Review: Boom Lab (London)
- Immersive Rumours
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Fast reflexes, teamwork and communication are key in this immersive gaming experience that finishes with a bang... literally.
Photo: Fever
Boom Lab is an immersive gaming experience based in Shoreditch for groups of 2-8 people. Part arcade, part escape room, the 75-minute-long experience consists of six interactive challenges that test everything from your reaction times and communication skills to your balance and dexterity.
Across five main challenges, groups compete to earn as many points and lives as possible ahead of the grand finale, in which they race to defuse a paint bomb and avoid a colourful explosion being triggered when the clock reaches zero.
The experience, which is produced by Fever, has already seen successful debuts in Spain, Australia and the United States (albeit under different names), and is the latest in a string of competitive gaming experiences to open in London over the last couple of years, alongside the likes of Prison Island, Enigma Quest's Escape Arcade and SPYGAMES.
Photo: Fever
Following a speedy check-in where groups decide on a team name and are given individual wristbands that track their progress throughout the experience, Boom Lab's basic structure is explained: teams have around 10 minutes inside each room, with the difficulty increasing as they clear each level. There's no way of 'failing' a room, but each group's performance will affect how many lives they enter the final challenge with. The more lives each team collects, the better their chances of success are.
Boom Lab's first room is Blue Blur, which contains half a dozen interactive touch screens. While each screen has a few simple controls on it, including on/off switches, numerical sliders and dials, the instructions for what they need to be set to are on the other terminals elsewhere in the room.
To progress, players need to work together and share the necessary information with each other as clearly and quickly as possible, as no player has it all in front of them at any given time. If you've ever played Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, it's a similar concept, but with more people and inevitably, more shouting.
Photo: Fever
Progressing onwards, teams must next press as many light-up buttons as possible on Pink Panic‘s free-standing towers. It's essentially a more high-tech version of Whack-A-Mole, with different interactions needed depending on what colour each button lights up as. Some need to be avoided altogether, while others need to be tapped or held down until they disappear.
Fast reaction times are the key to success in this game, though it's more forgiving to larger groups, who will find it easier to score highly as there are more free hands to go around.
Photo: Fever
Through the next door is Yellow Yell, which combines general knowledge and memory with precision. Team members stand in front of a screen that has six circular targets on it, and projected above them are a series of quick-fire questions, which teams answer by throwing balls at their chosen target.
The back half of the game has some trick questions sprinkled in to keep players on their toes, and the introduction of some lateral thinking and maths in the later stages makes Yellow Yell the most mentally engaging room in Boom Lab.
Photo: Fever
Red Reflex is up next, which requires players to duck, crawl and jump through a field of lasers. It's deceptively simple at first, with static lasers barely going above your ankles, but the complexity increases with each new level. Those who progress far enough can expect to army crawl across the length of the space and have to time their movements to match sections turning on and off.
To complete each level, the entire team need to tap their wristbands on a reader at the other side of the room, so there's no choice but to get stuck in and keep your cool, even as bursts of smoke are fired into the room to throw you off balance.
Photo: Fever
Boom Lab's penultimate challenge comes in the form of Orange Outrun, a tech-infused version of 'the floor is lava', which has players balancing and moving from one small raised platform to the next to collect keys that are projected onto the floor.
Throughout, virtual fire-breathing monsters spawn in and spit fireballs towards random platforms, which need to be avoided at all costs. While they’re this game's main foe, they're not Orange Outruns' biggest obstacle - it's the distance between the platforms, which might be challenging for younger (or shorter) players to successfully clear without touching the ground.
Alongside Red Reflex, Orange Outrun is Boom Lab's most physical challenge, and it's quite the workout considering the amount of time afforded to players, so be sure to conserve some energy while dodging lasers.
Photo: Fever
Boom Lab's finale, Solara, has players kitted out in protective overalls and face shields. The aim of this final challenge is to defuse a paint bomb against the clock by memorising and repeating a series of increasingly difficult patterns through pressure-controlled pumps, which each player holds throughout.
Staring down the barrel of several paint cannons makes Solara a pretty nerve-wracking experience, and the risk of getting hit with paint is constant throughout, meaning even the smallest mistake could have big consequences.
In practical terms, Solara's objective is somewhat at odds with what most players want to happen, as to succeed is to prevent the paint explosion from triggering (which is going to be one of Boom Lab's main draws), but thankfully the staff are more than happy to set off the paint explosion even if teams complete all nine of the challenge's levels before the clock runs out.
Slow-motion cameras record each group's reaction to the paint exploding, and the footage is automatically emailed over after they complete the experience, which provides those who attend with some social-media-ready footage of them getting doused in paint.
Photo: Fever
While for the most part, Boom Lab doesn't deviate too far from the tried-and-tested competitive gaming formula of mixing physical and mental challenges, it's hard to deny that its explosive conclusion is a unique and engaging experience that's not on offer anywhere else.
With a generous amount of time afforded to players in each room, there's the chance to get your head around the tasks at hand and develop some level of mastery, which isn't always the case in other competitive gaming experiences.
The gradual increase in difficulty that comes with completing each level also means that, regardless of any group's skill level, they're not doomed to failure if things aren't going their way - they simply repeat the last level until they succeed (something that'll be particularly helpful if you're visiting with younger players).
If you're looking for an engaging, high-energy activity that's more fun than frustrating and less physically demanding than the likes of Prison Island or Immersive Gamebox, Boom Lab is a great choice and stands out as a distinctive offering in a crowded market. Just be aware that it may leave a lasting impact on you. We're still trying to scrub some of the paint off our hands...
★★★½
Final Score: 1184
[Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review]
Boom Lab runs at 83 Rivington Street near Old Street station. Tickets are priced from £20.90 per person. For more information and to book tickets, visit feverup.com
