Falderon Forest is one of the best escape rooms around Montreal, Canada. Here are our recommendations for great escape rooms in the Montreal area.
Fairy Family Dinner
We played this escape room a few days ahead of Escape Immerse Explore: Montreal 2021, before the game was officially open to the public. At the time of review publication, it isn’t yet available for booking on Sauve Qui Peut’s website.
Location: Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, QC, Canada
Date Played: October 8, 2021
Team size: we recommend 4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $36 CAD per player
Ticketing: Private
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
Falderon Forest was a compact, gorgeous, and innovative game with a sense of humor.
The stars of this Falderon Forest were the environment and the interaction design. Each player was given a different tool (sword, crystal ball, magic tome, or wand) to engage with the world. They were unique and offered each individual their own opportunities to interact with the environment. All of that was set in a game world that felt like a fantasy land, each space selling its fiction remarkably well.
Sauve Qui Peut added personality to the game with an adaptive hint system that was both funny and responsive, while also smoothing over difficulty for teams that needed it. This worked well… when a player was actively listening for it, but could be missed if no one was paying attention.
We were the first team to play Falderon Forest in English, and our playthrough was buggy, but Sauve Qui Peut handled the bugs well. When we saw other teams play it on our Escape, Immerse, Explore: Montreal 2021 tour, they had resolved most (but not all) of the bugs. I expect that all of the issues will be resolved, but go in knowing that Falderon Forest is a technological beast, and sometimes that invites issues.
The greater Montreal area has a ton of incredible escape games, and any conversation about the top games in the region must include Falderon Forest. This is a must-play game in a region that is worth traveling to.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Scenery snobs
- Technophiles
- Comedy fans
- Best for players with at least some experience
Why play?
- Adorable, impressive magical set
- The tone was hilarious
- Use of magical items
Story
As intrepid adventurers, our party had wandered into a fairy forest. The fairies were in crisis and needed help restoring the forest’s magic.
Setting
The fairy forest was gorgeous, and felt considerably larger than it was. Sauve Qui Peut did some magical construction to bring this space to life, as years of escape room experience has shown just how hard it is to make a compelling forest set.
As we pushed deeper into the game, each new location that we found was equally gorgeous and creative.
The set for Falderon Forest was small, but Sauve Qui Peut made it feel big enough.
Gameplay
Sauve Qui Peut’s Falderon Forest was an usual escape room that blurred the lines between clues, hints, and fun.
It also had adaptive difficulty. Teams that play more quickly will be presented with additional puzzles in the last act.
Core gameplay revolved around observing, making connections, puzzling, and interacting with the fairies who live in this world. Listening and engaging was crucial to success.
Analysis
➕ The magical items were distinct, but all equally relevant, and all important to the gameplay. We’ve seen the “magical item” or “special power”mechanic a number of times, and Falderon Forest had the most balanced implementation we’ve encountered to date. Each magical item made its bearer feel powerful in turn.
➕ The fairies were hilarious. They each had a distinct character, which was set up in the opening act and became stronger throughout the game. The voicing was spot on. The playful banter made this experience.
❓ While we enjoyed the tone of Falderon Forest, we expect it won’t be for everyone. You have to engage with it to appreciate it, and for some players it will likely be more distracting and annoying than entertaining and fun.
➖ It could be hard to parse the banter from the clue structure from the hints. We needed to pay close attention, and at times it was frustrating.
➕ Sauve Qui Peut created a compelling forest set that felt a lot larger than it was. The forest contained exquisitely detailed fairy dwellings that added character and intrigue at a smaller scale. This forest also kept a secret well hidden.
➕/➖ The middle act was adorable, but uncomfortable. We appreciated how Sauve Qui Peut constructed proportions that made us feel like giants in this world. It gave the set an unusual and endearing vibe. That said, it was challenging to maneuver and teammates were always in the way. We quickly became uncomfortable hunched over one area with a more complex puzzle.
➖ Access was a consistent challenge in the middle act. Every puzzle and interaction was somehow hard to get to. We were continually doing the dance of teammates (and our magical items): you go in, I step aside, someone else moves out of the way… but passes the magical item to the person in position.
➖ The middle section dragged a bit. It included 2 challenging, layered puzzles. One was more tedious than fun, and felt decidedly less magical than the rest of that act.
➖ We encountered one gating issue whereby we could take a fun set interaction before it was truly available.
➕ I like logic puzzles, but I don’t typically enjoy them in escape rooms. Sauve Qui Peut succeeded at making a logic puzzle interactive, collaborative, and engaging. Furthermore, if a team just can’t solve it (and some can’t – it’s still a logic puzzle, after all), the adaptive difficulty would lighten the puzzle without teams ever realizing it. This was hands down the most entertaining logic puzzle I’ve encountered in an escape room.
➕ Every team has to work for the finale in the last act of Falderon Forest. With the adaptive difficulty, a team that’s behind will be hinted, and a team that’s ahead will be presented with additional layers of puzzle content. In this way, each team can experience pressure and excitement.
➕ Falderon Forest ended with an exciting, festive and appropriately playful celebration that nailed the tone of the game and felt like a true finale.
Tips For Visiting
- There is metered street parking.
Book your hour with Sauve Qui Peut’s Falderon Forest, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Sauve Qui Peut comped our tickets for this game.
