Diving into the Mind-Bending Experience of Otherworld Philadelphia

Otherworld Philadelphia is a surreal 40,000 square foot art installation that opened in 2023, loosely patterned after another that opened in 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. Boasting roughly 55 rooms, with work by over 200 artists that consists of 530,000 LEDs and 130 projectors, it’s hard to know what to expect beforehand, even if you look at photographs beforehand. If you are on the fence about visiting, by all means, look at the photos, but if you are sure you want to go, knowing as little as possible beforehand may be for the best, but I hope to cover a few things that will help you decide and enjoy your experience more if you do go.

I opted to read as little as possible before going. I saw a few photos, read that it was a large art installation, and decided to check it out for a review. I expected it would be similar to the Van Gogh Experience, which I had mixed feelings about, and am happy to report that while I felt the Van Gogh Experience was a bit underwhelming and small for the cost, Otherworld Philadelphia is huge and offers quite a bit to experience. The set-up is a labyrinth of rooms, which means that it’s likely you won’t find everything: in preparing for this article I noticed a few areas I missed while I was there. There is a bit of an escape-room vibe to the place, in that it is telling the loose framework of a story and there are interactive elements to discover, but there’s also not really any puzzles to “solve,” at least to my knowledge. Instead, you wonder about and take in different experiences. You could plow through this place in under an hour but I think giving yourself ample time to explore really improves the experience.

The experience itself is a bit overwhelming. I think kids would love this place, but it probably isn’t for ones who get overloaded with sensory input: each area consists of projected images, hundreds of LED lights, and ambient sounds. As for adults, it certainly isn’t necessary, but one gets the distinct sense that the experience was tailored for the guest who had a magical edible beforehand. The installations in each room vary but loosely share a common theme of visiting another planet that just so happens to be very trippy. Some of the art installations reminded me quite a bit of the 90’s head shop stoner alien theme, and this was probably the part I enjoyed the least. However, because the work represents so many different people, it was refreshing to see that even if one particular area isn’t really doing it for you, there are dozens of other wildly different rooms to explore. One thing that is abundantly clear is that a lot of time and effort went into creating the experience, and I appreciated the variety. I do feel that having a loose theme and a hinted-at narrative that never fully congeals is a bit of a tease for some greater unifying concept that never fully materializes. To me, this isn’t so much a story as a set of experiences – which is a significant departure from other similar installations like the Van Gogh Experience, which is very focused on fully exploring one subject.

On the other hand, I thought the Van Gogh Experience was short and a bit undercooked, and I left feeling like it had been a bit overpriced for what it delivered. I do not feel this is the case with Otherworld Philadelphia at all: this place works hard to justify its $35 price tag. I really appreciate the idea of employing artists to create a distinct and varied environment to play in and explore, and would love to see this business model spring up in other towns, perhaps with different themes or at least with new rooms and visuals. There’s a lot to see here and a lot of fun to be had, particularly with kids or groups of adults. It’s definitely worth the visit.