‘Great Gold Bird’ Is A Wild Goose Chase Around Los Angeles (Review)

Great Gold Bird is a “wander play” by Twin Alchemy in association with Scout Expedition Company and Hatch Escapes. Taking place in three chapters, the first segment takes place online in the comfort of your own home, the second at an undisclosed location in Arlington Heights, and the third at another undisclosed location 12 miles away from the second one (though it’ll likely be very familiar to many Angelenos once they arrive). The experience is designed for private groups between one and three participants who are responsible for their own transportation between sites.

(Some light spoilers follow.)

The participant is cast as a friend of college student Emily Combs who is studying abroad in Spain, but also desperate to find her Uncle Henry, who hasn’t returned her messages and calls for weeks. Yet, it appears that Henry wants to be found as there’s a trail of clues he’s left behind; the experience starts with an email from Emily thanking you for your help and continues on to a site built by Henry to remember his wife Jen, and then goes on from there. Both Emily and Henry have experienced significant loss and Uncle Henry is the only family she has left, says Emily, making the search especially important to her.

Taking inspiration from alternate reality games, escape games and walking simulators, the participants must figure out what has become of Henry Combs through a mixture of both physical and digital mediums including some unexpected formats, which I found to be delightfully retro. There’s also a fun reveal or two along the way. But none of the “puzzle” elements in Great Gold Bird are all that difficult and experienced immersive fans may find themselves going through it all fairly quickly. The web site states that the estimated duration of the experience is around 2.5 hours but our total play time was under that by about an hour, as each portion took around 25–30 minutes for us and we were not deliberately trying to rush through the content, either.

Overall, the story in Great Gold Bird is well told and structured, but I found myself wanting the content to be emotionally deeper, with the characters more fleshed out, more evidence of their quirks and habits. The first segment handles this well by building a nuanced portrait of Jen but in the second segment, where the participants find out more about the missing Henry Combs, the domestic space provided was perhaps a bit sparse. It didn’t quite feel lived in enough. There’s the output of an artistic hobby but none of the artist’s tools or materials laying about; there’s hints of musical talent in the first segment and very little in the second chapter that calls back to it. While taking it all in, I expected to get much more of a sense of who Henry was outside his grief, as a person. Much of what is revealed about Henry is in relation to his lost loved one, and how he is still processing the loss.

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In my experience, there were also a few design and usability speed bumps. A large chunk of the information was delivered via small handwritten text but it was difficult to have more than one person examining a journal at the same time. And a Discman’s pair of headphones was clunky to share among two simultaneous listeners. We also didn’t find the handy combo flashlight/magnifying glass the creators had provided until it was too late so we struggled to see some elements in the dim light. The third and final location is also in a public area, so you might find yourself among others who are talking loudly or playing music, so I imagine the atmosphere may vary widely for each participant group. (Technically you can do part three on a different day, but I didn’t want to lose momentum.)

The travel time between the multiple locations during Great Gold Bird can also break the immersion of the experience, as the real world gets its chance to intrude, be it email or text messages or Facebook. The commute is “out of world” and there isn’t content that’s meant to be listened to while in transit. It struck me as a bit odd having a normal conversation about some other topic with my partner between locations. So it can be challenging for participants to stay in the headspace of the show while they’re fighting for lane space on the 110. For future players, I’d recommend doing this experience solo and, perhaps, but listening to some atmospheric music during the drive. (Spoiler: I’d also suggest dressing for the elements and bringing some bug spray for part three).

Given its nature, and its explorations of grief and death, Great Gold Bird will naturally invite comparison to other well-known, similar immersive experiences, as on the surface this show seems akin to a smaller version of The Nest. (Which is not a knock on Twin Alchemy, it’s just that Scout Expedition Company has set the bar incredibly high.)

Twin Alchemy is charting its own course here, however. The way the characters discuss and deal with grief and mourning in Great Gold Bird is especially touching and the ending is wonderfully gentle and healing. The company also has its own spin on usage of retro technology, distinct from others. And I can’t say I can think of a similar multi-location immersive experience off the top of my head given the current challenges with commercial real estate in the USA. But even if it doesn’t have the same total emotional impact as, say, a Gone Home or Firewatch, Great Gold Bird is still an interesting and unique way to spend a Saturday afternoon, if you’re up for an adventure.

Great Gold Bird is currently running in Los Angeles, CA through December 29. Tickets are $120 for 1–2 people with a $15 add-on for 1 additional person.

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