Escape Rooms can be a fun and exciting experience, full of puzzles, stories, and a high energy thrill.
At then beginning of the month, I went on a trip to explore the Escape Rooms of Montreal. Before this trip, I had done two escape rooms in my life and that was within the last year. Escape Rooms have always been something I wanted to explore. I feel like I am putting myself in a board game or a video game. And that’s a hard temptation to resist.
When my friend asked if we wanted to go on an Escape Room trip, I was immediately in. Not only because I like spending time with my friends but because I was excited to explore the world of escape rooms. And the plan was to do almost 40 games in 6 days. Yes. We are insane. And yes, I would do it again. And for some context, rooms were either done at 3 player or at 6 players.
So, for this post, I wanted to talk about my experiences. Which places we went, what rooms were stand outs for me, what I enjoyed, all that jazz. I will do my best to talk more about my feelings and reactions to not have any spoilers about the rooms themselves. This is not a post about spoilers. Also, I apologize if I mistranslate something from French.
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Escape Room Qualities
Before going into the details on some of the locations and escape rooms, I wanted to explain what I ended up looking for when going into an escape room. Before the trip, I only had three categories that I was looking at: Gameplay, Theme, and Concept.
Gameplay covers a very large topic but not knowing what I was getting into, I decided this was an approach. Theme was more about the construction of the room while concept was the idea behind the room. I kept those separate because the idea behind the room might be good but the execution, maybe not as much.
The Final Categories
As we went through the various experiences, I realized that these three categories were very narrow. They did not cover everything that I found to be important as I continued to do more and more rooms. By the end of the trip, I had expanded my categories to seven which included: Puzzles, Story, Flow, Construction, Concept – Setting, Concept – Story, and Feeling.
- Puzzles are how I feel the quality and quantity of puzzles. For quantity, it’s looking to see if I felt the number of puzzles matched the size of the room.
- Story is the narrative of the room. Not all escape rooms have stories, but I felt more did than not.
- Flow is how well the room flowed, weather than be narrative, puzzles to puzzle, or how the puzzles fit into the narrative.
- Construction is how well the setting is built.
- Concept – Setting is the idea behind the setting. Is it interesting, unique, common but done in a unique way?
- Concept – Story is the idea behind the story. Often a story can be removed from it’s setting and work in a different environment, so I wanted to look at the story independently of its setting.
- Feeling is how the room made me feel. Was I excited after? Did I have that sense of accomplishment?
I wanted to clarify how I was examining the rooms, but I will not be listing how the rooms ranked on my personal scale. This section was more to clarify my approach to looking at each of these Escape Rooms.
Locations
During this trip, we visited ten different locations. Some of them were different branches of the same company. Some of them were stand alone locations. At some locations, we only did one room, at others we did eight rooms. I believe the maximum number of rooms that we did in one day was seven.
The locations we visited included:
- Vortex (2 Rooms)
- Ezkapaz: The Manor (3 Rooms)
- Enigma-Tic (2 Rooms)
- Immersia – Boisbriand (4 Rooms)
- Sauve Qui Peut (7 Rooms)
- SOS Adventure (4 Rooms)
- Evasion: Top Chrono (1 Room)
- Escaparium – Laval (8 Rooms)
- Immersia – Laval (2 Rooms)
- Escaparium – Montreal (4 Rooms)
Vortex
Rooms Played: Nightfall, Dragon’s Prophecy
Vortex was a great place to start our insane journey. The employees were bright and full of energy. One thing that I really loved about this location is the unique way the Game Master would interact with the players. It was different than any of the other rooms we played.
There were some very good ambiances and puzzles in each room that we played. I won’t claim that all the puzzles were winners, there were some that we accidentally solved but did not know how we solved it. We are a team of overthinkers and that tends to be a problem.
Ezkapaz: The Manor
Rooms Played: Le Barber, Opus Memori, The Cadavera Case
Ezkapaz was an interesting experience. The lobby for Ezkapaz really brought you into that Manor like vibe. And the employees there did a great job acting as if they were employees of the Manor. We did all three rooms at this location, and I was later informed that one room (Le Barber) was half renovated, and another room (the Cadavera Case) is scheduled to be renovated.
