Mystery Room: Silent House

	52 W Beaver Creek Rd, unit 16&17 Richmond Hill, ON
	60 Minutes
	4-10 players
	$22.00 per person ($20 with discount)
	Unlimited hints
	Mystery Room
	905-707-5829

   

Sigh, I always tend to underestimate what Mystery Room can bring! Before I begin this review, I actually had a nightmare about this room the night I played this room (yes, continue reading if you want to know why). If you have followed my room escape adventures, you would probably know a lot of my favourite rooms are horror themed. We've been through a few that really got us scared shitless, but to have a nightmare seems rather intense (I mean maybe it was just the green tea I drank). Alright let's begin!

Pre-Room Experience:  Once I received their email saying their new room - Silent House - was open I instantly wanted to go. Mystery Room is a lower end escape room facility, but it does not disappoint! I remember saying they had potential when I played their first room Pandemic and Silent House has proven it. This time around we went earlier in the day and I don't recall if I ever mentioned that there is actually board games in this facility! I love the fact that they remember me as the blogger haha - super friendly staff!

Room Quality:  Alright, whenever I enter a "horror" themed escape room I tell myself or my team it can't get worst than that time we were handcuff in a pitch dark room... I WAS SO WRONG! Before entering the room we were led to the back of the facility and you would hear these weird sounds. We all thought it was the freezer at first, but boy were we wrong, it was coming straight from our room! To make this room even scarier, it was built right beside what looks like their storage room. I'm not too sure what it was but it was DARK! As we entered the room I was already terrified (no need for blindfolds). I was so impressed by the design because God knows how scary it was! Let me break it down for you. Once you walk into "the room" it's not exactly a room. It's designed so it looks like a long hallway of a house (it felt so realistic trust me). What made the experience so much worse was how dark it was and the creepy knocking we would hear every other minute. Yes, just thinking about it now gives me the shivers! That's not all, let me continue. If you all read my review for Osaka High at Mayze, you would have all remembered how I said the level of creepiness was high due to the dead corners. WELL, let me tell you this room was FILLED with dead corners. To begin, as we entered the "hallway" we stopped half way to realized we had to turn a corner to proceed - you can just imagine how terrifying this was. We were also told by the creepy girl voice to "never turn back" and to close all doors each time we entered a room (yeah - it was scary!). Each door that opened was SO creepy because well ... you don't know what's in there ok! I love the concept of this room! I don't want to spoil too much, but the way this room was designed definitely adds on to the creepy level. When I said this, it's not the props or jump scare and such, but the concept of the room itself was amazing. IT'S TRIPPY AS HELL!

Puzzle Design:  Puzzles weren't too hard if you played enough escape rooms. In my opinion I think the level was just right as it usually takes a little bit longer for us to do anything in a horror themed room. My team and I pretty much made it around the whole experience without any hints - except for the last part. We pretty much knew how to solve the puzzle but weren't able to find the piece to it. A little hint for anyone playing this room - look EVERYWHERE. It's dark in the room and the flash light we had was red so it made it very hard to see things. Most puzzles were lockboxes - but honestly I don't think it was the puzzles that defined this room (you have to play it yourselves to understand what I mean by this). The tech for this room was limited but enough for a couple good screams (yes - at one point in this room I screamed so loud the girl confronted me about it afterwards).

Overall:  I loved this room! The creepy level does die down afterwards - which is great because you can actually solve puzzles. If you're not into horror stuff this is not the room for you. The horror level in my opinion is quite high for this room. I personally found this a lot scarier than Osaka High because the constant dead ends and doors just creeps me out (and this was why I had a nightmare about it haha). Honestly, just thinking about it right now is giving me the creeps. I would recommend a party of 4 for this room if you are looking for a good creepy vibe, but if you are really scared then a party of 6 would also be great. Puzzles were not challenging for us but can be for beginners (especially given the fact that you are playing in dim lights). This room is definitely in the top 3 for horror themes for me!

Happy Escaping!

 Mystery Room: Magic and Thieves

	52 W Beaver Creek Rd, unit 16&17 Richmond Hill, ON
	60 Minutes
	4-10 players
	$22.00 per person
	Unlimited hints
	Mystery Room
	905-707-5829

   

Hello - I am back! Before I left on my trip I received an email from Mystery Room letting us know their newest room at their Richmond Hill location was open. Of course, your girl here had to give it a try the moment she came back!

