The Mummy

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Almost two years after Esc Room Addict’s initial visit to Mr. Escape, we head back up to their location in Markham to try out one of their new rooms. Mr. Escape is under new management, and the new management is focussed on renewing the escape room experience that Mr. Escape provides. It’s always great to see companies expand and/or refresh their offerings, and we were very excited to see what the new Mr. Escape had in store.

While there hasn’t been much change to the building itself, the reception that our group received was much improved. The staff of the new Mr. Escape welcomed us with smiles and anticipation. Almost as soon as we entered the building, we were ushered into The Mummy, the first of Mr. Escape’s new rooms. After our escape, however, we got to experience more of the pre-room and customer service offerings. The waiting area is quite small, though offers enough space for a group (of 10, their suggested maximum) to wait. There are some refreshments for sale, and one of the walls is covered with photos of escape addicts. The prize of the waiting area is definitely the pet guinea pigs, which enjoy being pet, and LOVE being fed.

Getting into The Mummy itself was a very interesting experience. The room itself was decorated as a tomb might be, but with some obviously out-of-place additions, like a fold out table. There were also a few pieces that we felt could be easily broken by a more rambunctious team, and we noticed that there were a lot of instructions as to how to correctly operate the tech (which would be much better utilized if removed from the room and offered as hints instead). As we progressed through the room, we noticed that it offered very different feelings depending on where you were. It’s hard to describe everything without spoiling various parts of the room, but to sum it up, the Egyptian theme isn’t all that is offered in this room. We really enjoyed the ingenuity that went into this room, as well as the self-made tech and set design. There is a lot of potential here, and something as easy as hiding wires or keeping tasks within reach and accessible would help to improve the room.

The Mummy begins with a short, basic story, and there isn’t much development after that. There is enough going on in the room to involve each member of a group (though we think the suggested maximum of 10 is a bit high), though a bottleneck does occur closer to the end of the room. The immersion aspect of the room is a roller coaster: sometimes you are drawn in, and sometimes you are hurled so far out that it doesn’t seem to exist! When you’re in, it’s good and it’s enjoyable. When you’re out, you’re involved in so much cool stuff that it’s fun! The way we figure it, all of the random pieces that have been included into this room could be explained through story, and therefore would add to the immersion as opposed to distracting from it. A lot of times, story is the key to an immersive experience, and this is definitely a room that would benefit from a good, developed story.

The puzzle design of The Mummy is its strength. There are a number of puzzles/tasks within the room, and it is one of the best that Esc Room Addict has seen when it comes to variety. There is a good mix of physical and intellectual puzzles, there are very few typical locks to unlock, and a lot of the puzzles involve some form of tech, which are set up and executed well. When it comes to how well the puzzles fit into the theme of the room, the same points apply as were mentioned regarding immersion: everything would fit in if it were written into the story. The puzzles that seem out of place are as well done as the rest, but thematically they don’t work as of our visit. Teamwork is necessary to solve the puzzles in this room, and that is a huge plus from our point of view.

The Mummy is a fun and entertaining experience. It is the first room planned and built by the designer, and for their first room it is quite a feat. This room is designed to be fun, and it reaches that goal. Beginners will enjoy the room, and if the story is developed and all of the pieces tied together more tightly, experienced escape addicts will enjoy it too.