Weekend at the Shack

Immersia Escape Games (Laval, Canada)

Time limit: 60 minutes

Age limit: Recommended 13+

Player limit: 2-6

Difficulty: Medium

Date visited: July 2026

Here we go! After our side quest to Quebec City, we returned to Laval for the climax of our Canada trip — 4 full days of escape room goodness, starting with 6 straight games at the highly rated Immersia.

Immersia has two locations, one in Laval and another about 10-15 minutes north in Boisbriand. Most of Immersia's top games are in Boisbriand, but there is one Laval game in particular that enthusiasts recommend playing: Weekend at the Shack. The main reason is because Immersia's newest game, The St-Onge Case, is a direct sequel to Weekend at the Shack, and we were told that we'd get a lot more out of the experience if we played the original first. So how was it?

• The idea that we should ONLY play Weekend at the Shack because we were going to play The St-Onge Case is a misguided one, because Weekend at the Shack is an awesome game in its own right. This was a fantastic introduction to Immersia's immersive style and creative gameplay mechanics, and we were so glad we decided to play it.

• A lot of escape game companies make players watch an intro video that spells out all the rules, and for enthusiasts, it's like watching a flight safety video every time you hop on a plane — you either ignore it or tune out. But Immersia does a brilliant job of keeping players engaged by making the video part of the story. Even what you can and can't do in the room is conveyed naturally. The excellent production values and acting are an added bonus.

• Weekend at the Shack was a surprisingly effective cabin-slasher thriller with Saw vibes. You and your team are invited to a rented cabin to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday, but something is very obviously wrong when you arrive. As someone who rarely pays attention to the story in escape rooms, I was glad this one was very easy to follow, largely because it was told effortlessly through the gameplay.

• The set was decent but showing its age a little bit, even though that fits well with the creepy cabin theme. The interior did resemble that of a remote wooden shack you might see in a horror movie, and the retro decor provided an extra dose of 80s thriller atmosphere.

• It's not a very big room but the first section was spacious and there were multiple spaces to explore.

• The puzzles were also fun and predominantly lock-based, which we don't mind but know some people do, though it helps that they made sense in the space and the story. There were also a few we had not seen before, with one in particular being very tense and memorable.

• I would classify this as a thriller as opposed to a horror game, though they were some effective, well-executed jump scares.

• On the whole, we really enjoyed Weekend at the Shack. It's an older room and not very flashy, but it does everything it's supposed to do on a high level. And while it is not necessarily a must-play before The St-Onge Case, I can confirm that it does indeed significantly enhance the experience.

Escape time: 35 out of 60 minutes

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

Verdict: Weekend at the Shack is a slick and tense Saw-style cabin thriller with precision execution and some fun, unique puzzles. Highly recommend playing it before its sequel, The St-Onge Case, to get a more complete story and experience.

OVERALL RANK:

H	E	Z	J
A-	A-	A-	A-