Although the Hungry Ghost Festival’s almost all wrapped up, we can’t quite bid farewell to the harrowing happenings just yet. October heralds the beginning of spooky szn, so it’s not long before we find ourselves entangled in Halloween’s web of frightening festivities.
But if you can’t wait that long for the scares to find you, head on over to our neighbours across the Causeway for an early dose of the heebie-jeebies at Final Mission Escape. It’s an escape room facility not terribly far from the checkpoints that boasts 14 different themes, some of which are just perfect for fans of things that go bump in the night. Here’s all you need to know about it.
Final Mission Escape is housed within Eco Palladium, a lifestyle hub near the Mount Austin neighbourhood in JB, Johor. The most convenient way to get to Eco Palladium is to either drive there yourself or get a private hire vehicle service in JB to ferry you there, as it’s roughly a 30-minute drive by car from the JB checkpoint.
If you choose to head there via public transport, you can take Causeway Link’s Bus service T11 from JB Sentral, which is about a 2-minute walk from the JB checkpoint. However, you’ll have to sit through a whopping 51 stops before alighting at the Taman Seri Austin bus stop. The ride should take about 1 hour, but you’ll then have to walk for another 2.5km before arriving at Eco Palladium.
Our suggestion? Opt for a taxi ride there if you don’t plan on driving your own set of wheels into JB. According to Grab, a cab there costs RM52.53 (~S$15.99), but you won’t have to worry about bus schedules or completely tiring out your legs before your escape room antics.
Like its foreboding name suggests, Final Mission Escape is an escape room that offers 14 different themed experiences for visitors to have a go at. They’re known for their horror-related escape rooms (from RM88/pax, ~S$26.79) which have been said to make even the most lionhearted quake in their boots.
Take, for instance, their Anhe Hospital escape room (RM88/pax, ~S$26.79). Participants take on the role of ex-medical staff who have found themselves trapped within a decaying hospital, whose lone occupant doesn’t appreciate spontaneous visitors, not one bit.
Speaking of which, visitors to Final Mission Escape have noted that the puzzles here are relatively easier to solve compared to other escape rooms. But what sets their experiences apart is their use of convincingly menacing scare actors who keep you on your toes as you try to weasel your way through their premises.
Image credit: @finalmissionescape via Instagram
Their Montecristo Sanatorium escape room (RM138/pax, $41.96) is another hot favourite. This one will have you rifling through the debris of a decrepit sanatorium that’s rumoured to be haunted for generations, for reasons only gung-ho horror fans can make sense of. Highlights include hiding from a crazed cop in a morgue and zooming down hallways to escape from maniacally cackling nurses.
Image credit: Final Mission Escape via Facebook
However, if the thought of overly-enthusiastic scare actors breathing down your neck as you try to decipher cryptic riddles has got you breaking out in a cold sweat, you can opt for an experience without the demented lunatics hot on your trail. You’ll be equipped with a handy walkie-talkie too, which you can use to phone in the staff should you require any assistance.
Parents visiting with kids who’re understandably more skittish, there are also family-friendly escape rooms (from RM20/pax, ~S$6.08) at Final Mission Escape too.
Little ones can role-play as detectives tasked with assessing the supposedly water-tight security of a new detention facility in the Prison Escape escape room (RM48/pax, ~S$14.60). Over at the Clown Circus escape room (RM20/pax, ~S$6.08), kids will get to don colourful wigs and that iconic red nose to help a veteran clown elicit the laughter of a particularly stoic audience member.
For some, Halloween can’t come any earlier, so if you’re part of the jump scare-loving crowd, pay Final Mission Escape a visit. While it could serve as an apt prequel to Halloween Horror Nights 2025, it’s also a great kid-friendly spot for families to have a crack at their more tamer offerings.
For more things to do in JB during your day trips across the border:
Cover image adapted from: Final Mission Escape via Facebook
Play Merry-Poly too.
Technically, this is the second time Singapore has qualified for the Asian Cup.
This is your call to get up earlier for work.
As if we need another reason to visit the mall.
Look forward to free model-building workshops.
Earn some extra money on the side.