It’s Starlit Summer at Phantom Peak

Everyone's favourite steampunk immersive experience is back for its summer season, with new lore, twists and games to explore

The new summer season of Phantom Peak is officially here, and with it comes new characters to meet, new rooms to explore and new ways to exalt platypuses… In this immersive theatrical experience/escape room/team game hybrid, anything is possible.

Originally created by Glen Hughes and Nick Moran, Phantom Peak is the steampunk setting for this “fully immersive open-world adventure” in London. Guests follow the supernatural and always wacky hijinks in town, which is split into two regions; Phantom Deeps, the small old mining town, and Phantom Peak, the new town – both with indoor and outdoor locations. Since being taken over by the mysterious Platypus-loving overlord Jonas, a great inventor and leader of company JONACO, everything in Phantom Peak leads back to Jonas, his ideas and his control over the locals. Phantom Peak visitors can follow and solve different mystery trails around the town using the JonAssist website – one of which could facilitate a rebellion by the town locals against Jonas…

Since it’s opening season in 2022, Phantom Peak has delivered lore, mini-games, in-world Easter Eggs, mysteries for attendees to solve, and has even fostered a dedicated fanbase who discuss the minutiae of each season’s new lore on subreddits. As one of our top picks for immersive summer experiences, and with tickets on sale for the summer 2024 season, we take you through what to expect at Phantom Peak over the next few months.

The Trails

No two experiences at Phantom Peak are the same, and the trails are a big part of that. If you like solving mysteries and puzzles, frequent escape rooms, or interacting with bizarre characters in your day-to-day, then the Phantom Peak trails are for you. With no time limit on when to complete them, visitors can solve at their own pace, stop to play one of the mini-games, buy merch, pause for a food or drink break, and pick up right where they left off. For our trail, we were able to go to the bar and enjoy one of the delicious bespoke cocktails before heading back to solve a legal-demon racoon-mystery (no, we’re not making this up). The beauty of the trails is that it’s not just the actors who lean into the world-building, visitors do too. Using the various JONACO provided technologies, you can be a ghost detector, a lawyer, a detective, the highest scorer in the JONACO arcade – the world of Phantom Peak is your oyster, if you’re brave enough.

The cabin games

For the people who may not necessarily want to complete a trail, or for the speedy puzzle solvers who finish their trails early, treat yourself to the assortment of cabin games available on-site. On entry, all visitors of Phantom Peak will get sorted into one of three teams: Abs Assemblage, Team Terrence and Klacky Kabin; and receive a wristband with the team’s corresponding colour. Through the completion of each cabin game (jenga, egg and spoon races, bean bag tosses and more), visitors can earn tokens that go towards their teams’ final score that is tallied in the Phantom Peak Closing Ceremony, and the top two teams will face off in a general knowledge quiz to crown the winner. Plus, upstairs, visitors can find the famous Phantom Peak ball pit, and enter if they dare.

Food and drink

Cocktails, mocktails, burgers, fries, rooms for afternoon tea, a cheesecake that costs £999,999 – anything is possible in the Phantom Peak restaurant. For the Starlit Summer season, the restaurants and bars are back, and they’re the perfect place to nourish yourself before embarking on your Phantom Peak adventure. Whether you’re looking for a way to celebrate your egg and spoon race victory or just a restaurant with a unique ambience, a Phantom Peak dining experience is one that we can guarantee you won’t be able to replicate anywhere else. Especially with that million-pound cheesecake. (Don’t believe us? Order the cheesecake next time you’re there and see for yourself…)

With so much new lore to discover, so many new trails to explore, and a entirely new season of Jonas-themed memorabilia, Starlit Summer at Phantom Peak is the ideal summer day or night out solo, with family, friends or a even a special someone. Don’t miss out on this thrillingly odd and oddly thrilling experience.

Phantom Peak’s summer season runs until 15 September. Find tickets here.

_{Photo credits: Alistair Veryard}