Ghost PatrolTrivium GamesEscape roomIRLDefinitely play Ghost Patrol! It’s one of the rare escape rooms that you can spend all night talking about after you’ve done it. First of all, our Game Master was great and the Intro to the Game is really well done. The set design is outstanding, and the environments change enough in the progression of the game to keep it interesting. Where this escape room shines for me was the puzzles though. From the first puzzle you get a direct tie-in to the story, and each puzzle makes sense in the environment. We also never felt lost and always knew what the next step would be, which speaks for great game design. In the end, Ghost Patrol doesn’t do anything phenomenally new, but everything it does is done to perfection. The sound design, the lights, the puzzles, and the story all work together so so well. The only “complaint” I’d have is that the game is listed on the website as minimum 4 players. I think enthusiasts should play it with 2-4 players, as it’s doable in the time limit, and you’ll get to experience all the puzzles yourself!
The DomeMama BazookaEscape roomIRLThe Dome is so densely packed with great effects, and creates a high-energy chaotic experience that fits very well with the setting. There's a story that threads everything together, but the main focus is on effects and puzzles. And those are done very very well. Unfortunately there were some technical problems in our game, and we received some hints for puzzles we had already completed. In the debrief it became clear that our game master unfortunately wasn't always behind the cameras for our game. These are minor negatives, but not something we expected for such a highly rated game. They also mentioned that the ending of the game was recently changed, and to be honest I'm not sure if it's an improvement, as the game ended very abruptly, and there was no real conclusion to the story.
Molly's GameUntold Stories Experiences [prev. Down the Hatch]Escape roomIRLMolly's Game manages to capture and perfect the essential "escape room". There's no actors, no horror, just a great story with challenging puzzles. We loved the game because it had such a great flow, it never felt easy to solve, but we almost never felt stuck. The puzzles throughout the game feel connected to each other, unlike other games where the puzzles are very clearly different. Yet it never felt repetitive to solve them.
Stay In The DarkDark Park VlaardingenEscape roomIRL𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 �𓅝𓃄 �𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿 𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 𓂨𓅝𓃄 𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿This review contains spoilers.Unscramble𓀗
The AlchemistSherlockedEscape roomIRLPlaying The Alchemist feels like stepping into a real-life version of The Room series by Fireproof Studios, blending clever puzzles and complex contraptions for a truly engaging experience. With high-quality production and a unique storyline, it’s a standout game that’s definitely recommended—and a must-play if you’re in Amsterdam!
Secret TalesNext Level EscapeEscape roomIRLSecret Tales is a great experience, which is the focus of the game. The set design is great, there's dynamic lights and sounds throughout the game, and some unexpected and impactful effects along the way. The puzzles are all fun to solve, although we had an issue with two of the puzzles, where it was hard to visually see the important stuff needed (both times due to very subtle differences in colour). If these issues were fixed, there's a great flow to the game with some interesting hinting techniques as well. All in all Secret Tales is just a lot of fun to play, with more than one very memorable moment to talk about after the game!
The EndDarkPark ZoetermeerEscape roomIRLOne of my all time favourite games. The story telling is superb, and it feels like you're discovering the story by yourself, and not, as is often the case, by reading texts, spoken audio book parts etc. The soundtrack is just great as well, and is timed with light and effects perfectly. Our Game Masters were great, and we had a lot of fun talking about the game afterwards!
Going UndergroundCrime Runners - Branch Alser StrasseEscape roomIRLThis game keeps you on your toes from start to finish, and is one of the best games out there when it comes to storytelling. What Going Underground excels at is the story, you never know quite what to expect next, and there’s more than one twist along the way. The set is really immersive and the changes of scenery keep everything fresh. There’s some great tech involved not only in the puzzles, but also in how the environment changes as you progress in the game. The puzzles are fun to solve, except maybe the last puzzle (I can see it being either fun or very frustrating depending on the team). I would recommend for enthusiasts to only take a small group though, no more than 4, as the puzzles are on the easier side and you’ll want to do everything yourself ;)
Lab RatHatch EscapesEscape roomIRLWe definitely enjoyed Lab Rat! Our game host was very friendly, and you can even get some free coffee in the lobby!! In the game itself we enjoyed the story and the weirdness of the experience, it is definitely something special. We loved some of the puzzles, but there were also one or two that we didn’t enjoy quite as much as the solution felt a bit far fetched and is definitely harder to get for non native English speakers. I think we definitely hyped up our expectations considering all the awesome reviews and awards this game has received, and were slightly let down with the game, especially the look of the game itself. You can definitely tell that this game has been open for a while, and some of the rooms toward the end of the game kind of drop the great theme of being a trapped rat. We loved how the game played with size, making you feel smaller like an actual rat, but later in the game you encounter some rooms that are “human” sized again, without there really being a reason for that in the story. I would still encourage everyone to check out this game, but try to not get too excited about it before hand to avoid being disappointed. It was still a lot of fun and definitely a stand out game. For enthusiasts I would recommend to go with no more than 4 players.
Moriarty's ManorMindFox EscapeEscape roomIRLI’m glad that we played Moriarty’s Manor, as we almost skipped it for being another Sherlock themed game. However, we were pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed our game! The puzzles were the highlight for me, as they are challenging but you never feel lost. You always have a sense of almost being at the solution, you just need to think a bit harder, and once you solve the puzzle it just feels really satisfying. The diversity in the puzzles was also great. There was one part of the game were some outside knowledge is required, however everyone that’s slightly familiar with Sherlock won’t have any problems. The quite big game also looks nice, nothing too out of the ordinary but well done. Our hosts were also very friendly and it is, so far, the only room where we were met with applause upon escaping =)
