Inside Cosmic Crisis: The Escape Game’s Vision for Modern Entertainment

By Spencer Bollettieri

Space is often perceived as the final frontier, serving as the setting for some of humanity’s greatest stories, and at The Escape Game Brooklyn, people can embark on a voyage to the stars with Cosmic Crisis. Infused with adventure, thrills, and personality, The Escape Game’s Cosmic Crisis is more than just another escape room; it is a sign of the times. People may not be living in the distant sci-fi world Cosmic Crisis portrays, but the future is undoubtedly here. It’s strange to think that progress can be found in an escape room, yet technology, storytelling, and teamwork collide to reflect what audiences want from modern entertainment. Today, Cosmic Crisis exemplifies what places like The Escape Game are building toward as people demand more from their experiences.

Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, at their famous “adventure factory,” The Escape Game has become a leading name in experiential entertainment. With 43 locations across the United States and a team of over 1,300 employees, The Escape Game is known for crafting immersive escape rooms. Featuring experiences like Ruins: The Forbidden Treasure, Cosmic Crisis, and Timeline: Train Through Time, they have collectively earned more than 250,000 five-star reviews and welcomed nearly 9 million guests since 2014. Putting guests at the center of the action and constantly innovating new adventures, The Escape Game continues to embrace the art of hospitality and immersion.

Embarking on a Galactic Mission

One of many rooms offered at The Escape Game’s Brooklyn location (just off DeKalb Avenue and next to the DeKalb Market Hall) is one of 13 locations currently featuring this interstellar adventure. Unlike their Only Murders in the Building room and the company’s previous collaboration with Cheetos, Cosmic Crisis is an original sci-fi experience, not based on any existing property. With the fate of the galaxy at stake and only their wits and speed to rely on, for Cosmic Crisis, guests embark on a thrilling journey that challenges the mind, body, and heart in ways they never expect.

After signing in at the front desk, players are guided to the first part of their mission by a staff member. Following a brief orientation covering the rules and mechanics of the game, they are introduced to the scenario. At this point, Hermes, a friendly AI, is activated to guide players through the experience, offering clues along the way. Hermes explains that an anomaly in space has created a galaxy-consuming black hole, and if it’s not stopped, their home will be next to be “spaghettified.” Fortunately, a nearby space service station contains enough antimatter to neutralize the black hole, but since Hermes lacks physical hands, it is up to the crew to disable the station’s security systems, siphon the antimatter, and save the cosmos.

Aboard the Space Station

Stepping into the first room, guests find themselves aboard a shuttlecraft, its windows opening up to a stunning view of space as they jump to warp speed. Through immersive screen effects, players get a sense of their surroundings, dodging incoming debris and catching their first glimpse of the space station. Hermes’ upbeat personality contrasts the ominous facility ahead, offering encouragement as the team tackles their first challenge: an incoming meteor shower. A red alert blares and it’s all hands on deck as the crew mans their battle stations to figure out how to vaporize the incoming threats. One person aims, others lock on and fire, and the team must work fast to clear the flight path before docking at the service station.

Inside, the station is decked out with sci-fi staples, LED lights, glowing props, and plasma balls, that evoke the atmosphere of a Star Trek set, immersing players in a future where their only hope lies in teamwork and creative problem-solving. Over the course of three rooms, guests must disable the station’s security systems through a series of clever puzzles, including assembling circuits with a robotic magnet, short-circuiting keyboards, and even some light chemistry. The entire experience embraces a campy, optimistic vision of the future, one where adventure takes precedence over dread. Depending on the group dynamic, it is easy to slip into the fantasy of being a starship crew, with each person contributing their unique skills and perspectives to solve the puzzles. And when the experience reaches its dramatic conclusion, players are faced with a surprise twist that forces them to make a difficult decision, one that adds an emotional component to their mission.

Building the Perfect Team

The Escape Game recommends Cosmic Crisis for teams of 2–8 players, although groups of at least three will likely have the easiest time managing stations, coordinating instructions, and solving puzzles more efficiently. While designed for ages 13 and up, the experience remains family-friendly, although younger participants may struggle with patience and the room’s more difficult puzzles. The tasks themselves are challenging but rarely feel unfair, requiring a mix of strategy, speed, and occasional backtracking. And if players find themselves stuck, Hermes is always ready to assist, though he may need a moment to process requests. While the experience does have a 60-minute time limit, and players will be moving between rooms quickly (with some puzzles requiring sitting on the floor), Cosmic Crisis is not overly demanding, making it an accessible yet gripping race to save the galaxy.

In an age where anyone can turn their living room into an escape room with a prepackaged tabletop game, and theme parks offer guided adventures with space-faring heroes or crumbling temples, The Escape Game taps into something different, something more immersive. As impressive as those experiences can be, they often leave more to be desired whether it’s in terms of immersion or participation. Sometimes, people do not just want to watch their favorite heroes save the day; they want to be their own heroes.

The Art of Immersion

Immersion is the key of any great escape room, and Cosmic Crisis understands that worldbuilding is just as important as the puzzles themselves. Hermes, the game’s AI guide, does half the heavy lifting; not just offering clues, but injecting personality, humor, and urgency into the experience. The AI’s interactions with players and the scenario make him feel alive, selling the illusion that this is more than just a series of rooms. Moreover, details like scattered remnants of the station’s former crew and digging through their discarded items further enrich the environment. Additionally, Cosmic Crisis proves that with the right lighting, sound design, and interactive elements, a room tucked away in a Brooklyn shopping complex can feel like a space station hovering lightyears above it. Even the asteroid-blasting sequence is not just a game, it feels like a real mission thanks to a little technological showmanship.

Beyond the Traditional Escape Room

Participation is the other cornerstone of escape rooms. Unlike theme park rides, where guests are passive observers, escape rooms thrive on engagement and problem-solving. Usually after leaving a dark ride queue or exiting through a gift shop, a lot of people tend to ask questions like: “Why were we there?” or “Would this story have played out any different if we were out there helping, rather than passive observers?” At places like The Escape Game, people get to play the hero and get their moment to shine. The fulfillment does not come from the usual thrills but from accomplishment. In an escape room, every team member contributes, whether it is the pop culture enthusiast deciphering a hidden reference, the fastest runner dashing between rooms, or just the person who noticed something the others missed. Regardless if it’s saving the galaxy, discovering a lost treasure, or just trying to reign in some comical contemporary chaos in the classroom, The Escape Game knows entertainment is evolving and it’s not always enough to just be along for the ride.

Cosmic Crisis highlights how set design, technology, and hands-on engagement are redefining modern entertainment. It proves that escape rooms can be more than just a series of puzzles; they can be living, breathing narratives that challenge not only the mind and body, but also the heart, spirit, and imagination. What Cosmic Crisis showcases is that the future is not just in the tomorrow it envisions, but in what places like The Escape Game create, allowing guests to believe in themselves and that anything is possible as they leave the outside world behind.

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New Escape Game: Cosmic Crisis – by The Escape Game

Explore More: Resources

• Main Website: The Escape Game
• Brooklyn Website: The Escape Game Brooklyn
• Game Page: Cosmic Crisis Brooklyn

About Spencer Bollettieri: As a biologist, journalist, and writer, Spencer Bollettieri has written for sites such as Screen Rant. Although mostly based out of New York, he’s traveled the world in pursuit of new stories.

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