E-Exit: Secret Subway

Long a fixture on the Budapest scene, E-Exit has several often-recommended rooms, but Secret Subway is the newest and longest, at 75 minutes, as well as the one that tends to get the highest plaudits. In it you're delving into a forgotten inventor's hideaway and investigating the writings and machines he's left behind. It has a classic steampunk aesthetic with brass pipes and gothic Da Vinci diagrams; the website suggests bringing a large team, but we found it fine with two, and probably more co...

“Deep beneath the streets of Budapest lie the secrets of a once a brilliant inventor. Their name has been forgotten, but perhaps we can descend into their realm and uncover its mysteries.”

Going down a short stairwell, we emerge into the wonderful aesthetics of Secret Subway. Lots of little gadgets and antiquated mechanisms lying dormant, waiting to be brought back to life. The builders went for a realistic design, connecting all the pieces, giving each item a purpose, and avoiding out-of-place objects. With their attention to detail, the room designers created a feeling of being in an old, somewhat crazed, inventor’s workshop.

Secret Subway inspires us especially because of the different backdrops as well as the technical mechanisms. An effect in the middle of the game is a real highlight, even for experienced players.