Vanished LoverEscaptopiaEscape roomIRLA narrative horror based room will always be right up my alley so going in I was already really excited. Although clunky at parts, overall this was a really fun and ambitious room, akin to their “Paper Planes” room with the horror and story amped up a bit to fit the 2 hour run time. If you don’t like narrative based experiences (listening and following the story to direct you to what to do next) this will be an incredibly tedious room as there is a lot of it. However it does get delivered throughout multiple mediums rather than bocks of text so that was appreciated. I found the story enticing and fun to unravel, maybe understood 90% of it by the end haha, as there were a couple of times where there was information overload. Easily could cut out like 25% of the narrative in exchange for more puzzles and still have a cohesive story The escape room style puzzles in the room were all engaging and had fun “aha” moments. I wish there were more of them to strike the perfect balance (for me) of narrative and puzzles. The special effects and use of lighting created fun shocking moments. You could tell they thought a lot about “creating a scene” and where players would be standing/looking for visual impact. They mentioned their next room will also be horror and be more on the puzzle side of things, so I eagerly await that room.
The Heist of Black BartEscape Games CanadaEscape roomIRLI really enjoyed that it felt very different from their other escape rooms here that to me started to feel very same-y same-y in terms of puzzles and structure just with different themes. The puzzles were fresh, there was an optional side quest, there were things multiple people could work on at a time, the set was immersive, etc. As others have mentioned the ending area (and I’d argue a few of the puzzles) just aren’t physically set up well for many people to engage in. So I’d go on their lower of their group size range. But yeah I think it’s a solid addition to the Escape Games line up. They apparently just purchased the space next to them so I’m excited to see what games come next!
Lost & Found: Initiation Into the Society of Engimatologists [Immersive Experience]Secret City Adventures- Black Creek Pioneer VillageEscape roomOther If you loved Lost and Found but thought “hey the puzzles could be a bit more challenging” - this is an absolute ideal experience. There is still some interaction with actors and finding locations, but you are primarily on your own linear puzzle experience while the normal game is going on. There are fewer puzzles, but each one takes longer to solve, felt really satisfying and sort of a “hard mode” on the puzzles you experienced in the main game previously. As with the main game, the actors were great and you had your own designated “newsie” helper if you ever needed help (for only a penny! Haha). Note: You have to have played the main Lost and Found game in order to get access to this one the next time you book. We completed all of the challenges with 2 people, 2-3 seemed to be the right number but you pay the same amount for any group size 1-4. Puzzles are definitely not intended for beginners and does really help if you are somewhat familiar with the actors/locations/areas you went to in the main game.
The Ice CaveDaydream Adventures - DanforthEscape roomIRLGreat set decoration, solid puzzles, more tactile in nature and more difficult compared to their other room. I preferred the forest but this was also one I’d recommend to others if they’ve done the other.
Vault: SurvivalFantasmiaEscape roomIRLI’m giving this a thumbs up because there is something here that is really unique and special compared to other rooms in the area. The amount of physical interaction and manipulation in the room is much more than I’ve seen in a while and I love to see new/different experiences than your classic padlock/key. The set design and props are beautiful. Our group was 4 people and probably 3-4 is a good sweet spot. The hosts mentioned they have built escape rooms in other countries and it shows. There is high level of craftsmanship and love put into the space. Overall we had fun. There were a few times where the room felt rough around the edges (we went during their soft launch weekend) and puzzles I found incredibly tedious or interactions with the room that would get me kicked out of another escape room. So that definitely made it a more complicated experience than we were expecting. Trying to be as non-spoilery as possible, there were plenty of times where you had to physically manipulate the environment that really should give any experienced (North American) player pause before doing (breaking/excessive force). They were really cool and unique interactions. Half of the time it was decently clear what you had to do so it felt “ok” and we only paused a bit before doing. However the other half I would never treat a prop/room like that and expect the GM to be happy with us. Thus I think they need to be really intentional in their pre-amble about what is allowed and probably more intentional with their in-room cluing for when/where to be that physical. I’m also worried about their room getting destroyed as a result (granted the room looked pretty robust overall), teaching new players wrong lessons that they try to use at other companies’ rooms, and the danger in some of their props being quite metallic and sharp. That all being said the physical things you did were hilarious and a lot of fun once we did them haha. They mentioned they have opened many rooms in other countries and it shows! I’m very excited to see what they come out with next.
