The Descent

Decor was cool, as shown in my intentionally vague photo. We did not have a great time, though: The room began with a (simulated) elevator descent down a mine shaft. There was a puzzle involving a dozen-ish symbols that correspond to numbers, which must be then be added or subtracted. You had to remember the symbols and do the math in your head, because there was nothing to write with. Obviously some short-term recall is required for just about any escape room, but this task was just frustrating. To make things worse, the lights flickered on and off so sometimes you couldn't read anything at all. It didn’t feel like we were being challenged: it felt like we were being fucked with. This attitude towards design also applied to the physical design of the space, especially an unfortunate combination of low doorway and slippery “funhouse” floor panels. These did little to enhance the immersion, but made a great safety hazard. I whacked my head really hard on the door as I was moving from one end of the room to the other, solving another puzzle that required me to memorize half an alphabet’s worth of encrypted letters, again with no way to write them down. The final straw: I like when an escape room trains its players to engage with the room in a certain way, and this was well-demonstrated in The Descent. The goal of this room was to find 10 “objects,” and each of them was earned by solving a puzzle…except for one. We found 9 of the things and were briefly stumped on where to find the puzzle for the 10th one. After a few minutes, the GM just sent the location to us as an unsolicited hint. There was no puzzle in the first place, it was just hidden somewhere in the darkness. We had plenty of time on the clock, I just think that either A) the location of the 10th object is such a curveball that most teams get stuck on it, and/or B) he was anxious to clock out for his shift, which he promptly did after we finished the room. Our team also played VHS, which shared a similar design DNA and had its own unique set of inconveniences. These distractions and annoyances didn’t add to the experience…they subtracted from it. They didn’t lead to a satisfying solve. We only played these two games at Ready Set Go, but with so many other strong escape room companies in the Toronto area, I think there are better options to explore.

Rating: 3/5 - Likeable room, but not a fan of the repetition and memory Pros: ➕The elevator effect was done well ➕Set looks good with multiple rooms to explore. ➕Some puzzles were fun, many were non-linear so you can split up and stay busy ➕Teamwork required ➕Mostly tech with just a couple of padlocks ➕Good use of lighting and audio ➕GM was friendly though we didn't need any hints Room for improvement: ➖Puzzles are repetitive, you have to solve them multiple times at increasing difficulty. ➖Multiple memory puzzles and they do not provide anything to write with. We played as a team of 3 and finished with plenty of time left. Though I'd probably still recommend 4 since many puzzles need 2 people. No crawling or climbing needed.

Very nonlinear room with multiple puzzles that can be worked on simultaneously which makes it good for a larger group. The set was pretty cool. Nonetheless, not my favourite. Too much repetition in the puzzles.

I had so much fun in this room. You start with quite a challenging puzzle and I do feel like we slightly ‘bottle necked’ at the start. However the experience just got progressively better as we went through. Really satisfying and eclectic puzzle design. The finish on the overall look of the room was well executed and fun. Definitely would recommend, and I’ll be back to try the rest of the games at the venue.

🛗 Another cool theme from RSG- I always appreciate the level of immersion their sets have. This one was advertised as “motion based” but it’s only for the beginning portion. I get nauseous on rollercoasters but was totally fine! All the RSG rooms stand on their own as solid escapes; however, once you’ve played about three of them the repetition in their puzzles becomes apparent. Their points system + non-linear puzzles make them well-suited for bigger groups, otherwise, you might find yourself frustrated at the time-sink tactics in a few of their puzzles. In any case, RSG is nice in that they try to help you along if you get too stuck anywhere!

Fantastic room, the moving parts in this room were so much fun and the puzzles were challenging yet fun at the same time. Easily a top room in the GTA

Amazing set design, immersive experience, and many cool props. However, the puzzles are quite similar and often rely heavily on memory skills.

Loved the room and had a wide varied amount of puzzles that all felt fair. Set design as always really solid at RSG. The experience starts with a jerky “descending” elevator which is a lot of fun but obviously not for everyone so keep that in mind.

I loved this experience! The beginning part is motion based (very bumpy!) - 2 escapers of out of 4 team had to be out for this portion. This was difficult because only 2 of us can work on the puzzles and 4 is recommended (time cost! we did manage to complete it). The rest of the experience- absolutely amazing! The rooms, puzzles, props are just stunning! This is my fave at RSG (maybe overall) - strongly recommended (better if you don't experience motion sickness!)