Room Escape Artist

Spirit Heirlines

Location: Osaka, Japan

Date Played: October 9, 2025

Team Size: 2-4; we recommend 2-3

Duration: 60 minutes

Price:  4600-4950 yen (~$30-32 USD) per player depending on team size

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: None

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Madame LeClaire and the Seance of Death featured one of the most elegant approaches I’ve encountered to an escape room murder mystery.

Literary murder mysteries are about discovery and deduction, but they’re also about storytelling. Where other such escape rooms often present an unwieldy dump of static evidence for something that happened in the past, Madame LeClaire and the Seance of Death instead used a plethora of dynamic storytelling techniques to bring the murder case to life.

Above all, Madame LeClaire and the Seance of Death played like a movie, smoothly alternating between simple narrative-driven puzzles and dynamic audio cutscenes. Stellar lighting design enhanced the drama and organically choreographed our attention, indicating when to pause our puzzling. The writing throughout was compelling and polished, and the hint systems diegetically adapted to each stage of the game. Every piece of evidence was tactile and had its own designated place, enabling us to assemble a satisfying solution. As we revealed layer after layer to the story, the environment physically coalesced towards order rather than chaos.

Narrative-Puzzle Bliss

While the gameplay was relatively easy, it was remarkably well conceived. Each element was there for a reason, both in physical presence and game mechanic, with a consistent “why” behind our every action. I especially vibed with one puzzle which utilized unnecessarily nice material and transformed into a lovely keepsake.

Each of Studio Escape’s games specifies that players should stick together, even when there might be multiple branches available at once. This was especially important with Madame LeClaire and the Seance of Death, making this experience ideal for a small team. To note, Studio Escape’s escape rooms are “Western-style” games, with more of a focus on story and physical manipulation than the challenging puzzle-centric Japanese style. There’s no need to rush; all teams will have plenty of time to fully experience the story and soak in all the details.

While Studio Escape’s Shadow Zen may currently get more attention on the international stage, Madame LeClaire and the Seance of Death is a sleeper hit that is equally not to be missed, especially for story seekers, scenery snobs, and fans of clever detective stories. If you are looking for an example of an escape room with a strongly cohesive narrative, look no further.

A Magical Parlour

Madame LeClaire and the Seance of Death is purported to take place in an early 1900s hotel suite, and the game was originally situated in the actual St. Regis Hotel. After some time, Studio Escape lost access to that location, and in transporting the game back to their own escape room venue, they meticulously recreated the original setting with stunning detail. The main parlour’s art deco style was exquisite, with a vintage furniture, gilded artwork, an actual stone tile mosaic, and captivating peacock feather wallpaper.

In fact, this parlour, known as The Peacock Room, regularly doubles as a venue for close-up magic performances, spearheaded by Studio Escape co-founder Ben Daggers. Ben is a talented performer, magic creator, and writer, and you may have even seen him perform on Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Most magic shows are in Japanese, but they occasionally offer shows in English as well.

Tips For Visiting

• Studio Escape has 2 locations. Madame LeClaire and the Seance of Death is located in their Nippombashi location at 4-2-15 Nihonbashi.
• As is common in Japan, you’ll take your shoes off and change into sandals at the door. A range of sizes were available.

Book your hour with Studio Escape’s Madame LeClaire and the Seance of Death, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.