IRL escape rooms are currently out of the question (thanks ‘rona), but that doesn’t mean you can’t put your sleuthing skills to good use. 

If you’re starting to succumb to cabin fever, take heart: one of Sydney’s top escape rooms has created an online puzzle to help you shake off the lockdown blues. 

The game is called Temporal Tangle. Created by Sydney’s Next Level Escape, it centres around the story of a secret agent (code name ‘Fox’) sent to the future by the ominous-sounding Future Directions Bureau on a critical mission to preserve the timeline when he goes missing. 

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Players need to discover clues, explore the room and inspect objects to puzzle out where the missing agent is, before the timeline winks out of existence and the future is irreparably altered. 

Just like in the IRL game, you can investigate the room, pick up and examine items and encounter secret messages. 

The online version was personally created by co-owners Aaron Hooper and Leanne Young, who added additional story elements and audio-visual aspects to make the virtual experience as immersive as possible. 

The experience works in a similar way to a video game. Beginning in an abandoned building, players use their cursor to sweep through the room and examine clues. 

The only thing that’s different is there’s no time limit in the virtual version, so you can take your time to delve into the thrilling riddle from every possible angle. 

It’s available to play solo or in groups, at a cost of $15 per device. Alternatively, you can choose a $50 option, which will secure you a voucher for your next IRL visit to Next Level Escape.

Check it out at www.nextlevelescape.com.au. 

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