Escape Games Canada - "The Ark"

Updated: Apr 22

LOCATION:  North York, Ontario, Canada

Photo above is property of Escape Games Canada

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Pathogen
📅 DATE PLAYED: March 18, 2023
🎬 GENRE: Sci-Fi, Historical
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 4 Players): 6/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 4-8 PPL
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: CAD $33.63/PP
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: YES

📖 THE STORY

A strange signal has drawn your expedition team to the ocean floor after a large earthquake. Upon reaching the bottom you uncover a mysterious city aged and opulent. You decide to explore the city to unravel its mysteries but quickly learning getting into The Ark is only half the journey…

Video above is property of Escape Games Canada

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

For any lovers of the game series Bioshock, you will immediately appreciate the 1930s art deco design of the room. I found the room felt thematic and really brought you into the world, down to the gramophone.
The first two rooms do a phenomenal job in drawing in the puzzlers. They use tracking, observation, and procedures that build up the excitement. They are layered in a way that heightens the push towards the solution and each time gives a satisfying resolution. .
The multiple ending opportunities players well into the set up of the game and cater to a variety of groups and their skills.
The bonus puzzle is extremely tempting and highly recommended for larger groups!

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

Some areas of the room are a little cramped for some of the puzzles required.
Certain stages of the game can come to a grind as each player must do something exact and the whole group cannot go forward until then.
As a result of the multiple endings, there was one puzzle that was unused and the players weren't aware. We lost time trying to figure that out.
The narrative became a little lost towards the end. I was expecting more show than tell.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

"The Ark" provides a mesmerising and tempting escape room experience with plenty of fun reveals and puzzles that truly encourage communication. The space is cramped but we felt four people was a good number for dividing and conquering. I found the story had a promising start but lost some momentum amongst the puzzling. I recommend this for players looking for a unique theme, storytelling, and layered puzzling that brings together the team after each step. This game has a lot of promise and I think it is well worth it to check out if you are in the area…and if you play 2 or more games you can get a discount!

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

Additional Info: Parking is available in front of the store. Photo booth is available to take victory photos. No seating is provided in the main lobby.

Photo above is property of Escape Games Canada

BOOK NOW

(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank Escape Games Canada for offering us a media discount for our tickets to this game. Although a media discount was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.