NextRelic

I should probably preface this review by admitting that I’d only been to one other escape room prior to this — so while I’m not an escape room connoisseur, I thought one was pretty good.
Without giving too much away: you’re trapped in what’s essentially a haunted house. The puzzles are less pen-​to-​paper, and more practical problem-​solving. As in: happy to report that there’s no sudoku here, whew! That being said, not to worry if you’re not too physically fit: you won’t be expected to have to do some Lara Croft-​style flips to get out (although if you or a team member uses a wheelchair, I’m not sure that this place has any ramps). Anyone visually impaired to the point of being unable to see in dim lighting (I’m thinking of my parents here for example) might also want to reconsider playing this game too.
So what makes NextRelic so fun? The theme is done quite well and gives a real creepy atmosphere, adding to the suspense of the whole game. Creepy in a theme park haunted mansion type of way, not like «Is this whole game some sort of scam where someone is going to drug me and then steal my kidney?» kind.
The walkie-​talkie provided to us at the beginning of the game to receive tips and a clock countdown was very staticky and muffled. Not sure if that was on purpose to add an extra air of mystery, or it was just running out of batteries. Also, you’re warned before the game to not to take anything apart (ie: furniture) — this part added to my suspense level because I had just paid with my credit card and was worried I’d be charged for broken things. As in: I don’t want to get «murdered» in a creepy house, but more than that, please don’t charge me extra for taking items apart! (SPOILER ALERT: If you come across a fixture part above you in the first level that you think you might be able to use by removing it — well, don’t. It’s just a real-​life loose piece of fixture, it’s not part of the game, and it’s hard to put back).
If you just remember the «don’t break anything» rule, I think you’ll have lots of fun.
NextRelic has a pretty high escape success rate at around 25%, but even if you don’t escape you’ll still have fun. For the record — we narrowly escaped with only 15 seconds left on the clock. I tell you, running for the exit like my pants were on fire was actually quite fun.
Looking forward to NextRelic’s NEXT NextRelic!

Our group had a great time at this escape room. It was a lot of fun, decently complex, and pretty creepy. I especially like how we could reserve it for our group, no matter the size and didn’t have to play with strangers. The desk staff was friendly. I would recommend it.

The best escape room I’ve been to in Toronto!
Given — I’ve only been to 3 locations and the ones I have been to were the first generation of escape rooms available. My first few experiences really turned me off from escape rooms because they weren’t as elaborate or complex as I would’ve hoped. They were always — find a key, to find another key, to open another lock to leave the same way you came in.
NextRelic blew my mind away as soon as I had to put on these dark glasses and got led into the room by the attendant. The atmosphere of the room, the music, the props, everything fit into the general spooky theme so well. Nothing pops ups or tries to scare you, but every time we solved a puzzle, something would «click» or drop and I would scream anyway (I scare easily). I love the attention to details the group put into creating these rooms and as everyone mentioned before, it is multi-​floor and multi-​room game. I went in as a group of 4 and got out in 48 mins — the attendant was incredibly nice and he wants you to succeed so the puzzles aren’t meant to stump you or be incredibly time consuming. You just have to think outside the box. Some of the solutions are so well designed because they really utilize the full potential of technology available. Love it! Highly recommended! The attendant also told me that they were opening a new location soon so I can’t wait!

My experience at NextRelic was incredible!
Right off the bat, we solved the first puzzle of simply locating NextRelic. If you find yourself lost, it’s located right next to the signs and banner store! The NextRelic sign is quite hard to see from the outside as it’s through the window and behind blinds. This didn’t cause us much stress as we left with plenty of time before our booking.
Four of us decided to try our hand at this escape room. I don’t want to spoil anything about this game for future visitors so I will leave this review rather short.
NextRelic has created an escape room that uses a lot of «out of the box» thinking and incredibly creative puzzles that visitors need to solve in order to make their way through multiple rooms. The theme is rather haunting and the unnerving environment added another element to the room: FEAR.
This created an exhilarating experience that we could all laugh about at the end.
Amazing job to Leo the Game Master who has built an AWESOME experience for his guests.
I hope NextRelic has its sights on creating a new room in the future because I already want to come back!
–Ashley Marie

Disclaimer: I love board games. When I heard that «live» board games were coming to Toronto I forced my various groups of friends to try them out. I’ve completed about a dozen of them with a pretty high escape rate. My bragging aside, this craze spread fast and sadly that brought about a loss of quality and creativity. A lot of recent ones have resorted to the cookie cutter model of «stuck in one room, solve a locked box to reveal… another locked box».
Disclaimer #2: Slight spoilers ahead. Next Relic is luckily not that. It’s a multi level and multi room maze with a creative start. Large rooms, well decorated to set the mood, with various types of puzzles. You need to use your puzzle solving skills as well as having honed vision and hearing to solve some of the riddles. It’s a bit pricier than the usual «one room» escape rooms but given the size and creativity it’s well worth the price.

GO NOW!!!
There’s a Groupon that’s not good for much longer. If you can book one of the remaining time slots (yes, you may have to book a week or two out) for the groupon price then this is the best escape room value in the city.
NextRelic is easily accessible off the highway and the room is excellent. The tech in this room is better than anywhere else in the city, both in quality and how well it’s incorporated into the game.
My group of 4 paid $ 50 total with the groupon and taxes. I’d recommend four in your group, unless you’re inexperienced at these rooms in which case one or two more could be ok.
The downsides are how tough the room is to book, since they only have one room and it only runs once every two hours. As well the theme is a little on the weak side with minimal back story given.
Overall I’d say this is one of the top 5 rooms in the city in many aspects. It’s very tech heavy, but it all worked and didn’t cause any real frustrations. Even at the full price this place is definitely worth it, but try and get in for cheap while you can.

Loved the place, loved the challenge, Leo was very accommodating, highly recommended. We couldn’t solve the puzzle and hope you have a better chance at it!
60 min flew by :)

The best escape game I have been to thus far in GTA. Intuitive game design with multi-​room and floor mode. A must try for anyone who is into puzzles and out-​of-​the-​box thinking.

I’ve been to many Escape games across the city, and NextRelic far exceeds all that I’ve tried. Great puzzles that make sense and amazing design!
Great for a group of 4 or more… there seems to be a puzzle for various skill sets.
Definitely a great way to start off 2015!