Room Escape Artist

We have Meow Wolf at home.

Location:  Philadelphia, PA

Date Played: March 31, 2024

Team size: we recommend 1-4

Duration: We recommend 60-90 minutes to explore the space, more if you intend to figure out some of the hidden gameplay.

Price: $34.99 per adult

Ticketing: Public

Accessibility Consideration:  Most spaces are accessible to strollers and wheelchairs.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

We believe in immersive art installations. They are opportunities to put creativity on display on a large scale, from unusual perspectives. Meow Wolf has normalized this style of entertainment, and it’s becoming more and more popular. We wanted to see another take on the concept. That’s why we visited Otherworld.

At Otherworld, we could see a different artistry than we’d found at Meow Wolf. The installations really excelled in some places, specifically with the design of adorable, and also menacing-but-somehow-still-adorable creatures. These were captivating. And when Otherworld nailed a full room of whimsy weirdness, it was absolutely delightful.

Unfortunately, they didn’t nail this enough. Otherworld often felt empty. It lacked detail. Bland projection stood in place of fully realized spaces. We couldn’t stand in a room and just continually take it in, as a work of art. There wasn’t enough there there.

We also believe that there is opportunity for more interactivity and gameplay to be interwoven with this type of art installation. We’d hoped to find that at Otherworld, but if it was there, it wasn’t signposted well enough. All interactions felt random and obtuse; there wasn’t enough feedback. I wish the lore and the gameplay had been compelling enough that I wanted to spend the time exploring it… but it did feel like someone wrote something. It’s just not clear if it all ended up in the final product.

Otherworld didn’t live up to my hopes, but the families moving through it on a Sunday afternoon seemed happy. It was broadly accessible. We encountered groups of all sizes, kids of all ages, and guests with limited mobility. Throughout the day, I delighted in kids experiencing wonder. Otherworld might not be best in class, but it was an enjoyable stop on our day trip to Philly. If you’re looking for a little slice of fantastical, or a family activity, check out Otherworld. Also, check out its gift shop.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Any experience level
• Adults, kids, or families

Why visit?

• Large-scale fantastical creature art
• Whimsical artistic spaces

Story

Otherworld was an immersive art installation. While we believe there was some mystery or story that we could have uncovered with more time and more digging, we experienced it as an art installation. Each new room revealed different surreal wonders to take in, and occasionally interact with.

Setting

Otherworld was a collection of spaces of different sizes, each decorated as different art pieces. The art leaned heavily into bright colors, fantastical creatures, and whimsical settings. However, it included some more futuristic spaces with a sci-fi aesthetic.

Gameplay

Otherworld was primarily an art installation and any gameplay was hard to unlock. We noticed what appeared to be interactive inputs in some rooms. We also found some cryptic wording in some rooms that seemed like clues and a computer with files that started connecting characters and motives. However, we weren’t able to connect the dots in the time we had at Otherworld – and perhaps worse – we didn’t care to do so.

Analysis

➕ Otherworld excelled at large-scale, fantastical, artistic creatures. These were Pokémon-esque, non-animated pieces that exuded charm and character.

➕ Our favorite rooms had well-developed, strange aesthetics. The stretched room stood out for its cohesive design, in addition to its strangeness. It felt very Alice in Wonderland.

➖ Many of the large spaces didn’t have a lot of detail. Otherworld used projection to blanket rooms with… something. Some of the projection looked washed out. The ceilings were often ignored. Whole rooms felt unfinished.

➖ There was opportunity to hide hardware better. We could regularly see the wires.

➕ We enjoyed unusual transitions such as tunnels. We especially liked entering a prop or set piece. We might end up inside it… or we might just go through it into another exhibit entirely.

➖ That said, Otherworld doesn’t reward sustained exploration the way Meow Wolf does. If we looked longer, we didn’t notice more detail. We’d already noticed everything there was to see. If we explored what appeared to be a less traveled path… it wouldn’t be anything at all.

➕ Some of the interactions were inviting. We figured out how to work the ice cream machine (which may or may not have been part of a larger mystery) and delighted in the interaction and the solve. We were intrigued by an interactive floor, but never unlocked its full potential.

➖ Other inputs were simply broken. We found ourselves inside a video game (neat!), but one of the two controllers was broken (lame!).

➖ Furthermore, the potential inputs confused us. We couldn’t easily tell what was a touchscreen and what was just a screen. In fact, it was generally hard to tell what was interactive. Buttons felt buttony… but nothing gave any feedback.

➖ The lore was underdeveloped. It was too hard to find and engage with. What we read wasn’t compelling. Not in the slightest. If we’d wanted to unravel it, it would have been work, and we would have needed more time. The characters didn’t lure us into their world.

➖ The Otherworld website did a poor job of setting expectations. We didn’t know how long to visit for, or really what to expect at all.

➕ Otherworld was impressively accessible. We visited on a Sunday afternoon and there were many families with children of all ages. It seemed easy enough to push a stroller through the exhibits. Children roamed around together and delighted in the weird creature art, bright colors, and unusual paths.

❓ Otherworld had been open less than a year when we visited. We are curious how the shaggy carpet will endure after multiple Philadelphia winters.

➕  The gift shop offered high quality merchandise at affordable prices. We aren’t folks to be impressed by gift shops… but if I were local, I’d shop here for gifts. The creatures were just so cute. The shirts were great.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.

Book your session with Otherworld Philadelphia, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.