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Reviews

Reviews

Servants of Sleight

Servants of Sleight

The Escape Ventures - Clearwater [prev. The Exit Games]

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Escape rooms always feel indebted in some ways to the traditions of stage magic - especially in regard to effects. While I’ve played a few Magic themed games before, I’ve never felt as much like a real magician (in the actual sense of the word) before. From the elegant setting which escalated brilliantly in intrigue to the game design making use of plenty of genuine magic tools, Servants of Sleight was a game as mysterious and sophisticated as it was fun and playful. Our host was excellent and I really appreciate the Escape Ventures for preserving this game in a respectful way - I’m so glad I was able to return and play it!
Pins & Needles Tattoo Parlor

Pins & Needles Tattoo Parlor

The Escape Ventures - Clearwater [prev. The Exit Games]

  • Escape room
  • IRL

𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 �𓅝𓃄 �𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿 𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 𓂨𓅝𓃄 𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿

La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]

La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]

Escaparium - Laval

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Forgotten Cathedral is one of the most cinematic experiences I’ve ever had with an escape room, right down to impeccable visuals and an utterly insane scale. Everything from the ceiling to the floor is fully designed and blended seamlessly into the puzzle design. The game design is absolutely excellent and very brisk in pace, while providing a nice challenge in certain moments. In addition, there is a story and a narrative arch supported within its detailed set, even down to smaller moments or interactions. This is absolutely one of the best games in the entire world, an experience that should be played by any enthusiast.
Le Château du Supplice Éternel [The Castle of Eternal Suffering]

Le Château du Supplice Éternel [The Castle of Eternal Suffering]

Sauve Qui Peut - Saint-Jean

  • Escape room
  • IRL
I can confidently say The Castle of Eternal Suffering is one of my top 10 games. Rarely, if ever, does a room capture everything I would want in a game - one of a kind physicality, strong narrative, challenging yet fair puzzles, and an expansive, beautiful set. So many moments will be forever burned into my memories as some of the single best moments in an escape room. Coupled with a strong sense of place and a variety of well fleshed out characters, this is one of the few games that truly felt like being the star of an adventure film. Montreal is one of the best markets for escape rooms, and this is absolutely another crown jewel for the market.
Le Jour du Jugement [Judgement Day]

Le Jour du Jugement [Judgement Day]

Eliviascape

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Judgement Day tells a story that I have never seen in an escape room, especially as a horror story. It’s a disturbing, artistic take on a murder house, and it’s absolutely stunning. The atmosphere is as dark and foreboding as the bleak storyline, but like Abstraction this game explores a ton of other emotions. The expansive nature reminded me of Dutch escape rooms, and it’s narratively reminiscent of Molly’s Game in terms of genre and tone. The puzzles are more narrative focused compared to some of the more challenging moments on Abstraction, however, they all solve cleanly, have fun executions, and in a few cases feel terrifying in their urgency. As a note of caution, I do think this game could be triggering to some players due to the nature of its storyline and interactions, more so than other horror games (think Molly’s Game style of intense, human driven horror). It’s worth looking into it, but if you can stomach it it’s absolutely worth playing.
Dark Lullaby

Dark Lullaby

Escape Artist Greenville - Hampton Station

  • Escape room
  • IRL
After the comforting innocence of Castle Fluffendor, the trilogy took a dark turn and left us in Dark Lullaby. Much of what I said of Castle Fluffendor holds true, especially the pitch perfect blend of strong puzzling and idiosyncratic set design. What was so impressive, however, was how it was essentially the opposite of Castle Fluffendor in tone yet felt entirely cohesive within the world of Chimera Corp. While Castle relied on magical, whimsical connections and interacting with the cast of characters, Dark Lullaby frequently used innovative, low tech mechanisms (alongside amazing and invisible tech) to create a grittier, more rugged experience. It perfectly deconstructed the whimsy of the previous game while having its own kind of wonder, especially in how the game played with perspective and skewed the mundane much like Fluffendor. By the end, we were not only prepared for the epic conclusion of this trilogy, but experienced a masterpiece in its own right.
Birth Machine

Birth Machine

Mad Machines

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Birth Machine is a stunning, hilarious, and mind blowing immersive experience that stood alone in both theming and execution. From the very start, you’re lead into a detailed yet realistic scenes, solving crazy and racy challenges that never crossed a line into discomfort (which it definitely could have). From there, the game escalated and escalated into a series of tactile, bizarre, and extremely unique interactions, many of which I have never seen before. There were a few puzzles early on that were brilliant, but a little too subtle for me, even though this is probably a quirk of my particular play style. Nevertheless, this game starts with absurdity and just never lets up, leading to one of the best experiences I’ve had in an escape room. This is absolutely a must play for any enthusiast.
De Wraak Van Han [Han’s Revenge]

De Wraak Van Han [Han’s Revenge]

De Gouden Kooi

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Han’s revenge plays like a giant, zany game of “Yes, and-“. No level of absurdity is too far, the game quickly transitioning from normalcy to insanity. The set starts out “normal” (albeit on a grander scale than most similar set-ups), then becomes completely fantastical. It was more like a playground than a room, with a highly unusual layout. My one wish was that I played with more people, because two was not enough (they graciously gave us some extra time, but we still barely made it). Worth traveling any distance to play.
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