during our entire two and a half hours roaming around the maze.

What we experienced inside the maze-like chamber was none like we have ever came accross with before. We had to crawl, we had to climb, we were trapped in a very small room with minimum lighting, we were surrounded by speakers that blare creepy sounds and music, and we also were separated halfway through the game not because we were lost, but because the story line required us to. “Only one can go inside the maze and it has to be a.. woman,” said the game master through the walkie talkie. Nadja was terrified, as well as Nuning. I was as well, but I had to be the one who do this task otherwise we won’t finish the game and we might get kicked out for not being able to finish it under the specified time period. So I did. It was the most terrifying moment in my life as I had to crawl my way into a narrow and dark passage, clogging my ears with my fingers so that I won’t be hearing much of the very very loud sinister background music that was booming from the speaker. I had my walkie talkie with me and kudos to the game master for being very patient with all of my distress calls. “I can’t do this,” I said, trembling, “I’m too scared.” which was then replied with a soothing, “Just calm yourself. Everything will be okay.”. 

The storyline was great. We got to know the background story of the theme we chose as we travel from chamber to chamber, maze to maze, discovering the secrets that lies within the Aokigahara forest while we struggle to find our exit. 

The physical activity was amazing, although very much exhausting. It wouldn’t be a problem for those who work out regularly. Unfortunately, the five of us never touched a barbel, or run a mile, within the month. We ended up running out of breaths at some points. 

Last but not least is the fear factor, which exceeded expectation as the five of us were very very terrorized even by the background music itself, let alone the jump scares. The props used were twisted and fucked up, that's for sure. 

Seriously, Pandora Experience is not like any other haunted house you’ve ever encountered before. It frustrates you in a good way and it scars you for life. Surprisingly, despite all the terrors, it gives you this addiction that makes you want to play again, but with a different theme. It definitely satisfies your rush for adrenalin and lust for a good horror. Not recommended for the faint-hearted and those who are claustrophobic and scotophobic. 

Pandora Experience

Jalan Boulevard Bar. Raya, No. 46

RT002 RW009

Kelapa Gading, jakarta Utara 14240

To book your game, you can go visit Pandora Experience's official website here.