Pre-Room Experience:  Like a lot of escape facilities we tend to have to do payment while booking online (which I don't like in my opinion, but I can see why they have a deposit system). Being as spontaneous as we are, we ended up just calling them asking if we can come in without doing the payment online. I guess because they are still a new facility it seems much quieter in comparison to Omescape or the bigger facility in Markham, thus we had no trouble making a last minute booking at all!

Room Quality:  I was pretty impressed with this room. The props were still on the lower-budget side, but you can tell they put a lot of effort into the props and puzzles. The theme for this room is inspired by the movie Now You See Me. The players are the detectives and we are basically trying to locate where the four horsemen are and try to escape their trap. The use of tech for this room is much higher than their Pandemic room. I wouldn't say the room had enough "wow-ing" factors compared to higher end facilities, but if we weren't comparing anything - I was pretty impressed and amazed by this room overall.

Puzzle Design:  Puzzle design was definitely on the easier end for us. It was funny how the game master indicated that this room was probably going to be too easy for us (which it was). However, I think this room is perfect for beginners! It had enough puzzle design that would keep you entertained and amused. As I stated earlier, there was decent use of tech in this room and it was pretty impressing to see how all the puzzled connected with this facility being a budget room. Definitely a bump for them! The puzzles were all very linear, but I can see it being challenging for beginners as it revolves around a lot of observation. It wasn't much so problem solving but more so thinking outside the box. I guess because we've played so many of these rooms - it was pretty much straight forward for us.

Overall:  Not bad once again! I stated on the Pandemic review that I saw potential in this facility and after playing their Magic and Thieves room I really can.  This facility might not be the most high end one you find at Markham, but it doesn't disappoint you like some lower end ones. We've been to so many facilities where the props are cheap and it was one lockbox after another. You would think this facility is similar, but they're really not. I would say they are like an upgraded version of Esc-It. Fun and entertaining with a good amount of tech. Again, I would recommend this room for beginners though. If you are an addict like my team and I, this room will definitely be too easy! If you are looking for just a fun escape though - give them a try as you will be quite impressed!

Happy Escaping!

 Mystery Room: Pandemic 

	52 W Beaver Creek Rd, unit 16&17 Richmond Hill, ON
	60 Minutes
	4-10 players
	$22.00 per person
	Unlimited hints
	Mystery Room
	905-707-5829

   

Taking a short break from our Freeing Series as I want to write a review on our most recent escape adventure at Mystery Room. We took our adventure to their newest(?) location at Richmond Hill last night. Given the fact that we are such addicts when I discovered there was a Richmond Hill location, it was almost an instant go. Background story, we've actually been to the their Downsview location before and in all honestly it was a low budget escape facility. It was not necessarily a bad escape facility, but of course compared to the higher end ones it did lack in terms of tech and props. However, with that being let me share with you our experience!

Pre-Room Experience: I honestly thought their location was the old Esc-It location! I still remember when escape rooms first came out and the level of sketchiness was so high in my opinion. Their Richmond Hill location is located right on West Beaver Creek. Location was great for us as half the time we grab dinner on Hwy 7 and it's much closer than other escape facility. Once again it gave off the sketchy vibe as we pulled into their facility. There were no car which made it even much more sketchy haha - We seem to have been the only booking they had all night. As we enter, the lobby was small but there was another room full of board games and more tables. I'm not too sure if it's because this location is new or what not but it was pretty much dead. The staff were friendly, but it did seem like he was nervous as we were the only guests haha. Oh, here's the catch - before arriving we were told that each player needed to have a fully charged phone. This was such an interesting call for us because as you know most escape facility don't allow cell phones. Before we entered the room - we were all asked to download an app. Here's where it gets interesting....

Room Quality:  Continuing from our pre-room experience. The theme to this room was a virus breakout and we all needed to survive and escape. As I stated earlier we were all asked to download an app. As we enter the room, we were told to connect to their wifi and the app. We each created an IGN and basically this was our "health" status. Basically how it all worked - the app indicated our status with each a health bar, hunger bar, injury bar and thirst bar. We needed to maintain each bar in order to survive. Throughout the rooms there were resources that we needed to find to keep us all alive. Once resources were found there were QR codes on them which we then scan through the app. Resources that were scanned will increase our status keeping us alive. Cool! Putting this app to the side the room itself was alright - not the best but not too bad. Props weren't as high end in compared to other escape places. The design of the rooms somewhat lacked in my opinion. For example the last room was pretty much just an empty room with very minimal props. I would say they could easily do so much more if more money was put into it. I can see the potential. In other words, it was a budget room.

