Omescape : The Red Admiral

	Upper Unit 1187 Kennedy Rd Scarborough, ON M1P 2L2
	60 Minutes
	4-8 players
	$28.20 per person – student/social media discount
	Unlimited hints
	Omescape
	647 800 8038

           

Hello everyone, I'm finally back! Talk about slacking. I promise there will be a lot more room reviews coming soon (yes, I have done A LOT during this blog mia). Before I start this review, I just want to thank everyone for the views and support! I can't believe there are actually so many people reading these reviews! Alright room addicts let's begin!

Pre-Room Experience:  If you haven't read my Omescape series, please go ahead and read those first! Our pre-room experience with Omescape has always been a pleasant experience. Although their Scarborough location lobby is a lot quieter than their Markham location, there are still board games around for you to play! So we learned our lesson from last time and waited a bit before we tried out their newest room and compared to "Shut Down" there were no tech failures!

Room Quality:  *SPOILER AHEAD*  Let's be real when does Omescape ever disappoint?! I would say for their new location each room has gotten better and better! I'm not exactly sure how to put this into words without spoiling too much, but lets just say "WOW". One thing I love about these rooms designed by Omescape is how their rooms expand. The tech was VERY IMPRESSIVE in this room (then again when are they ever not lol). Ok, I'm going to spill the beans - there are lasers in this room!! Not going to go into details with that but I'm sure it's enough to get you wanting to play this room. The theme for this room is set place during the cold war era. Although, in comparison to Castle Loma's Station M this room was not as "old" looking. I wouldn't say that killed the theme as Omescape still did a very good job in designing it. I guess it just wasn't AS "authentic".  Regardless with that being said there are so many aspects in this room that connected very well with it's theme.

Puzzle Design:  Where do I even begin? I would say for this room there are a lot of abstract thinking and a lot of thinking outside of the box. Puzzles were unique and very different from what you would experience in a regular escape facility. Lockboxes were almost non-existent in this room, so if you are a fan of those you won't be seeing it in this room. Puzzles all connected to one another and although you needed to finish one puzzle to get to another, each puzzle was fun and entertaining. TEAMWORK is the key to this room. I love how Omescape made that the key factor to almost all their rooms, but especially to this room. Without wanting to spoil too much, this was probably the only room that gave me the suspense of wanting to finish a certain puzzle. The quality of each puzzle was also very well designed. With all this being said this room was a much more advanced room. I would say groups that have never experienced room escapes before might be lost, but for us we had a blast! I would say don't enter this room thinking it's another escape room, puzzles are much more advanced, much more high tech and much more fun than anything! TRUST.

Overall:  Impressive like usual. The wow factor of Omescape is always there. I personally feel like the quality of Omescape rooms only get better and The Red Admiral has proven so. With a group of 5 people, I thought the size was perfect but even with the maximum group size (8) I wouldn't think this room will be too crowded. It was definitely spacious and no hovering over one puzzle. However, like I mentioned above, I wouldn't recommend this room for beginners as it was a bit challenging and a lot of puzzles were more advance. It wasn't impossible, but for beginners you can easily get confused on what o do. If you're an addict like us, 2 words: High Tech and Lasers! LOL

Happy Escaping!

 Omescape : Shut Down

	Upper Unit 1187 Kennedy Rd Scarborough, ON M1P 2L2
	60 Minutes
	4-8 players
	$28.20 per person – student/social media discount
	Unlimited hints
	Omescape
	647 800 8038

           

Hello everyone, I'm back! Sorry for slacking off these few days and I know some of you were anticipating the review for the new Omescape room. So here we go - the newest and latest room from Omescape Scarborough!

Pre-Room Experience:  Being a huge fan of Omescape, we decided to try out their new room the week it was launched. About an hour before our room I received a called from them saying one of the pieces was broken and it would take around 45mins to put it back together.  We already pulled into their parking lot so I said let's talk about it when we get in. Basically, one of the tech pieces was broken and had to be replaced so one of the staff had to go over to the Markham location to get it. Our room was at 10:30pm and we were told they might not be able to let us in until ~11:00pm. Half of us had work the next day and because we lived a bit further North, this was bad news. I was quite disappointed how they didn't offer us anything to make us feel a bit better, even though they knew we were a huge fan of theirs. Luckily they were able to fix the room around 10:45 so it wasn't too long of a wait.

Room Quality:  Yep, it was super impressive like always. With this room we got split into two groups. I can't speak much of the other room but for the room I was in, my first impression was quickly "wow". I realized the one thing I don't like about these room splitting is that we never get the full experience. For example, their Joker room when I asked my team about the other room they didn't really like it as it was just a room with all the information. The overall concept of this room was really impressive though. Definitely on the higher end of the rating and connects with the theme VERY well.