The only room that had been completely renovated before our visit was Opus Memori. And I will say that it was my favorite room at this location. From the theme to the flow, everything about it felt good. It had some fun unique twists and surprises that I was not expecting. This room really defied my expectations of an escape room, and I am very excited to see how the others will be updated.
Enigma-Tic
Rooms Played: The Path of the Master Builder, Missing
Enigma-tic was a fun surprise on the trip that I was not anticipating. At first, I thought that the escapes rooms would be fine with just some classic puzzles. I did appreciate that they advertised that there were no locks used within their rooms, that is always a bonus. But I wasn’t expecting too much.
There were several large surprises that were extremely delightful. We definitely had a couple of “wow” moments from some unexpected surprises and puzzles. Enigma-tic definitely attempted a different approach to some puzzles that I was not anticipating.
Immersia – Boisbriand
Rooms Played: Salutem Medicina, The Circus of Lost Souls, Grand Immersia Hotel, Project Reset
I do think the Boisbriand location of Immersia had some of the top rooms for the group. The immersion that they were able to achieve in some of the rooms was absolutely astounding. I guess that they live up to their name.
There is not a lot for me to write about because the more that I gush, the more likely I am to say something I probably shouldn’t. What I will say is that I highly recommend going to this location if you have the chance. The adrenaline that some rooms were able to induce was intense and exciting.
This is one location I wish I could wipe from my memory because I really want to do some of the rooms again. We played the Grand Immersia Hotel and Project Reset with 6 players, and I do wish that we had done those at lower player counts. Having 6 players meant that either people were hovering around one puzzle, or puzzles were being done that the group was not fully aware of.
Sauve Qui Peut (SQP)
Rooms Played: The Wrath of Poseidon, Dream Weekend, The Succession of John Jackson, The Final Exam, The Vortex: Future, The Clandestine Bar, The Falderon Forest
I was thoroughly impressed with SQP. I was not expected so many rooms to be able to fit in what feels like a small space. This location had 10 completed rooms and another one under construction. There was definitely a range of experience that came out of all the different rooms.
Some were extremely innovative, some were more story focused, some were very puzzle focused, and there were moments of “oh, that was the solution?”. But even the lows of SQP didn’t really feel that low, I was enjoying myself the entire time.
I am thankful for the manager at this location who really focused on being with our group all day and gave us a sneak peek at the new room under construction. The surprises that we saw make my heart happy thinking about them now. I really want to go back when the new room is complete.
SOS Adventures
Rooms Played: Mission Gnomepossible, Mor Drakkar, The Night of the Wolf and the Serpent, The Candy Store
SOS Adventures was the hidden gem of the trip for me. I was really impressed by the light and happy vibes of the rooms which, I have discovered, is difficult for an escape room. The rooms were light and bright and just had a lot of fun humor.
One thing I really loved about this location is the depth of the puzzles in some of the rooms. One of my favorite puzzles of the trip was at this location. From what I have heard, SOS Adventures is not one of the more highly rated locations in the area, but I would definitely disagree based off the rooms that I played.
Evasion: Top Chrono
Rooms Played: The Tavern
Because we were trying to do as many rooms as possible on this trip, we did make a sidestep to go to Evasion: Top Chrono for The Tavern. This rooms had some fun gimmicks and puzzles, and I did appreciate the English translated posters. While I did enjoy the room, there was nothing that really made it stand out to me besides maybe a puzzle or two.
Escaparium – Laval
Rooms Played: Wardrobe for Sale, Voodoo Queen, The Final Stop, The Golden Jubilee, Bernie’s Block, The Cathedral, Rain Corp., The Blind Tiger
Escaparium Laval was on a whole different level, and I was not ready for just how expansive this place was. They have a pirate ship! It was an actual ship! I really enjoyed how all of the rooms had different vibes, feels, and puzzles. Doing one room didn’t really give hints for other which was a great experience.
