The Cipher Room - Metamorphosis

Date: 6/3/2026

Company Name: The Cipher Room

Room: Metamorphosis

Cost: $70 per person (Team of 4)

Time Allowed: 60 Minutes

Website Link: https://www.cipherroom.com.au/ourgames

Location: 31-35 May St, St Peters NSW 2044

Best Parking: Street Parking is best/Parking lot - 2-6 Princes Hwy, Alexandria NSW 2015

Succeeded: Yes with approximately 5 minutes remaining

Room Description: 

It’s 2062. One year since the TCR1 toxin spread across the world. You are exploring an abandoned area on the outskirts of the city, when you find what looks like the entrance to an underground bunker. You wrench the hatch door open to find a rickety ladder leading downward, to darkness. You know that mutants have been seen in this area and you need to find a place to hide. Fast. You have no choice. You climb down.

What is the mysterious underground bunker, and who resided here? Will you be safe in here from the creatures above? If you survive the night, how on earth will you get out?

Comments:

After a bit of a hiatus over the Christmas period, the team was back with a vengeance. What better way to kick off the year than with a visit to the company that continues to set the industry standard: The Cipher Room. Having completed all of their other rooms (you can find those reviews under The Cipher Room section on the right-hand side of the blog), we had been eagerly awaiting the release of their newest experience — Metamorphosis.

This evening we did things a little differently and opted for a later booking. Naturally, that meant starting the night with dinner at Marcelleria in Newtown. For our group, steak, beers, and escape rooms is about as good a combination as it gets. The food was brilliant with every steak cooked perfectly. It definitely set the bar high for the rest of the night.

Making our way over to The Cipher Room’s St Peters venue felt strangely familiar, almost like returning home after being away for a while. We were greeted by Callum, our Gamesmaster for the evening, and after the usual formalities we were lined up and ready to enter the highly anticipated Metamorphosis.

Cipher’s newest room takes place in a post-apocalyptic bunker following a viral outbreak that has transformed humans into mutant creatures. The set design immediately captured that bleak, industrial atmosphere, filled with heavy metal props, worn machinery, and carefully crafted environmental details. Although the lighting was intentionally dim to match the setting, everything remained visible enough to appreciate just how much care had gone into building the space.

As expected, Metamorphosis delivered the meticulous theming, immersive atmosphere, and engaging puzzles we’ve come to associate with The Cipher Room. At the same time, they also experimented with several elements we hadn’t seen from them before and when those risks pay off (as they do here), it’s always refreshing.

One of the things that stood out most was how natural everything felt. The theming, puzzles, and narrative all blended together seamlessly. The storytelling never felt forced or overly intrusive. Aside from a few voice recordings, most of the narrative unfolded organically through exploration and puzzle solving, which made the experience feel much more immersive.

At no point did Metamorphosis feel like a grind. The puzzles offered a solid challenge for experienced teams but always delivered that satisfying “click” moment when things fell into place. Metamorphosis may well be Cipher’s most technologically advanced room to date. The innovation goes beyond the puzzles themselves, extending into the props, mechanisms, and moving features scattered throughout the space.

Another highlight was the ingenious use of space. While it may not be the largest room Cipher has built, it certainly feels like it. The game makes clever use of both horizontal and vertical movement. Metamorphosis also involves stairs and some crawling sections though thankfully not everyone needs to do the crawling (queue our teams smallest member, Simon)

Our team managed to escape with about five minutes to spare, using two hints along the way. As always, these weren’t simple answer drops, Callum gave us just the right nudge to keep the momentum going without spoiling the discovery.

We left the venue feeling extremely satisfied. Metamorphosis is yet another phenomenal addition to The Cipher Room’s lineup. We always love playing here and never hesitate to recommend them to anyone who’s caught the escape room bug.

All in all, it was a fantastic night and a brilliant way to start the year.