Puzzle Design:  There were a few downfalls in terms of puzzle design. The whole app experience was quite fresh and interesting to all of us, but mid-way through, half my team gave up on "surviving". This was because maintaining the status of your health was so distracting to us. Half our team were decoding the puzzles while I was trying to feed everyone food and water. The purpose of it also seems very unnecessary as mid-game one player ended up dying but still proceeded with the game. There was also difficulty in terms of scanning our resources. Some resources were empty, which wasted a lot of our time trying to scan another resources. One player's phone barely scanned anything and by the time it did it was already too late. In terms of their puzzles, it wasn't too bad. Nothing impossible and it all did connect. I would say though a lot of my time was spent trying to keep everyone alive so I did miss out on some puzzles.

Overall:  Not bad I would say. I can definitely see potential for them if they invest a little bit more into their rooms. The whole concept of the room was fresh and new. Even though with some distraction and glitches the room did keep us all entertained and we didn't feel bored at all. I would say the biggest downfall I found was the app having to be open the whole time. I didn't have enough time to figure out how to keep my iPhone screen on the whole time so I had to keep tapping the screen to make sure my phone didn't sleep. This made it super hard to do anything else! With that to the side, this room was very spacious. So if you are looking to go with more teammates you will not feel crowded. Oh, also if you don't have a cell phone or if your phone dies they do provide you with chargers and also spare phones. Overall, we had fun and it was a very interesting room. However, if you are looking for higher end rooms with "wow-ing" tech, you won't be able to find it here.

Happy Escaping!

 Omescape : Virus Outbreak - The Final Hours

	Upper Unit 1187 Kennedy Rd Scarborough, ON M1P 2L2
	60 Minutes
	3-7 players
	$28.20 per person – student/social media discount
	Unlimited hints
	Omescape
	647 800 8038

           

Bringing the Omescape series to their Scarborough location! Today I will be reviewing their first room, Virus Outbreak - The Final Hours. If you want to know more then continue reading!

Pre-Room Experience:  I wouldn't say this location is super far from their Markham location. It wasn't hard to find as well. However, the parking lot did seem much smaller and the whole place itself seemed rather small from the outside. Once you enter it's a whole different story tho. The facility is so spacious! If you've been to the Markham location, you would know how loud and busy it can get. Their Scarborough location is completely different. There's no bubble tea stand and no board game (well there are but very limited unlike their Markham location). It was definitely much quieter and way less busy. Omescape Scarborough also has something called Epic Runner, which is inspired by the Korean variety show Running Man. You're basically running around playing intense tag (team and I still need to try this out). Staff of the new Omescape were also very friendly, they have their $3 discount when you check into facebook, just like Omescape Markham.

Room Quality:  Being a big fan of Omescape Markham, my team and I came to new Omescape with a high expectation (like always lol). The theme was very nicely made. I realized after playing so many rooms, I love the concept of when you're first entered into a small room but it expands out to much more. Omescape does this a lot with their rooms and it really makes me fall in love with it. The props were once again very nicely put together. If you have been to their other rooms or read my previous reviews you would know their use of tech are absolutely incredible. No different for this room, every piece of the props fit very well with the theme. There was definitely a point in this room that caught my attention (a good one)! Without wanting to spoil too much, lets just say it's something very different and I have yet to see in any other escape rooms.

Puzzle Design:  The puzzles weren't impossible, but with that being said it was challenging. For some reason this room in particular seemed to give off the never ending puzzle vibe. Every time you think you're about done something else pops up. Was it dragged out? - No. There's many escape facility that have way too many puzzles in one room and it just gets very exhausting but we didn't feel that for this room. Puzzles were very nicely connected to the theme. One thing I noticed about Omescape is that they focus their puzzle through different props rather than lockboxes. It's very interesting to see how they put together their puzzles because its not your typical - press a few numbers and something opens - kind of room. Their puzzles are very well created and will definitely keep you entertained throughout the game.

Overall:  I will add a small bonus for the creativity of the concept of the room (you will know once you play it). Overall, Omescape Scarborough in my opinion did live up to their Markham location glory. Definitely worth a visit if you're a fan of Omescape because their room only stepped up the game. However, in my opinion Kingdom of Cats and Joker's Asylum are still my current top favourites from Omescape.

