The Live Thriller: an immersive criminal investigation experience

The Live Thriller offers an immersive criminal investigation experience that will take you through the streets and buildings of Paris. Before I go too far into detail I want to warn you, the less you know about this experience going in, the more you’ll get out of it. However, given the subject matter, I know there are likely to be people who prefer to have a little knowledge of what they’re getting into so below I will include a spoiler warning and following that, a few insights into the experience so you can know what to expect.

The bare bones of the concept is that you are dropped into a criminal investigation and given certain details of the case. Your team’s job is to follow instructions and help unravel the mystery, which hopefully you can solve before it’s too late.

For those of you who are excited by the prospect of something a little dark, thrilling, and adventurous I cannot more highly recommend this activity. It’s a captivating experience and the production value is exceptional. For the real tough guys out there, make your reservation at night!

Practical Information

Pricing: Group of 6: 49€ per person, Group of 5: 55€ per person, Group of 4: 62€ per person, Group of 3: 69€ per person and 95€ for a group of 2.

Location: 18th Arrondissement near the metro Jules Joffrin (line 12) BE ON TIME!

Language: Offered both in English and in French

Visit the Live Thriller website for more information.

Beware, spoilers ahead!!

For the more fainthearted, here is a more in-depth account of my experience to give you an idea of what you can expect on the day of your live thriller. I also recommend that you visit their website which is extremely informative.

I had never heard of the Live Thriller, one of my friends organised the activity as a surprise for her boyfriend’s birthday. We were a group of six and the only details we received from her were to arrive at a certain intersection in the 18th arrondissement and wait.

So there we were, four of us in the street, waiting for our friend and her boyfriend to arrive when suddenly a man approached us in a bit of a huff. He gave us some instructions to follow him; however, given that we were missing two of our friends, one of whom was the birthday boy, we informed the man that unfortunately we were not ready. This was really too bad, and is why it is crucial that everyone arrive on time. He, in character, herded us off to a nearby cafe where we had a quick coffee and then we made our way back to the “studio” to wait. The room is dark and small with newspaper articles and print-outs taped all over the walls, a classic cold-case obsessed detective’s room.

Eventually our friends arrived (having been stuck in serious traffic) and the adventure began.

I still don’t feel comfortable over-sharing, given that secrecy is a important aspect of the live thriller but for those worried about being too frightened here is what you can expect:

The scenario of the case is built around a number of disappearances. These disappearances are each paired with a crime scene (which you are first introduced to via video) in which a rather disturbing mannequin has been left at the scene.

You will find yourself in pretty creepy environments, nothing overly horrific but areas that are dark and dingy, with a very tangible crime scene-like feel. You will never be forced to separate from your group (although for the ballsier of the bunch, you may want to sneak off to do some investigation on your own). If you can’t handle a haunted house this may not be for you. One of my friends is a little claustrophobic and there was one area that was a pretty tight squeeze. She needed to get a bit of air and had no problem back tracking a little to find a more spacious area. Part of the real genius behind the experience is how well designed the spaces are, merry that with a suspenseful narrative and you’re sure to get a bit of an adrenaline rush here and there.

The experience takes place in various environments, indoor and outdoor alike, although the majority of the time you’ll be indoors. You will have contact with your “agent” the whole time and you will always be in completely safety.

Like I said above, I cannot recommend this activity more highly. It has a few puzzle like qualities similar to an escape game, but the real gem is just how engrossed in the story and the environment you become. For someone like me, with a fiction addiction, this is a rare chance to enter into the story and play a role yourself.