Review Rundown: A Spy & Mystery Double Feature

It’s a quick double feature this week, with a James Bond themed adventure in the streets of London and an offering from The Literary Adventure Society that offers an “atmospheric storytelling session” for those who love a mystery.

Read on!

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007: Shadow of Spectre — HiddenCity
£30; London UK; ongoing

If you’re looking for a way to spice up your explorations of London’s perpetually awe-inspiring architecture, charming back streets, and iconic monuments, HiddenCity is a good first stop. Within their officially-licensed game 007: The Shadow of Spectre, your team are pinballed around the city (by foot, no public transport necessary) to follow in the eponymous’ spy’s footprints subverting Spectre’s latest nefarious plans.

Gameplay is primarily phone-based, with instructions and clues arriving via automated text message/WhatsApp and some phone calls to a pre-recorded message. Several waypoints involve stepping into active shops/pubs where we speak to the shop worker for a secret package or are directed toward a hidden code within the space, but these are primarily employees of the business and not of the show itself (i.e. these aren’t actors) and we aren’t encouraged to linger in the active stores.

My group of 4 is blessed with mild dry weather (while technically playable in the rain/cold, it wouldn’t be enjoyable) and we only need one hint throughout the game to reach the end — at 2.5 hours we’re ready for it when it comes; there are optional break periods which could have extended our gameplay into the 4-hour realm.

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In all there are some excellent toys to play with along the way and some very clever puzzle-making out of ubiquitous city landscape features (maybe pack some hand sanitiser as you’ll be hands-on with some very public props) but there’s no real live acting to engage with either in person or via phone, which I feel would have more deeply immersed the players and raised the stakes. Though there is a HiddenCity leaderboard that tracks the fastest groups, at heart this is a full-contact James-Bond-themed scavenger hunt that can be taken at your own pace and offers convenient breaks, great for mixed-skill groups and ambulatory players of all ages.

— Shelley Snyder, London Curator

Loveday Brooke in the Mystery of the Black Bag — Literary Adventure Society
$55; At Home; Ongoing

The Literary Adventure Society (LAS) creates at-home detective experiences that bring fictional characters to life in your living room. “Loveday Brooke in the Mystery of the Black Bag” is an at-home experience that combines audio drama and physical clues to tell the story of a Christmas party gone horribly awry.

If you’ve ever hosted a murder-mystery party, you’ll find the LAS setup familiar: it starts with a box filled with ephemera — loose leaf tea, a sketchbook, a scented candle, a series of envelopes, and so on — and directions to go online to listen to the the associated audio. My friends and I were immediately struck by this box’s exceptional production quality. The audio play, featuring an engaging cast of professional actors, enveloped us in a rich tapestry of sound, complete with ambient effects that transported us straight to 1893 London.

However, as the story unfolded, we found ourselves adrift in the narrative, listeners on the periphery of an unfolding drama rather than active participants in the mystery. The beautifully crafted physical clues — a newspaper with articles that whispered of hidden secrets, a sketchbook that beckoned with blank pages — were a delight to the senses but often left us wondering how to engage more deeply with the story. Why were we trying to solve a mystery that was clearly going to be solved by our heroine with or without our help? The introduction of a narrator or guide, perhaps a character from the Literary Adventure Society itself, could have bridged this gap, offering context and direction to anchor our experience in Loveday’s world.

Despite these moments of disconnect, the attention to detail in both the audio production and the physical components was undeniable. The props were not only aesthetically pleasing but also evoked a sense of authenticity, making us feel as though we had stepped back in time. Pouring over clues was satisfying but hard to do while paying attention to the story, which led to periods of inactivity where the audio play shone but the immersive experience waned.

The subtle suggestion that Loveday Brooke might be a person of color added an unexpected layer of depth to the experience, hinting at a modern reinterpretation of this Victorian tale. This choice, while not fully explored within the narrative, sparked conversations among us about representation and historical context — especially since the rest of the experience hewed so closely to the source material — adding a thought-provoking element to the evening.

Ultimately, “Loveday Brooke in the Mystery of the Black Bag” offers a beautifully crafted, sensory-rich experience that is best suited for those seeking a relaxed, atmospheric storytelling session rather than an interactive game. The high-quality audio and props set a new standard for at-home immersive experiences, but the opportunity for greater participant involvement remains. For groups looking for a cozy, shared experience that doesn’t require the intensity of puzzle-solving, this mystery box is a charming and intriguing option. However, for those looking for more involvement in unraveling the mystery, the experience might feel a bit passive.

— Leah Davis, New England Correspondent

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