By now we all take it for granted that Lara Croft can (almost) effortlessly take down wolves, scale up icy walls with her enviable upper body strength, and solve puzzles without having to scratch her head that much. She makes it look easy. So easy, in fact, that when we were offered the chance to do a Tomb Raider Escape Experience, we didn’t think it would be that challenging. Silly us. Watch us explore the Tomb of the Mother of Death in the video above, with added commentary from myself and James as we try not to get too frustrated at seeing everything we did wrong in hindsight.
Although the room was by no means Houdini-worthy, hearing sound effects that make you (ahem, me) think the entire (fake) room is about to collapse does make it very apparent just how fearless Lara really is. Because when those noises reach her ears, it’s for real. Yet all three settings for the escape room were phenomenally convincing, from the aged gold drawings on the walls of the tomb to all the props in Lara Croft’s father’s office (I definitely didn’t get distracted by a wind-up dog toy). It didn’t take long for James, Bradley, and I to become completely immersed and semi-forget that we were a) being timed and b) the sounds of people trying to break into the office weren’t real.
If you’re interested in trying this escape room for yourself, the Tomb Raider Escape is open in London from March 9, and takes about 30 minutes. You can try to win a pair of tickets here, if you think you’re brave enough to face the Mother of Death herself...
