Tales of Torchdale: The Toy Factory (Zoersel)

A Good Shift at the Factory

The old toy factory of the Harsh family was the leader in its industry for 5 generations. The factory was widely known for producing the most toys. Unfortunately, these days, the factory is in bad condition and the only orders they get are small and from very faraway countries. Strangely enough, the factory is always looking for additional staff. Why don’t you apply to work there for an hour? After all, the chances of being turned down are slim.

With The Toy Factory, we want to welcome you to an exciting tale in a beautiful setting. You will have to solve the most diverse puzzles against time. However, we allow you to exchange some of that time to take a moment just to enjoy the experience. Immerse yourself, and you will most definitely be surprised.

Bright and early, after a pleasant drive from Bruges, we found ourselves in Zoersel. So early in fact that we had time to pop into town to get breakfast before our first day of work (aka, our booking at The Toy Factory). Tales of Torchdale (Torchdale from now on) are located slightly out of town, but are actually a very short walk from the main high street of Zoersel. As we were the first booking of the day, we opted to park at Torchdale and walk into town for breakfast. Sadly, in my pre-trip research I missed the times on the menu at ‘t Retro Cafe, and we discovered that there would be no pancakes that morning – only coffee. But once we were fortified with caffeine, it was time to make our way back to The Toy Factory.

The door opened to The Toy Factory, and we were greeted warmly by Emre, our Foreman GM, and we were straight in. But unlike some games where our GM has been in character from the start, this wasn’t a totally cold start, and we had time to secure our belongings in the lockers, take care of the usual things that are necessary after a breakfast of nothing but coffee and cookies, and of course, dress in the appropriate uniform for our first shift at The Toy Factory.

Of course, things aren’t quite what they seem at The Toy Factory, (they never are, are they?), and it wasn’t long before things took a bit of a turn. But our waivers were signed, and we had had our ‘induction’, so  it was time to get to work, albeit with a slight sense of trepidation in the air…

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

I’ve never worked in a factory, let alone a toy factory, so I can’t comment with authority on the authenticity, but I have worked in a warehouse, and the different spaces we encountered – from the factory floor with all of its machinery to everything else we uncovered throughout our journey – made it easy to believe that we were, in fact, in a factory. This was underpinned by the excellent, and robust set design, allowing the environment to feel real, thus immersing us further into the story that was unfolding around us. And what a story it was as well.

Now, The Toy Factory seemed to be a rather dodgy place to work, and there were moments where I was definitely getting Five Nights at Freddy’s vibes. Don’t let that put you off playing, however. While there was certainly a palpable atmosphere, the Toy Factory is not a horror game, as such. But, one thing I’ve noticed with games in Belgium and the Netherlands is that story is (almost always) paramount to the experience, and The Toy Factory was no different. Although, in this case, the narrative flowed effortlessly between moments of uncertainty and trepidation to moments that were almost comedic, as we finished our shift and made our way back out to the locker room.

PUZZLES

Looking back at it, I actually really loved the puzzles in The Toy Factory, but at the time, I was finding them to be somewhat of a challenge. They’re very fair, and the telegraphing is there, but it’s subtle. And it seemed to take ages for our brains to clue into what we were meant to be doing at times. This did mean that at times, we were left feeling just a tiny bit lost. But as we continued, things started to come together and make more sense.

Translation, observation, logic, a good healthy dose of team work and communication, and strong lateral thinking skills in addition to our logical reasoning were needed throughout the game. One puzzle in particular stands out in my mind as one of the best, but simultaneously frustrating, twists on a classic escape room “communication” puzzle that I have encountered, with so many layers to it before arriving at the final correct solution.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Emre was a delight from start to finish. He played his role exceptionally well, as he welcomed us into the facility for our first day of work, ensuring we were as prepared as we could be, and joining in with the banter of our team. But just as good as his acting skills were his hosting skills.

Whenever we did find ourselves floundering just a bit in our new roles as toy factory workers, help was on hand. Our new boss at the Toy Factory was watching our every move very closely, and if we struggled to do our jobs, his voice would materialise over the loud speaker system. Sometimes he even chimed in with a bit of narrative exposition too.

ANYTHING ELSE

At times I was so confused by The Toy Factory, but looking back at it, I actually loved the game. It is beautifully designed, if a little strange at times. It’s not surprising that The Toy Factory made its debut in the 2022 TERPECA rankings, nor is it a surprise that it remained in the top 50 in 2024.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players – 46 mins

Address: Herentalsebaan 47, 2980 Zoersel, Belgium

Website: https://torchdale.be/nl/home