Escape Plan

Escaparium - Montreal (Dorval, Montreal, Canada)

Time limit: 95 minutes

Age limit: 10+ recommended (under 16 requires adult)

Player limit: 4-6

Difficulty: 3/4

Awards: TERPECA Top Rooms No. 79 (2025), Best of Morty (2025), Golden Lock Award (2026)

Date visited: July 2026

We finished up at Ezkapaz's delightful Opus Memori and headed straight to our first official Escaparium game, Escape Plan, ranked No. 79th in the world by TERPECA in 2025. Prison escape is one of the most common escape room themes around — entering this one, we had played no less than 5 (and a couple more with prison escape elements) — so we felt like we had seen just about everything the concept had to offer. I had heard Escape Plan was something completely different... but was it true?

• Yes! Escape Plan was something else... different, unique, innovative, daring, experimental... We found ourselves doing things we never thought we'd be doing in an escape room. I can understand why it is polarising, but we absolutely loved it!

• First of all, it is important to note that this is NOT your typical escape room with traditional puzzles. Instead of solving puzzles, escaping this room depends heavily on your interactions with the actors, your ability to improvise practical solutions in a variety of situations, and utilising your street smarts to hustle your way to freedom. I don't want to get any more specific than that because a big part of the joy of this game is discovering its parameters.

• The game starts even before you enter the room, and once you get in there, you learn the rules of prison life very quickly. The set is, as expected, a prison facility, and as such isn't as breathtaking as some of Escaparium's other sets. However, it has been crafted with amazing attention to detail, and, unlike most other prison escape rooms, the gameplay goes beyond the rudimentary prisoner cell. Just know that there are multiple areas and each one is designed brilliantly to match the flow of the game and the story.

• The atmosphere created by the theming was already strong, but it was the actors who elevated the immersion to a whole new level. There are multiple actors in this game and ours were all fantastic. I'm sure they have some dialogue that is set in stone, but a large part of their performance is improvised, as they need to react and respond to the players. They were all so quick on their feet, not making it too easy for us but also not being obtuse. You really do need actors who are passionate about delivering great performances for players, and we could tell our actors loved what they were doing.

• There's a degree of physicality in this game too, but it's nothing too demanding. Players with a basic level of fitness will have no problem. You don't have to be Andy Dufresne to meet the physical challenges.

• The design of the gameplay seems simple on the surface but is actually very intricate and well-planned. Descriptions make it sound like an open world RPG but it's not a free-for-all. This game still has a very clear structure, but instead of puzzles, you are faced with a linear sequence of events and predicaments you need to figure out so you can keep progressing.

• Now, I can understand why some players would dislike this game, or even loathe it. With no traditional puzzles to solve and requiring regular interactions with actors, the experience can be daunting, awkward, or even frustrating, for both the players and the actors. The game simply won't work as well if you don't give yourself over to the story and embrace the gameplay style. Our actors told us after the game that some teams don't say anything and literally have no idea what to do, and thus have to be "guided" all the way through — and no one likes that!

• With a family of mostly introverts, we were surprised by how much we relished the opportunity to interact with the actors and really lean into the performance aspect of the game ourselves. It was fun and often very funny, but our actors never broke character and we never lost sight of the aim of the game. We had to repeatedly come up with real-world solutions to the myriad obstacles we faced, often thinking outside the box. We didn't expect to be good at any of this kind of stuff, but this game brought out something in us we didn't know we had, and we somehow managed to escape with a full 20 minutes to spare.

• Full credit must go to the game designers and the actors. In my opinion, Escaparium took a massive swing and it paid off in a big way, as evidenced by the TERPECA Top 100 ranking. Does it represent a paradigm shift? I'm not sure, but I wish more escape room businesses had the guts and confidence (and financial security) to create games like Escape Plan.

PS: A note for foreign players with a slight spoiler tag (click to reveal)

You will need a mobile phone that can make real-world phone calls to play this game. Let your GM know in advance if you don't have one.

Escape time: 75 out of 95 minutes

Theming	Atmosphere	Puzzles	Creativity	Fun
A	A+	A+	A+	A+

Verdict: Escape Plan was unlike any escape room we had played before. If you go into this game expecting a "traditional" escape room with traditional puzzles, you will likely be disappointed. But if you go into it with an open mind and fully lean into the scenario and your character, you might find it one of the most unique and enjoyable escape room experiences ever — just like we did!

OVERALL RANK:

H	E	Z	J
S	A	S	S