MagnificoEscaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLAfter completing 140 escape rooms, Magnifico is the single greatest escape room I've ever done, and I don't think it is even close. One of the things I've never really seen done well in an escape room is the story. Sometimes the theme is really good, but it never actually feels like a proper story. This one did. It wasn't just visiting a movie set, it was becoming part of a movie, fully immersive with moments that felt incredibly cinematic and almost like living a video game. There were twists, moments that made us laugh, epic sequences that stole our breath away, and one showstopping musical number. It was 2 hours and 30 minutes of transporting magic. Truly the greatest show of all time. Everything ran smoothly, and the immersion level was unbelievable. The actors did such a fantastic job and really took it to another level. And with all of this, the puzzles were actually good as well, with multiple ones that I've never seen before. The most impressive part was that the puzzles felt fully integrated into the story. There were lots of tricks that left us trying to figure out how everything worked. This room demands you to roleplay, and you'll be rewarded with the experience of a lifetime. I traveled to Montreal specifically for this escape room, and it was worth it. I wish more rooms tried to make the experience so immersive with such a focus on the actual screenwriting because while the production of this room is top notch, I think it isn't the part that is burned into my memory. I'll definitely never forget this experience.
La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLThe Forgotten Cathedral is my second favorite room at this location and across every room I've done, behind Magnifico. I can't praise the set design here enough. It is beautiful and larger than life. While the story isn't as present in the room, the room is incredibly cinematic. There is one sequence that felt like I was in a top tier movie. I really don't want to spoil anything, but even just the way this room starts feels completely unique and took us all by surprise. I will highlight that this room involves a lot of traversal, and we did have a lot more guidance than the others at the start because we were struggling a bit with the puzzles. Other than that, I think it is really immersive and has a lot of tricks up its sleeve.
The Forest of FablesCU Adventures in Time and SpaceEscape roomIRLI really enjoyed the first half of this room which has a beautifully built set with engaging and intuitive puzzles and a fantastic production design. The story and background music also really help set the scene. The second half is great as well, but I felt it became slightly more sequential which was fine for our group of 2 but might have larger groups waiting around a bit. The roleplaying and interactive elements are very clever and genuinely surprising. I also thought it was cool how it integrated a lot of classic fairy tales into the room. Overall it's a very good room, but I'm not fully sure I would say it is the second best escape room in the US necessarily. However, I would say it is one of the best ones I've done, and I really enjoyed it and loved how enthusiastic the staff was.
Storyteller's SecretBoxarooEscape roomIRLOne of the best rooms I've ever done. Very unique story, a relaxed atmosphere, incredible set design, and an interesting approach to reusing puzzles. Felt like a very interactive experience and like actually stepping into a fairy tale
L'Île perdue de la Reine Vaudou [The Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLThis was a really fun room. The special effects and production values were really good. I do wish the lighting was slightly better, but other than that, it did a really good job of transporting us into a set from Pirates of the Caribbean. Compared to Magnifico, Wardrobe for Sale, and The Hidden Cathedral, this one felt the lightest in terms of story and roleplaying. However, it felt very balanced in terms of puzzles and production quality. The puzzles were pretty good, but there were a few that had multiple steps where it was easy to miss something. These are just minor complaints because the overall room is fantastic and fun, but if you're looking for stories like their other rooms, this may not be the best fit.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLA really awesome escape room with excellent production values. There are lots of cool high tech elements, but I do really like that you actually go through a lot of the actual story of the Wizard of Oz. The atmosphere feels whimsical at times, and the puzzles were mostly intuitive though a few were a bit finicky. I do wish the tokens you are supposed to be collecting were a bit more evenly paced out throughout the room, but it's a very minor complaint for such an excellent room.
Cutthroat Cavern13th Gate EscapeEscape roomIRLOne of the best escape rooms I've ever done, and definitely the one with the best production quality. Felt like you were on a movie set. Puzzles were good as well, but it's really the set that shines here
Armoire à Vendre [Wardrobe for Sale]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLWardrobe for Sale might have been my personal least favorite of the 4 we did at this location, but I think it was one of the top rooms for others in my group. The set design is phenomenal with at least one jaw dropping moment. I also think this room had the most focus on the actual puzzles, and I like how there are lots of sections where you need to solve a bunch of things in parallel. My slight issues with this room were twofold. First, there were a few puzzles where we didn't actually know we solved them, or maybe they were broken. Secondly, I think the story in this room, while very important, was maybe not as interesting as some of the others and often interrupted the gameplay due to some slight pacing issues. To be clear, these are all very minor complaints, and these rooms stand above any others I've ever done. I'm just reviewing the rooms relative to the other 3 I did here: Magnifico , Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen, and the Hidden Cathedral
The Campground13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLThe Wizard of Oz room at this location is really impressive, incredible production values and interesting gameplay. I was very excited about the 90 minute room at this location, but it was overall slightly disappointing. The production values are nowhere close to Wizard of Oz. They are still pretty good, but nothing I would write home about. Also some elements created a smell that caused our group to cough. The real disappointment was the gameplay though. We didn't even realize we accidentally solved a few puzzles, so we kept trying to utilize those clues. There were a lot of puzzles in this room, and we did feel overwhelmed with 3 people. Also, the GM does appear in the room and was resetting the room while we were still in it, causing us to rediscover things we had already solved. It's still a good room, but it feels overrated and a few steps down from The Wizard of Oz one
Curse of the Hidden TemplePuzzleConnect Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThis was our first room at this location. I really liked how polished and responsive all of the technology was. Everything happened at the exact right times without anything feeling finicky. The production design isn't necessarily as crazy as some other rooms, but it does feel immersive. I think these rooms are on the easier side, but they are still very entertaining
![La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/2c2890dd-87b6-4712-8136-8403e436ec72.jpg)
![L'Île perdue de la Reine Vaudou [The Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/ea8040b8-d20c-48b1-a683-d874c1ae6eb1.jpg)
![Armoire à Vendre [Wardrobe for Sale]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/02541450-7205-4371-935f-ae98c672dcbb.jpeg)