Happy Escaping!

 Omescape : The Kingdom of Cats 

	7501 Woodbine Ave Unit 7 Markham, ON L3R 2W1
	60 Minutes
	3-8 players
	$28.20 per person – student/social media discount
	Unlimited hints
	Omescape
	905 695-9556

           

Happy Monday everyone! I'm so excited to see that so many people are reading this series. Today I will be reviewing the last room from the Markham location. Don't worry, being room addicts my team and I have already caught up to their newest location at Scarborough so stay tuned for more! With that being said, The Kingdom of Cats is by far my favourite room from Omescape. In fact, Kingdom of Cats is currently listed as second to my "top 3 favourite escape rooms". So let's break it down!

Room Quality:  100% spot on! The moment you walk into this room and the music plays, you're in cat kingdom. As you all know my expectation of Omescape has gradually increase as my team and I play each of their rooms. This room being the last, as well having high reviews on other escape room review sites, we had quite a high expectation before entering the room. It did not disappoint at all. The cuteness of this room was a complete overdose! Like I said, the moment you walk in you're in cat kingdom! Props were well used and everything about this room was just so amazing. My favourite part of this room was the way it was constructed. Without wanting to give it away, it was very interesting as it wasn't your typical room to room experience. The tech level in this room was as "wow-ing" in compared to the other rooms, but overall the theme and structure was the best part.

Puzzle Design:  The puzzles of this room was perfect in my opinion. It was definitely not too hard nor was it too easy. Each puzzle was connected very well together and all added to the whole theme. Nothing was just randomly out in the blue for us to solve. Each piece of the puzzle went with the whole theme. There wasn't a lot of "thinking outside the box" concept in this room.  If you are more into challenging puzzles then you might not be able to find that in this room. However, puzzles were well designed with just the right amount of tech used. I would recommend this room for people new to escape rooms because this will really impress you.

Overall:  I love this room and would play it again if I could. I love the amount of cuteness it had haha. It was structured so well and was very fun! The theme was very nicely put together and just everything about this room was "CUTE". I would recommend a group of 4-5 to play this room for the best experience. With that being said, no one had to hover over another to solve a puzzle. The concept of the whole room was just so amazing. Definitely a different experience and a very fun one. I would very highly recommend this room for anyone going to Omescape.

Happy Escaping!

 Omescape : Dark Alter

	7501 Woodbine Ave Unit 7 Markham, ON L3R 2W1
	60 Minutes
	4-8 players
	$28.20 per person – student/social media discount
	Unlimited hints
	Omescape
	905 695-9556

           

Welcome back to another Omescape review! Continuing from our previous three reviews, today I will be breaking down Dark Alter for you guys. Before I begin this review, I just want to say this room made us realize that we (my team and I) should ALWAYS do escape rooms before dinner. Our food itis was so strong during this room, that in my opinion it really changed the whole experience.

Room Quality:  Just like the other Omescape rooms their spec and structure is amazing. In my opinion, I think Dark Alter had one of the best structure and design. The props used for this room was much different from the previous three rooms that I reviewed. The prop and tech for this room was much higher! In all honesty it felt like a very expensive escape room. Like any of the Omescape rooms there's always a little surprise that really catches you and makes you go "wow".  The theme was on point and everything ties into the storyline very well.

Puzzle Design: I highly, highly recommend everyone playing this room before dinner. I say this because from experience the 7 of us really struggled with the food itis in this room haha. There is a good amount of reading for some of the puzzles, which was a bit more challenging for us because we were so tired. A lot of going back and forth with certain puzzle pieces to unlock the next step. The concept of it was good, just not when half of the team was super out of it during the time. If you're looking for lockboxes, this room almost had none. Each puzzle piece was different and the use of tech for them was just unbelievable. There's a lot of thinking outside the box for this room as well, which in my opinion is quite awesome if my team and I all had our mind awake. 

Overall:  Although my team failed quite miserably (we even dropped/lost one of the instruction papers), the concept of the whole room was incredible.  I don't think the room and puzzles were that hard, but it really did need us thinking outside the box. However, because we were handicapped that night (LOL) I thought it really changed the whole experience. We were shown the way out in the end and I gotta say it was pretty impressive, but none of us would have thought of it. Lesson learnt - never go to escape rooms after an AYCE dinner haha.

Happy Escaping!