Servants of SleightThe Exit Games FLEscape roomIRLThe theming of each area was terrific-- they all felt like the places they were trying to emulate. A nice combination of physical manipulations and mental challenges. I was a little disappointed with the magic shop area, which felt like it had a lot of great potential that was unrealized and a lot of intriguing decor that was just that, decor. The opening space was great, and the "secret" space was also satisfying. I liked that within each space the gameplay was non-linear, allowing for teams to figuring things out on their own in their own order.
MagnificoEscaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLAll the raves about Magnifico set my expectations too high in the wrong places, so I'd like to calibrate your expectations. This *is* an excellent room, and a successful union of escape room with immersive theater. Critically, players are not asked to roleplay-- you are simply people who want to see a show at the circus, and your interactions with the characters stem from that foundation. This makes it easy to talk to the characters and become part of the story. While you'll see actors throughout the game, both interacting with them directly and witnessing conversations between them, they're never present while you're working on puzzles (although they often set them up). There are plenty of high-quality puzzles in the experience that are fun and satisfying to solve, and they're well-integrated with the story. The sets are detailed, evocative, and intimate. None have the WOW factor of many of Laval's other rooms like Forgotten Cathedral (and while the final space is large, it's not a "wow!"), but each had been created with love and evoke a sense of place. Magnifico is a 2.5 hour experience that didn't feel like one-- time flew by. How much you appreciate it will depend very much on why you play escape rooms. If you're there for the puzzles, you'll be satisfied but probably not blown away. Ditto for the sets. If you're there for the story, you may enjoy this room more. The story is handled very well, coming to you in bits and pieces organically. It's treated as theater, and in fact one poignant moment near the end will be delivered to only one person in your group. Looking at what they've accomplished-- how deftly they merged theater with puzzles-- it's impossible not to admire it. But for me, this wasn't the best escape room in the world. It wasn't even the best escape room at Escaparium. But it was still absolutely worth doing. Just lower your expectations from "mind-blowing" to "really good."
Pins & Needles Tattoo ParlorThe Exit Games FLEscape roomIRLThis was a fantastic room, although calling it a "room" does it a disservice. Other venues would have fit 2-3 different escape rooms into the footprint of this one experience. They put a lot of thought into all aspects of this game-- narrative, decor, pre-game, props, audio, etc. Our gamemaster was terrific-- really sold the story and vibe through the pre-game and late game. The game itself had a mechanism I haven't seen before in other escape rooms, which was delightful. There is one area that is completely bottlenecked by something that could use stronger signposting-- there's so much to look at in the room, it was easy to overlook the one important thing that you need to get started. Otherwise the game was fantastic, with strong theming and narrative. Normally I'm sensitive to rooms that use a lot of locks, but I didn't mind them at all here because for the most part they were well-integrated into the setting. Well worth the drive from Orlando.
La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLThis room was outstanding. Stellar set design, build quality, and visual effects. Solid puzzles.. Even the somewhat standard "figure out which buttons to hold down" trope was done in a very cool and creative way that elevates the experience. The puzzles were integrated very well into the storyline and environment. Even accounting for recency bias, this was one of my very top escape room experiences. The production level is astounding and sets a very high bar. My only quibble is with the opening briefing, which takes place in a hallway adjoining (in the open office sense) a fabrication shop where people were working. And while they dressed the hallway to make it thematic, it still felt very work-in-progress and prototype-like, which was a huge contrast with the rest of the game.
Le Château du Supplice Éternel [The Castle of Eternal Suffering]Sauve Qui Peut - Saint-JeanEscape roomIRLReally terrific room with no locks. This room also featured my absolute favorite moment from any escape room, and to say anything about it would spoil it. The ambitious sets make good use of lighting effects and video screens. The puzzles are fair and tactile. There's a physical portion that I wish had a puzzle layer on top of it, but was nevertheless a fun and memorable change of pace. The hour we drove to get here from Montreal was absolutely worth it. Heartily recommended.
