Missing

Enigma-TIC (Blainville, Canada)

Time limit: 60 minutes

Age limit: Recommended 14+

Player limit: 3-5

Difficulty: Hard

Awards: TERPECA Finalist (2022-2024), TERPECA Nominee (2020, 2025), Best of Morty (2023)

Date visited: July 2026

One of the escape rooms I had wanted to try but just couldn't find time in the schedule for was Missing at Enigma-TIC in Blainville, about a 10-minute drive north of Boisbriand and a 20-minute drive north of Laval. But when my wife E suggested checking out Premium Outlets Montreal — just a few minutes away from Enigma-TIC — I knew I had to jump at the chance. So following our marathon session of 6 games at Immersia that day, we headed to the outlet for a quick dinner, after which E stayed to shop and I took the kids over to Enigma-TIC. Was it worth it?

• Yes, I'd say it was worth it, but our experience was mixed. It could be because we were reduced from a team of 4 to a team of 3, or it could be because we were fried after having played 6 rooms that day already. It could also be because J accidentally broke a prop early in the game and was so flustered he couldn't focus for the rest of the game. Whatever the reason, we struggled to get into a flow in this game and didn't exactly end our marathon 7-game day on a high note.

• Missing is a blatant Stranger Things game that even replicated parts of the set with great attention to detail. There were tons of references to the series all throughout, and even played what I'm pretty sure was the actual theme song, so fans of the show will definitely get a kick out of it. I have watched the series, though I'm not a huge fan, so to be honest I didn't recognise most of the references, while the kids have never seen it. That said, you do not have to have seen the show to enjoy this room, but I feel like the references do play a big part in the room's popularity.

• The theming was solid but slightly rougher around the edges in the latter sections of the game, with more of a homemade aesthetic. The first space of the retro 1980s living room you see in the above photo was probably the strongest part of the set, and I thought it did a great job in creating authentic props and decorations to convey the charm and nostalgia of that era.

• The size of the room was pretty standard, albeit on the smaller side compared to some of the other rooms we played in Canada. There were multiple sections and each one had a very different set, so it was cool every time a new space opened up.

• Being a Stranger Things room, there was a bit of an eerie vibe and some dark areas, though I would not call it a scary room, save for one really awesome moment — without a doubt the best part of the entire game. Funnily enough, after this apparent "climax", we thought the game had finished, so we walked back to the living room and flopped down on the couch, only to be told by our GM that there was more to go!

• The puzzles were where we felt more of a disconnect with the room. I liked most of them on a conceptual level and several were actually quite challenging, requiring a very observant eye, strong sense of touch, sequencing, lateral thinking, dexterity, communication, and teamwork. We were not on our A-game and definitely had to ask for a few hints, more than any other room we played in Canada.

• However, the signposting was not particularly strong, and the connections between puzzles and solutions were somewhat tenuous at times. One of the final puzzles was a particularly strange one that offered no suggestions on how to solve it, and more important, it was not clear why we had to solve it that way, since it made little sense in the space or the story. It was more of a cool puzzle idea forced into the theme, rather than a puzzle designed for the theme.

• While there were no traditional locks, some of the tech was finicky and perhaps not as smooth as it needed to be. There was one part where one player (in our case, Z) had to be separated from the team and you had to work together via walkie talkie. Unfortunately in our case, Z has the weakest eyes of the family and struggled to see in the darkness, and it was exacerbated by the fact that it was quite difficult to hear each other on the walkie talkies.

• On the whole, Missing was still a solid escape room with plenty to offer, especially for Stranger Things fans. In different circumstances, I think we would have enjoyed it a lot more, but I suspect unrealistic expectations, fatigue, and burn-out after a long day worked against us.

Escape time: 54 out of 60 minutes

Theming	Atmosphere	Puzzles	Creativity	Fun
B+	B+	B-	B	B

Verdict: A solid and charming Stranger Things game with one really awesome moment, plus tons of references that should especially appeal to fans of the Netflix series.

OVERALL RANK:

H	Z	J
B+	B+	B-