VeganGameGuy

Reviews

Reviews

La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]

La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]

Escaparium - Laval

  • Escape room
  • IRL
"Sorry, does this game have subtitles?" Technical masterpiece with immersion-breaking audio flaws... Undoubtedly, a technical masterpiece filled with "wow" moments and unique puzzles, this game's convoluted plot coupled with garbled audio left me questioning at several points why we were doing the things we were doing (...and otherwise shouting to others "what did he just say?!") It is nevertheless an unforgettable experience and is probably one of the reasons you're in Montreal (...right?). So, I don't need to convince you to play this. :) Sadly, the audio was a real immersion breaker for me and really should be fixed (other reviews on here mentioned similar issues, so it's a known issue). It left me feeling unimmersed at a number of key moments and left the puzzles feeling disconnected from the story (our GM's voice was not only garbled, the music often drowned out the voice). The actor is also playing a character with an accent making it even further difficult to make out the words. A bummer because most everything else was firing on all cylinders.
The Starlight Motel

The Starlight Motel

Escape Artist Greenville - Downtown

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Well-paced light horror game with a few jumpscares and tense moments. Puzzles are decent, but the set is great and the actor interactions are fantastic (Eden was awesome!). The best game at EA Greenville's downtown location (although I still prefer the quirkiness of Classified). My personal ranking of the 5 games at the downtown location as of August '25: 1. Classified: Operation Nine Lives (just too silly not to be my #1 here. No flaws, but it's too easy with 4, I think.) 2. Starlight Motel (excellent flow and plotting, tight with good acting moments, puzzles were just OK - a superior game to Classified, but silliness wins :) ) 3. Yuletide Magic (fun, surprisingly good puzzles and Christmasy vibes) 4. Dr. Fratelli's Cabin (Very (too) easy! A great puzzle toward the end. Good beginner game... or solo game. We finished in 24 mins as 4 people. Skippable if you're low on time) 5. Inventor's Enigma (A unique puzzle at the end, but most puzzles were a bit simple. Relatively easy overall, might be a good beginner room. Skippable if you're low on time.)
Quest For The Temple of Light

Quest For The Temple of Light

The Keepers of Balance

  • Escape room
  • IRL
This is a tough game to rate. On the one hand, the adventure is a blast, the acting was dynamic, and the set design is superior to anything I've seen in 325+ rooms - it's straight out of Universal Studios. On the other, the puzzles ("tasks"?) are so simple that it's barely an escape game at all (or, really, even a game). I love a nice action-adventure, but this isn't quite enough action to be a "live-action video game," not enough acting to be immersive theater and not enough puzzles to be a [good] escape room. I understand pipelining requires a faster pace, but it must be possible to create nondifficult puzzles which are nonetheless still creative and fun (see The Escape Ventures in Florida). At some point, Keepers made the choice to implement puzzles akin to "place X on X" and "see Y, press Y". Perhaps, they wanted to keep their first room more accessible to non-enthusiasts and are holding back their puzzles for game 2? As it stands, it's a must-do for the adventure if you're in the area, but it's also hard to say it's a good escape game. This place has the potential to be a new business model for the industry in the US, which is, until now, lacking the scale achieved by many games in Europe - and was brilliantly executed here by Keepers. Here's to hoping they succeed...and that their future adventures can incorporate better puzzling! I'll definitely be back for their second and third games.
Neighborhood Watcher

Neighborhood Watcher

The Escape Ventures - Orlando

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Easily one of my favorite rooms of all time. An incredibly memorable experience. The theme is dark and may be disturbing (missing children...), but they toed a good balance between scary and humorous. There is a jump scare, but it can be toned down upon request. I usually don't love jump scares, but this one is recommended to just go for it - as it's unique! No spoilers 🤐) The puzzles were fantastic; however, some puzzles break the immersion (for example, one puzzle relies on rubber insects. Are we supposed to believe these insects always maintain the exact number for the benefit of people unlocking chests... Or whether these were other kids leaving fake insects to help us? It wasn't explained).
Dragon Alley

Dragon Alley

Keystone Escape Games

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Great game with a lot of heart and some really silly GMs whose fun is contagious. So close to a "Love" from me - but there were a few of my least favorite puzzles included so this is just a personal thing (a "Simon Says" color memorization puzzle, a "Lights Out"/"Grid Toggle" puzzle and ... a tangram, ugh). If it weren't for these this would be a brilliant room - it's packed with lots of puzzles, great decor, a lot of humor and a few really fun surprises. The plotline was a bit convoluted and a few puzzles left me thinking "why are we doing this in this environment?" Also: "Poor Jim!" (If you know you know ;) ) Such a shame I couldn't find anyone else to play their other room! This place is on my radar now - I suggest you put it on yours.
The Alchemist

The Alchemist

Sherlocked

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Filled with wonder, wit and whimsy, The Alchemist is a top game for a reason. While the puzzles were not my personal favorite types of puzzles or consistently top tier or creative, there were some truly notable puzzles and a lot of "wow" moments--particularly the end! The storyline was (a bit disappointed) average, but most puzzles played very well into the theme, and the set design was top notch. For me this was enough make it memorable, but for someone who cares more about story and puzzles, I'd temper the hype, which left me wanting a little more from a top (and most expensive) tier game. The highlights are many: a sense of whimsy and fun throughout, an optional "higher level" physical activity ("wheeee!"), a witty "assistant" that follows you throughout your journey, a gorgeous, dynamic set which evolves as you play, and an unexpected puzzle which I will remember for a long time (for those who've played it, it involves golden lines and "audio" ... I wish it had been used more than once - an entire game could've been built around this single concept, but sadly it lasts just 2 or 3 minutes! :) ) The lowlights: not every puzzle was consistently on the epic level that the rest of the room exhibited (or which many had hyped it up to be). For example, there are two puzzles which I will describe as "maze-like tracing" which could be found in any escape room anywhere.
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