GAME OVER Escape Rooms Mississauga — Attraction in Mississauga

TL;DR? Too expensive, lacklustre puzzles, and defensive customer service (take the business’ response to this review as a key example).

We are disappointed with the service at this location. Firstly, the rooms are EXPENSIVE. After taxes it came to $50 each for 4 people, this was WITH a 10% thanksgiving discount. Lower rates are offered if you bring a larger group. The lowest cost being $38, it should be noted that the average room costs just over $30, even in hot spots like downtown Toronto. The room we escaped from (Atlantis) was quite small and would not comfortably house 8 people whatsoever. Despite the cost, the raving reviews here as well as the room themes had us eager to book once they opened. Our group is full of escape room enthusiasts, having completed well over 80 rooms. When the details of this escape room place dropped we were eager and excited to attempt the rooms. Our experience completing the room was lacklustre and customer service was, for lack of a better word, horrible! We had a number of concerns with our experience that we brought to the attention of staff through an email.

One of the standout moments in the room, was the waterfall mechanic which had trapped our entire team of 4 on one side (clearly this was designed to split up our team and work between 2 separate rooms to finish the puzzle). While we recognize the changing activation of the waterfall is part of the room, our entire team was stuck on one side of the waterfall with no way of accessing the hint/help feature since it was on the other side of the waterfall. Considering no one was there when we exited the room that left us wondering if anyone was watching us as we attempted escape considering we were not offered help/an alternate route to fix the issue. To us, we were left with no option but to have a teammate go through the waterfall and get wet in order to complete the puzzle. Furthermore, the hint feature was also on the other side of the waterfall and we had no way to ask for help without access to it. Once completed there was no staff member there to greet us and we walked aimlessly back to the front desk confused about our further steps. Considering this and other concerns we kindly emailed asking for a refund, we even made it known that we would want to come back and attempt other rooms. After over a week waiting to hear back on their “investigation” we were not granted a refund and we’re told that “passing through the water fall was a clear violation of  the game roles and the clear instructions give by the Game Master before starting the game. This violation could not only jeopardize your well being, but also the integrity of the game devices and electronics.”

We were NOT given any instructions whatsoever before our game. To be told we violated rules that were never told to us is completely unprofessional on their part. We were not told any explicit information about the deactivation/deactivation of the waterfall either. In addition, they suggested that we use the unlocked exit doors to avoid the “bad decision” of going through the water fall. In all of our escape room experiences we have never had to use the exit doors in order to access certain parts of the puzzle. The use of an exit door to re-enter to the main entrance of the room would have never crossed our minds considering we did not think what was happening to be an “emergency”. Completing the room should be achievable without having to leave the room, the waterfall coming back on was not our fault.

All we were offered was a 10% discount for our troubles. Considering we had a 10% discount on our initial visit, since we went during thanksgiving weekend, this is completely meaningless and no loss on their end as a business. Disappointed this establishment puts money making above customer experience. We will not be returning! I am not one to write reviews so publicly but considering this was our experience I felt it...

3 of us did the Orient Express room, it was easily one of the worst escape room experiences I've had.

To start, we ended up wasting about 20 minutes at the start of the game because the wrong key was placed in our first lock box. This was annoying, but to her credit the woman who was looking after us seemed new and very apologetic. She also gave us extra time at the end to make up for the time we lost.

By far the biggest issue though was just that this was like a masterclass in how to badly design an escape room!

I'd like to go into detail with proper examples, but also don't want to post spoilers for others, so I'll try to go light on the details. The puzzles were all either straightforward and very quickly solved, or frustratingly vague. We used plenty of hints and each time we did, our reaction was a bit of a bemused "well how the hell were we expected to get that?!"

The puzzles also for the most part made zero sense within the context of the story that we were a part of. To their credit, the room did look the part and they'd tried to make it quite high tech with various sensors and remote locks throughout, but the overall design just felt very disjointed and nonsensical. We're on a 1930s stream train yet for some reason doing X action with my hand makes music start playing or magically unlocks something on the other side of the train.

The puzzles were also all laid out very linearly, there was no one person does X while the other person gets to work on solving Y. So ultimately it meant for 3 of us, usually at least one person was kind of hanging around not doing very much, or banging their head against a puzzle we didn't yet have all the information for. If you had 8 people I imagine it would be incredibly irritating.

Finally, the ending. It can be kind of fun when escape rooms set non-escape related goals, but this one just felt very poorly done. We were tasked with finding 3 items, which I'd assumed would be scattered throughout the room, not just 3 very normal looking objects all together in the final box we opened. Once we'd finally got them we were just kind of looking at them for a moment when the staff came in to congratulate us on finishing the game and we were all still kind of processing that I guess these were the 3 things we were looking for.

Overall, a pretty dumb, poorly tested room which was wildly overpriced for what it was. I genuinely don't understand all the...

Think Twice Before Boarding the "Orient Express" Room!

My friends and I eagerly anticipated our journey through the Orient Express escape room, united by our enthusiasm for such adventures. Unfortunately, our expedition derailed into a series of mishaps and letdowns.

Firstly, a word to the wise: if you're thinking about trying the Orient Express room with a larger party, think again. Designed for a cozy group of 4-5 people, our party of seven was continuously jostling for space, which marred the overall experience.

One of the hallmarks of a good escape room is a captivating introduction that immerses participants into the narrative. Sadly, this room failed in this respect. Given that this outing was a surprise for a friend, our team was caught off-guard without any backstory. This oversight led to me, out of breath, hastily trying to recount the plot from a fleeting online synopsis.

Progressing through the puzzles, many seemed like convoluted enigmas with weak ties to their respective solutions. A peculiar instance worth noting for potential participants: (spoiler alert) the baffling decision to use a magnifying glass to decipher writing on a frosted window defies logic.

The cherry on top of our problematic experience was a significant technological snafu. Near our session's climax, a door adamantly refused to open, trapping us for over five minutes. When assistance finally arrived, the staffer looked utterly mystified by the predicament. It wasn’t until someone who seemed to be the owner intervened that the door begrudgingly gave way after a firm shove. One has to wonder how any team would navigate such a technical glitch.

Furthermore, the lack of tangible feedback or in some cases unrelated feedback after puzzle resolutions – be it a sound, light change, or any hint of success – left us in a state of perpetual doubt.

Our journey ended without us cracking the final code. Yet, more than the loss, it was the brusque post-game treatment that stung. We were swiftly shown the exit, with little time to digest our experience, facing a staff whose attitude oscillated between sheer indifference and subtle condescension.

In all fairness, the room's visual design showcased a level of intricacy and promise. Yet, aesthetics without solid gameplay and customer service fall flat.

For those seeking an escape room that delivers on all fronts, I'd advise setting your...