OddKnock Productions and Fictive debut Cryptic, a tech-forward immersive mystery.
The entrance to Cryptic is easy to miss. The production is tucked inside a plain commercial building on a quiet residential block of RiNo Arts District, just off the strip from the galleries and breweries that define the district’s public image.
Inside the nondescript venue, visitors gather for a guided tour of a supposedly ancient artifact: a massive rib-like structure discovered years earlier alongside a mysterious book filled with undecipherable symbols.
The book connected to Cryptic Keep in Cryptic. | Photo: Cody Borst
Framed as an expedition through the fictional roadside attraction known as the “Cryptic Keep,” the roughly 45-minute experience begins innocently enough. Small groups of up to 10 guests check in for a guided tour of a mysterious archaeological discovery. But as visitors descend deeper into the exhibit’s dim corridors and artifact rooms, the attraction begins to malfunction and a long-dormant power stirs to life.
That premise provides the spine for an immersive adventure built on OddKnock’s performer-driven storytelling combined with Borst’s interactive technological design. Projection mapping, responsive lighting, layered sound design and environmental puzzles all work together to pull audiences into a strange supernatural mystery.
Together, those elements create a tightly engineered immersive experience where audience participation becomes the engine that drives the narrative forward.
A scene from Cryptic. | Photo: Cody Borst
Roadside attraction gone wrong
The journey begins in a simple lobby space where visitors gather for their tour. From there, an enthusiastic guide (either Beau Fisher or Deanna Schaekel) ushers the group through a narrow hallway into the world of the Cryptic Keep itself.
When I attended, Fisher played the role of the over-eager docent with charming energy, presenting himself as a passionate believer in the site’s mysterious origins. The building itself still houses other businesses, so the walk through these transitional corridors reinforces the strange sensation that something unusual is tucked inside an otherwise ordinary space.
Once inside the Cryptic Keep’s artifact room, the guide introduces visitors to the mythology of the site. Research papers, thesis documents and artifacts fill the space. A short in-universe video explains the supposed discovery of the rib structure and its connection to the cryptic language found in the mysterious book. One playful display even features a photo of Dolly Parton visiting the attraction.
One of the rooms in Cryptic. | Photo: Cody Borst
The tone initially lands somewhere between kitschy roadside museum and paranormal conspiracy tour. It’s a fun entry point into the story’s mythology, though the comedic emphasis at the beginning makes the show’s later shift into darker territory slightly uneven.
When the group finally steps inside the rib structure itself, Cryptic shifts from guided tour to interactive mystery. A blackout triggers a cascade of lighting effects as glowing symbols emerge across the room. The mysterious book suddenly reveals itself from a hidden compartment, and the audience realizes they must work together to activate the ancient system.
One of the rooms in Cryptic. | Photo: Cody Borst
Puzzles, projections and a creeping sense of dread
What follows is a series of collaborative puzzles that drive the story forward. Guests stand on illuminated symbols embedded in the floor, align glowing runes in a specific sequence and decipher clues hidden within the book. Each correct action unlocks the next chamber.
The second major room features an imposing rune installation stretching nearly the width of the space: a tall black structure divided into multiple panels, each etched with glowing symbols. Here the group must connect patterns from the book to the columns while drawing chalk runes across the floor to activate additional mechanisms.
The interactive mechanics are cleverly integrated into the storytelling. Instead of feeling like detached escape-room puzzles, the tasks emerge organically from the narrative.
One of the rooms in Cryptic. | Photo: Cody Borst
The production’s most impressive achievement is its use of technology to transform a relatively ordinary commercial space into an eerie theatrical environment. Projection effects ripple across walls and artifacts. Lighting shifts guide the audience’s attention and alter the perceived architecture of the rooms. Sound pulses through the space, building tension as the mystery deepens.
Some of the show’s most effective moments arrive in near darkness. At one point participants must navigate the room using flashlights because nothing else is illuminated. The experience becomes genuinely creepy as shadows swallow the room and visitors cautiously explore the space. A sudden jump scare from the guide — timed just as the group moves through a newly opened doorway — lands particularly well.
These moments showcase the strength of the collaboration between OddKnock and Borst’s Fictive team. The technology never overwhelms the performance but instead expands the physical possibilities of the storytelling.
A scene from Cryptic. | Photo: Cody Borst
Tech-forward immersion with a few tonal bumps
Eventually the puzzle-solving triggers something far bigger than a museum exhibit malfunction. Lights begin to strobe. Symbols flare across the walls. The guide becomes the conduit for whatever ancient force the group has awakened. Fisher throws himself fully into the moment, writhing on the floor as glowing body paint suddenly appears under ultraviolet lighting and his voice shifts between frantic tour guide and the otherworldly entity attempting to take control.
The finale unfolds in a newly revealed chamber where an infinity-mirror-like installation frames the artifact book inside glowing neon squares. As music swells and projections pulse around the room, the guide attempts to wrest the book free before the entity can fully emerge.
A piece of tech inside Cryptic. | Photo: Cody Borst
The visual effect is striking, and the technical design throughout the show is easily its strongest asset. Borst’s background designing elaborate escape rooms and interactive installations is evident in how seamlessly the projections, lighting and environmental triggers respond to audience actions.
Still, the show’s tonal shift from playful roadside attraction to world-ending supernatural threat doesn’t fully land. The early humor sometimes clashes with the darker stakes of the finale. Similarly, in the close quarters of the performance space, the guide’s climactic dance-like struggle with the entity reads as slightly goofy rather than terrifying.
A scene from Cryptic. | Photo: Cody Borst
Even so, Cryptic remains a fascinating experience. OddKnock’s performer-driven immersive style meshes well with Fictive’s technical design, creating a hybrid experience that sits somewhere between immersive theater, escape room and interactive installation. The production runs for a limited engagement, and its small-group format means audiences experience the mystery up close.
In a city where immersive work is increasingly pushing beyond traditional theater spaces, Cryptic feels like a glimpse of the next frontier — an audacious experiment hidden inside a RiNo warehouse that suggests the most interesting theater in Denver may be taking place behind doors you didn’t even know existed.
A Colorado-based arts reporter originally from Mineola, Texas, who writes about the changing world of theater and culture, with a focus on the financial realities of art production, emerging forms and arts leadership. He’s the Managing Editor of Bucket List Community Cafe, a contributor to Denver Westword and Estes Valley Voice, resident storyteller for the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and co-host of the OnStage Colorado Podcast. He holds an MBA and an MA in Theatre & Performance Studies from CU Boulder, and his reporting and reviews combine business and artistic expertise.
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