Puzzle Design:  Alright on to the puzzle design. This is where I thought some aspects had a downfall. As we were split into two groups after spending around 15 minutes solving our puzzle me and my teammate were left confused on what to do next. That's when their staff buzz in and said we were done everything and was just waiting for the other side now. My teammate and I were just talking and it eventually got boring - major downfall as there was nothing in our room left to keep us entertained. There was also nothing in our room that can help the other team either. After we finally rejoined each other the rest of the experience was entertaining until the last part. Before we get into that aspect, I have to give credit to their new puzzle though. I don't want to give it away too much, but this wasn't your typical room. When I say this, it's not just lockboxes or cool magnets you place to open other doors. There were computers involved and other cool tech! Alright moving on to the last puzzle. This is where it got frustrating. We were pretty certain on how to decode the last puzzle and have tried multiple times, but it didn't work. We tried other method but also didn't work. We actually spent a good 20 minutes on their last puzzle. Finally time was up and their staff came in to ask us what we got. We told him and it was right, so we tried it but nothing happened. So apparently the puzzle is "sensitive" and we had to press them softly. It was quick frustrating as we had it right the very first time but because of the strength we wasted 20 minutes trying to figure it out - sigh. Finally I would say the puzzles definitely weren't impossible in this room. Everything was very straightforward.

Overall:  Despite the small fallacies of this room, overall the team and I had a fun time. I would say this was probably the first Omescape room to have so many failing pieces, but maybe that's the consequence of going to a new room in the first week. I wouldn't say it affected us so much though - it was just time consuming I guess. I think the difficulty of this room is similar to Project Sphere from Markham. It also has a very similar theme - I would say this is an upgraded version of Project Sphere. Other than that I would still recommend this room to people as the tech in this room was very impressive.

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!

 Omescape : Project Sphere (Mysterious Study)

	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

           

Day 3 of our Omescape series! Hope everyone is enjoying these as much as I am enjoying typing up these reviews for you room addicts. Today's Omescape review will be on Project Sphere. We actually played this room twice. This room was originally known as "Mysterious Study" and after renovating it, they renamed it to Project Sphere. The changes to the room were not dramatic. Most of the concept was still kept the same so I will review it as Project Sphere, so for whoever that is planning to go, you will have a small understanding of the room. I'm going to skip the pre-room experience for my Omescape series because it was pretty much the same each time. If you are wondering what the pre-room experience was like go ahead and check out the "Joker's Asylum" review where I talked a little bit more about it. Alright let's begin!

Room Quality:  Finally a room where we weren't split into two teams! I remember entering this room going "wait that's it?" as in when you first enter this room its very small and you're left wondering why has Omescape downgraded. Let's be honest though for everyone that's been to Omescape or have read my previous room reviews, Omescape does not disappoint! I can not express how impressive the use of technology is for these rooms! You are never left feeling like you're in a room full of cheap props just glued or placed everywhere. Everything and every piece of prop fits into the theme VERY well.

Puzzle Design: High tech puzzles everywhere! I cannot stress enough on how amazing each puzzle is at Omescape. This room was slightly easier compared to Joker's Asylum and The Penitentiary. In fact, I think this was the easiest room at Omescape. With that being said though, the puzzle design was still very fun and entertaining. Nothing was left unclear and everything connected with one another. Just like the previous two room reviews, it wasn't just lockboxes and random puzzles everywhere. Each puzzle had it's purpose and led to another. 

Overall:  Although this room was easier than the previous two, it was still really fun. I would recommend this room for players that are new to escape room adventure as the level of difficulty in my opinion is just right. It wasn't too hard or too easy with a touch of fun surprises! Like I have mentioned in my previous two reviews, Omescape does not disappoint. Their themes, props, stories, technologies, and quality are always on point, making them one of Toronto's top escape facilities.

Happy Escaping!

 Omescape : The Penitentiary

	7501 Woodbine Ave Unit 7 Markham, ON L3R 2W1
	60 Minutes
	5-9 players
	$28.20 per person – student/social media discount
	Unlimited hints
	Omescape
	905 695-9556

           

As promised to some of my beloved readers, I will be posting the Omescape series everyday this week! Today's post will be on The Penitentiary. Going to be completely honest - this was my least favourite room at Omescape. Not that it was bad or anything but the amount of math that was in this room drove me insane. If you're into the more geeky puzzles this is definitely the room for you. In fact, this is on my boyfriend's top 5 favourite rooms!