Doll IslandDurham Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLI really enjoyed this room. I’m usually not a fan of completely dark rooms but they do give you camcorders that let you see in the dark which is a really cool idea and adds so much to the vibes. Otherwise the puzzles were standard for this location (interesting, felt fair). It just doesn’t get a heart as it is a very small space and short experience. The camcorders make it unique but otherwise fairly standard escape room.
Spy Vs. Die 2.0Durham Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLIt was fine. Independently all of the puzzles in this room, and at this location, are really well constructed (they make sense, there are no red herrings, they are usually interesting etc). It’s just a very standard room with no major wow moments or cool “aha’s”. One logic puzzle also really overstays its welcome and could have easily been paired down. Staff are really nice and attentive. I like that it seemed like you had 1 host per room. And they did make a decent attempt at story building.
Guess Who’s Staying for Dinner?Durham Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLI really liked that someone else described this as a room you could take first-timers to. The puzzles were satisfying, interesting, and ran the gamut of “classic” types of puzzles you see. This is a 1 room experience so it doesn’t have the reveals of some others, but I felt satisfied by the end at least. There is 1 decoding puzzle that goes way past its welcome and could easily be paired down a bit, but otherwise had a good time.
Genie and the Lamp [prev. One Thousand & One Nights]Game Over Escape Rooms - TorontoEscape roomIRLI really enjoyed this room overall. Probably tied with horror circus in terms of what I’d recommend if you go to this location. Albeit the company as a whole is about $10-15 overpriced for the value you get in the room. The puzzles were more difficult but not tedious/impossible, rather you had “aha” moments which is appreciated. The unique tech was a cool/fun addition I just wish it was involved more. There was also a puzzle you could soft lock yourself which required the GM to come in, there should be a way to retrieve your materials (or just way more materials) in order to not break immersion.
Lost City Of AtlantisGame Over Escape Rooms - TorontoEscape roomIRLA perfectly serviceable escape room with some fun tech. Albeit the company as a whole is about $10-15 overpriced for the value you get in the room. Puzzles will feel fairly familiar to those that have done a lot of rooms. Average difficulty (both for this location and in general). I enjoyed the communication aspects and the elements that made it feel very “Atlantis”. There was a mechanic in the room that the GM had to get on the speakers and tell us what to (not) do. To avoid immersion breaking they should create some story reason or signage to control this.
Echoes WithinTrapped - ScarboroughEscape roomIRLI enjoyed the vibe and theming of the room, really unique and interesting! Definitely on the very easy side (which might be for the best as their other 3 rooms at this location are harder/have at least one pretty hard puzzle). I enjoyed each puzzle individually and they were all very integrated into the theme. That being said there really could have been A LOT more variety of how you interacted with the room/puzzles design, especially given the creativity of the room theme. Aside from one puzzle, it was mainly button pushing and placing objects. All in all still a decent room and would love to see more “big swings” in theme like this out there. Kids would probably have a blast in this space too. Max 2, maybe 3 people for enthusiasts.
Nightmare HotelGame Over Escape Rooms - BurlingtonEscape roomIRLReally close to a “heart” on here. Surprised at how big the space was! I don’t think it will stump any enthusiast, but there were fun jump scares and really cool design elements to the space that made the experience enjoyable from start to finish. Two-ish of the puzzles were pretty tedious but completely doable. Again showing that this GameOver location is a lot stronger than the Mississauga location’s offers.
Temple of the SkullGame Over Escape Rooms - BurlingtonEscape roomIRLIt was fine…maybe on the cusp of thumbs up/down, but ultimately picked down as there were a lot of puzzles that required you to either do things that you usually wouldn’t do in an escape room, not well clued, and/or not really fun or thematic to a temple. I’d pick any of the other rooms here over this one if you only have time for 1-2. Especially since this company is about $10-15 pricier than it should be compared to quality/what else is around.
Shades of GreyLockwood ImmersiveEscape roomIRLKeep experimenting Lockwood and I’ll keep following! This held up to the high standards of their previous pop ups. This was a smartly constructed experience that forced you to follow the narrative but in a more manageable and interesting way than most “narrative” rooms. If you’ve played Obra-Dinn/Roottrees/Case of the Golden Idol, the primary mechanic of the room will be familiar. You must input discoveries from your investigation and the system will verify your inputs in sets and allow you to proceed. I really enjoyed this fresh take to an escape room that requires you to follow the narrative throughout. The writing is funny, the mystery is manageable for 1 hour experience, the room is gorgeous and the puzzles were fun to solve/all tied to the mystery. This room shows that you don’t need the most advanced tech to create an engaging experience. No notes, go play the room, you’ll have a lot of fun.