One thing that made Escaparium Laval feel different from all the other locations is the use of characters and actors. There was a lot of interactions with people inside of the room that I was not exactly anticipating.
While some of these characters added to the ambiance, others were critical to complete the story of the room. And I was thoroughly impressed with everyone’s ability to really get into character and put on a compelling performance.
We also got to test act one of the room currently under construction and I am excited to see more. I can tell that the owner is really pushing the medium and I am very curious to see how it all turns out.
Immerisa – Laval
Rooms Played: The Game Show, Picadilly Cabaret
Immersia Laval was a little unlucky being in the later half of the trip as I had a lot of great rooms that I was now comparing it against. There were still get sets, decent stories, and fun puzzles but I did find some element lacking when comparing them.
There were some good feels of immersion in the rooms and fun transitions. We did brute force a few puzzles because I had gotten more into exploring areas that I typically would have overlooked. At some point in the trip, I had adopted the motto of “chaotic stupid” when interacting with some of the puzzles.
Escaparium – Montreal
Rooms Played: The Four Wizards and the Book of Black Arts, The Four Wizards and the Rise of Lord Tulsa, Alice and the Mad Hatter’s Mad Hat’s Hat, Tyranno Ind.
I’ve got to ask, why are the names of the rooms so long?!?! Anyway, one of the cool aspects about this location is that there were multiple floors and that gave them room to do things that I have not seen before. Some of the stories were a little confusing but I appreciated how they tried to incorporate technology into some of the rooms.
While some of the execution was a little clunky, the idea was fantastic, and it still made for some epic moments within the game. There were a couple of times that, after we had watched part of the story, I attempted to figure out how they were able to accomplish certain effects. I’m an engineer…. My first instinct is to figure out how to take it apart without actually taking it apart.
Favorite Rooms
Originally, I was going to list my top five escape rooms, but I ended up having six that all fit that top 5 range. So instead, I’m going to (vaguely) talk about my 6 favorite rooms of the trip. I am not going to put these in any order because the rankings fluctuate based on the day.
Some honorable mentions include The Cathedral, Grand Immersia Hotel, The Vortex: Future, Mission Gnompossible, Voodoo Queen, and Mor Drakkar.
Opus Memori
The first escape room I want to highlight is Opus Memori from Ezkapaz: The Manor. I really loved the vibes of this room, it’s a theme that really resonates with me, so I was bound to have a good first impression. The room does a great job of subverting expectations and had some great actor interactions.
Project Reset
Next is Project Reset from Immersia – Boisbriand. Project Reset was a real mind warping experience. The group had so much fun exploring and figuring out what was going on. The room setting is not particularly dark but that did not stop the constant anxiety from the group as we attempted to solve the puzzles.
The Night of the Wolf and the Serpent
The next room I want to highlight is The Night of the Wolf and the Serpent from SOS adventure. I know that I was more into this room than some of my companions. I enjoyed the vibes of the room and just liked existing in the space. There was a little bit of translation loss as the audio was in French (I should have brushed up on my language skills). The room was simple and yet complex, and I really enjoyed the experience.
The Final Exam
The fourth room I wanted to highlight is The Final Exam from Sauve Qui Peut (SQP). I really liked how this room used the space that it had to make and interesting and unique experience. The theme was lighthearted, and the puzzles were relatively simple but that didn’t make them any less fun.
Salutem Medicina
The penultimate room I want to highlight is Salutem Medicina from Immersia – Boisbriand. I told you; this place had a lot of good rooms. The flow of this escape room was done well and made me feel like I was in another place. The energy of the room continued to build and build until it exploded. This room really got my adrenaline pumping.
The Final Stop
The last, but certainly not least, room that I want to highlight is The Final Stop from Escaparium. This room was a full experience from the beginning to the end. There were twist and turns and surprises and roadblocks all in the best way possible. I am told that not many people do this room as it is a modified version of a standard bought room. But I can tell you, that it’s an experience worth having.
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