Room Quality:  Once again before entering the room we got split into two teams. The theme to this room was a prisoner theme, where we had to break out of a jail cell. My expectation for this theme in particular is quite high as we've been to a few before the Omescape one. The moment I stepped into the room I was not disappointed at all. The structure of the whole room was so amazing! It was so authentic that it draws you into the story really well. The props were once again not cheap. You can really tell they spent a lot of time and effort in designing the concept of the room. The best part of this room was the surprising amount of tech used throughout the adventure. You won't be disappointed, trust me.

Puzzle Design: This was the part that lost some points for me personally. When it comes to math I AM TERRIBLE. I'm not saying this room was just full of math problems for you to solve, but in-comparison to the other rooms, this one had a little bit more math. Omescape never disappoints when it comes to their puzzles though, even though it involved a lot more thinking for this particular room the puzzles were still on point. We weren't left wondering what we had to do next because everything connected with one another very well. At times we were confused, but that's only because half of us sucked at math haha. The design of each puzzle was truly amazing though. There's a lot to do in this room so I do recommend going with a larger group. Without wanting to give up too much information, lets just say there are advantages of having larger groups but also disadvantages and likewise for smaller groups. 

Overall:  The overall experience for this room was still an A+ although I personally found the puzzles a lot more challenging. I feel as if Omescape really never disappoints you. The puzzles might be hard but the immersive nature of the room will make up for it. I always say your whole escape experience is also based on the team you are with. With this particular room we went with a large team and it really gave off a different experience. Strong team work was needed for the beginning of this room. It was also spacious enough where the 7 of us weren't hovering over one another to solve certain puzzles. There was enough room for everyone to do different puzzles, which in my opinion was a lot more fun than having everyone trying to solve one puzzle before moving on. I would recommend this room to anyone who love challenging puzzles and want to see a lot of fun tech!

Happy Escaping!

 Omescape : Joker's Asylum

	7501 Woodbine Ave Unit 7 Markham, ON L3R 2W1
	60 Minutes
	5-10 players
	$28.20 per person – student/social media discount
	Unlimited hints
	Omescape
	905 695-9556

           

Today, I'm going to do my first review of the Omescape escape room series (finally) as their newest room has finally launched! Omescape is still by far the favourite for me and my team out of them all. It would only be fitting for the first review to be on our first room there - Joker's Asylum! I remember this room very clearly as this was the first time we went to a bigger escape room facility. I have to say Omescape was probably the place that got us all addicted, given the fact that we finished all their rooms within 3 months. Alright, let's begin!

Pre-Room Experience: I have to be honest, I don't remember if finding the facility was difficult to find or not as this was way back in early 2016. However, I do remember walking into Omescape and thinking "wow". Omescape is very different from your typical escape rooms facility. They're also a board game cafe so it's a lot more crowded with people on weekends. They also have bubble tea which in my opinion is a win, because EVERYTIME after a room we're dying in thirst. Omescape is very spacious, but depending on which day you visit it can get quite crowded (i.e. weekends). They even have video games for you to play, but I believe those were extra charge. The staff were super friendly and I love how they remembered us by our second visit.

Room Quality: As mentioned before, this experience was one of our newer escape experiences. We weren't expecting much and we also weren't prepare as much. Before entering this room we did have prior knowledge on escape rooms, but compared to now it was quite beginner level. Joker's Asylum is supposedly their hardest room, and of course we always end up challenging the hardest rooms and failing haha. Before entering the room, we were split into two teams. I remember once I entered the room it was incredible! Everything within the room was super high quality! Being the beginner I was, I was mind blown and instantly fell in love. Even today, I still tell people Joker's Asylum is one of my top favourite rooms because everything about it was just "wow". The props in this room was very nicely used. You can tell they spent A LOT of time figuring out what prop went where. The quality of the room was high tech for sure.

Puzzle Design: Being completely honest on this one, we struggled pretty hard in this room haha. I'm not sure if it was because this was our very first "high tech" room or we were just slow that day, but the puzzle were a challenge for us. I wonder if we were to go back with our mindset of escape rooms now if we would find it as hard haha. I mean on their site it does say difficulty level is 5/5. I wouldn't say the room was impossible though, we just needed a lot more help than we did. This room definitely wasn't just lockboxes.  Each puzzle was tied to each other and you really needed to think outside the box to solve each one. Team work was the KEY in this room.  Definitely a room with great high tech puzzles that kept us entertained throughout the whole experience. 

Overall:  The overall experience was mind blowing.  Just typing out this review makes me really want to go back into that room and redo it haha.  The room was really fun and had us all moving around. I think I loved this room so much because the theme of it somewhat gave me a vibe of Alice in Wonderland on a twist haha. The use of props and tech in this room was perfect. Although we were all beginners entering this room, I think it really brought up our expectations and our addictions for escape rooms. If you're around the area I would definitely recommend this room!

Happy Escaping!