Le Jour du Jugement [Judgement Day]EliviascapeEscape roomIRLOverall we enjoyed this room, even though much of it felt worn. It could use a refresh. The set for act two was confusing-- we weren't sure where we were supposed to be (the narrative didn't match the set), which hurt immersion. The third act was great, and we particularly enjoyed the finale which had a different tone and pace from the rest of the experience. Some areas of the game suffer from poor feedback-- after doing the correct thing, the results of our success happened somewhere else with nothing at our location indicating we'd done the right thing. Since there are lights that can turn on or off at the location of the action, there's no reason they couldn't be used to provide feedback.
Dark LullabyEscape Artist Greenville - Hampton StationEscape roomIRLWe loved this room. The puzzles are mostly mechanical and worked very well, fitting in with the creepy retro bedroom theme. The narrative was well-executed, reinforcing the theme and providing context for the puzzles. Great use of lighting to both set mood and direct the player's attention. The audio throughout added to the atmosphere. The live actors were used well. This was my favorite of the three Chimera Corp. rooms, narrowly edging out Castle Fluffendorf, which was also great.
Quest For The Temple of LightThe Keepers of BalanceEscape roomIRLThis is a phenomenal, must-do experience. Building this room must have cost a fortune, and you can see, hear, and feel that money. The sets are epic and lush, the lighting and effects superb, the props detailed and hefty. You can smell the wood when you walk by walls of crates. The spaces are big, fully-realized, and epic. We were agog throughout. The staff were in character from the moment we walked in the door. The experience wasn't flawless-- there were some details we had a hard time making out in dim light, to the point where we brute-forced through all the possible combinations. At one point you receive information that you can't review, so your memory better be up to it. One puzzle could have been designed to provide better affordance toward the proper interaction. But these are minor bumps to smooth out. While there are puzzles, this isn't a puzzle-forward room. It's a cross between interactive theater, a theme park attraction, and an escape room. At one point you receive a newly-forged object, and that object is warm to the touch. That's AMAZING attention to detail. We adored it, and if they actually complete all the rooms they plan (including a 3-hour experience taking up the entire second floor of their very large building), we will definitely be back to do them all.
NevermoreNocturne AdventuresEscape roomIRLThis room was an unexpected delight. Like many others we raised eyebrows at the residential basement location, but there's nothing unprofessional about this operation which is higher quality than most other rooms we've done. It was obviously a labor of love from people who care about the subject matter. We loved every minute and every aspect of it. The setting is appropriately intimate. If you know your Poe, you'll appreciate the Easter eggs. We were immersed for the duration of the experience, an experience that exceeded expectations. We also loved meeting and talking with the owners afterward, I'm sad we couldn't do their their other room, Ripper, on this trip, because they've earned my trust with Nevermore. Highly recommended!
AbstractionEliviascapeEscape roomIRLI liked this room, but with reservations. 1) It was much dimmer than it needed to be, particularly in the first two acts (the third act's lighting, while dim, felt appropriate). For those of us with less than perfect eyesight, the lighting made it difficult to see/read important information, diminishing our enjoyment. 2) The second act is incongruous in context of the game. When explained afterward it made sense, but it did not make sense while we were playing. We actually groaned when we walked in, because it was a thematic change we weren't expecting and felt arbitrary. It feels like there's a story beat missing before the transition, where players could get a clear narrative confirmation about what's going on (in case they haven't figured it out) which would enhance the second act by giving players the proper context to engage with it. Even so, the second act feels like it belongs in an entirely different game. We were given walkie talkies as a way to get hints, and we hated it. It was an object someone had to carry and track and was completely unthematic. GMs are already watching us on camera, presumably they can also hear us, they should be able to communicate with us through speakers or some other system in the room without walkie-talkies. 3) There's a neat gameplay mechanic in the third act that we enjoyed, but the end of the game came without warning or narrative setup. We solved a puzzle, and stepped through a door expecting to enter a new game space, but instead... it was the lobby hallway and the game was over. It was sudden and anticlimactic. The game is missing a narrative beat here that wraps things up.
![La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/2c2890dd-87b6-4712-8136-8403e436ec72.jpg)
![Le Château du Supplice Éternel [The Castle of Eternal Suffering]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/0bc0a8ad-4a2b-430a-807a-3d265b25efae.png)
![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)