The Devil's ChapelReady Set Go Adventures - TorontoEscape roomIRLA really solid addition to the Ready Set Go horror rooms. The live actor was mainly for jump scares, but was well integrated into the puzzles and room design which clearly meant they thought a lot about it beyond “just have a guy with a cloak go in” as some live actor rooms can be. It was a lot of fun from start to finish. And (due to the live actor) the scariest RSG room here. About average difficulty for the company, on par with their other horror rooms especially. I am finding the Ready Set Go horror rooms to be blending together in both vibe and puzzle types. So although I really enjoyed the room independently, I wouldn’t recommend doing their VHS/Severed/Sacrifice/Devil’s Chapel rooms back to back. And 4 people felt good for this. A few more like 5-6 would be okay also, but it’s not as large a space as Quarantine so much more and it would feel cramped at times.
KappaExode - ÉvasionEscape roomIRLWish we had more time to do the rest of the rooms here as the 2 we did (Kappa and Orbite) were a lot of fun. Theming, props, puzzles, all made sense, fit the vibe and were really enjoyable. This is a sorority/Mean Girls room, so if that’s your vibe highly recommend. There are a lot of puzzles here that require a lot of communication between distances so probably more than 2 people required.
Opus MemoriEzkapazEscape roomIRLJust a great time from start to finish. Everything from your first interaction with the host to the moment you step foot out the door is part of “escape room experience” and all in character/in-game world which just extends that level of immersion in a way I haven’t seen elsewhere. Our host was hilarious and the room really utilized the (smaller) square footage to its fullest. Puzzles were solid, intuitive yet challenging. The physical room and puzzles are good but it’s creativity of how to make a unique immersive experience that makes this place really shine. Would love to see more places extend their level of immersion in this way, but of course would require talented actors to pull it off effectively. One downside is we had questions about the escape experience and couldn’t really ask based on everything still being in character (or at least we didn’t want to break immersion) If you’re downtown Montreal do this room, you won’t be disappointed.
Orbite [Orbit]Exode - ÉvasionEscape roomIRLLoved it. This room and the other room we did (Kappa) made me want to try all the rest of their rooms immediately, but we were sadly at the end of the day. This room is almost completely non-linear (with a few gatekeeping puzzles), and takes a few minutes to get oriented with the pacing/structure of the room. Once you know the flow all 5 of us were all pitching in, teaming up in different combos of us, collaborating and brainstorming what to do, just a real flow state which I appreciated the room facilitating. There were some tech and puzzles (or at least variations on puzzles) that I hadn’t seen before. Yeah just a big fan. Bring at least 4 people though, there’s a lot to do, no idea how 2 would get everything done.
Le Jour du Jugement [Judgement Day]EliviascapeEscape roomIRLNo notes. Massive, ambitious, gorgeous, haunting, impactful. This game deserves all of the awards it’s been given. There are fun interactions with a live actor, there are puzzles that were incredibly inventive and the set design/sounds made you feel all the emotions of the story. This location is so good at ensuring at having a story being told through an escape room medium (as opposed to just lore dumps at the start) so every puzzle, every interaction, every set piece was in furtherance of storytelling. There are a few clunky moments where some signposting might help, but they are easily overlooked with how much else this room does phenomenally. I’m so impressed and this location was completely worth the trip. If you love horror, come here.
AbstractionEliviascapeEscape roomIRLIn terms of theme it was my favourite of the 3 (current) rooms at this location. The set design is beautiful and the narrative is weaved throughout all of the puzzles, the setting, and the random props around so you are very immersed of what’s going on (and importantly understand the story as you go through it). Interactions with the set and props that I’m really impressed with. Definitely a room worth travelling for.
![Lost & Found: Initiation Into the Society of Engimatologists [Immersive Experience]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/07e6a27e-1473-4a08-86c7-a2281880996d.jpeg)
![Genie and the Lamp [prev. One Thousand & One Nights]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/55306e91-3c11-479d-815d-e9fa69696c3e.webp)
![Orbite [Orbit]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/83bd7715-d1b9-42e7-af45-23c3f01b763c.webp)
![Le Jour du Jugement [Judgement Day]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/14e56440-d719-49bc-8107-d895a27a6b47.jpg)
