Immersive experiences are all the rage and one of the newest additions to this summer in London is Phantom Peak. Just like the likes of Secret Cinema, those who attend are invited to explore a fantasy world with actors playing the characters who live there. This city sells itself as the “Venice of the West,” a steampunk-style frontier town shrouded in mystery.
Adjacent to Canada Water, Phantom Peak consists of two main immersive areas, with boardwalks containing fairground shops and games, and bars and restaurants along a purpose-built canal that leads to a waterfall near the corner.
The second is Old Town, which is located inside a connecting building where there is a Wild West bar and a wrecking balloon.
During this Westworld-like experience, guests are presented with video game side-quest-style missions via a website accessed on our smartphones, telling us where to go next.
The purpose is to solve the city’s mysteries including the tragic death of old mayor Dr. Guillon S. Forbish, who perished in the Fate of Airship.
The 25 actors who play a whole host of weird characters have given us information on Phantom Peak’s past as one of them helped us locate the missing platypus, using some fun interactive steampunk contraptions along the way.
JONACO and its owner, the elusive Jonas, now run the town and are thoughtlessly praised by many of its residents, but this man is nowhere to be seen, suggesting a popular horror development in the story that unfortunately never quite came to pass.
The missions were fun, but largely unimportant, and promised 50 total in the future, presumably the creators hoped for multiple visits.
However, what’s really lacking during this immersive experience is the climax where secrets are revealed and this Jonas guy actually appears.
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Our biggest disappointment with Phantom Peak was that her high ambition and creativity didn’t fit within her budget.
We’ve seen better and more compelling sets at Secret Cinema and especially at the newly opened The Gunpowder Plot in the Tower of London.
Even the inland boat ride was a bit disappointing but had some great visuals that evoke the history of the city.
Encouragingly, the immersive experience claims to be “constantly evolving” with “additional stages in production”. We hope here that she will grow and live up to her wonderful imagination.
To learn more about Phantom Peak and book tickets, click over here.
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