The Castle of Eternal Suffering

Sauve Qui Peut (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada)

Time limit: 120 minutes

Age limit: 16+ (flexible — email and ask)

Player limit: 4-6 (recommended 4) (2 players okay on Tuesday-Friday before 4pm)

Difficulty: Medium

Awards: TERPECA Top Rooms No. 19 (2025), Golden Lock Award (2026), Best of Morty (2025)

Date visited: July 2026

*Physicality and health warning: make sure you read the waiver carefully and speak to someone if you have any health issues or concerns.

The Castle of Eternal Suffering was one of my most anticipated games of our entire Canada trip. Debuting at No. 19 on TERPECA in its first year shortly after its official release, the game had many enthusiasts and escape owners alike singing its praises. Having played all of Escaparium's top games, we were excited to play something from another company in the top 20 to broaden our perspective. Was it worthy of being our final game in Canada?

• If The Castle of Eternal Suffering is TERPECA bait, then I bit it hook, line, and sinker. It is not just the best game at Sauve Qui Peut (SQP) — it is in a completely different league to their other rooms, with sets and tech comparable to Escaparium. Perhaps not quite as over the top in terms of scale, extravagance, and grandeur, but it delivers something that's close while permeating with its own unique flavour.

• The set was one of the impressive aspects of the game. It was enormous, occupying an entire wing of SQP, with multiple sections and transitions that made us feel like we were on an epic adventure traversing a lot of space.

• The theming was fantastic, with floor-to-ceiling decor, well-crafted props, and plenty of attention to detail. The lighting, sound, animatronics, and use of media combined to make this an incredibly immersive experience. I love escape rooms where you forget about "escaping" and simply live in the moment because you're so engrossed. This was one of those games.

• The puzzles were also really well designed and challenging. There was a good mix that included hunt and seek, tactile, prop manipulation, pattern recognition, logic, and even riddles. There's even a super cool physical challenge, which I understand players can opt out of, though it really is a lot of fun, even for adults! Of course, there were no padlocks, and everything was driven by incredibly smooth and well-hidden tech. I thought four players was perfect, as there was often a lot of teamwork involved or at least puzzles where everyone could participate or chip in. Not all of them were diegetic, but all were enjoyable to interact with and solve.

• I was surprisingly impressed by the story too. We're usually the type of players who don't pay that much attention to the narrative, but this time we were able to follow the plot and actually understand what was going on. Infusing exposition into some of the puzzles was a good way to tell the story without sagging the pace and flow.

• Was it a scary room? No really. I would say it's very light horror, and while it has a live actor, the interactions are used sparingly but effectively. It does, however, have probably my favourite unexpected "jump scare" of any escape room I've played to date. Those who have played it will know what I mean.

• We were celebrating J's 13th birthday that day (great birthday discounts at SQP) and the kids were really on the ball, especially with the more video-gamey puzzles. So we ended up blitzing through way faster than I would have liked, leaving more than half an hour on the table. In hindsight, we should have taken our time to appreciate the set and savour the experience more.

• In all, The Castle of Eternal Suffering was one of the most impressive all-round games we've played. It has everything you'd want in a world class escape room — a big, breathtaking set, immersive atmosphere, fantastic tech-driven effects, an engaging story, a sense of adventure, fun puzzles, and memorable moments. It is undoubtedly one of the best in the world.

Escape time: 87 out of 120 minutes

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

Verdict: We had high expectations but The Castle of Eternal Suffering smashed them. This is a dazzling and spectacular escape room that does everything at a world-class level. Absolutely worthy of a top-20 TERPECA finish in 2025, and possibly even higher this year.

OVERALL RANK:

H	E	Z	J
S	S	S	S