Room Escape Artist

Beast of Berlin is one of the best escape rooms in Berlin, Germany. Here are our recommendations for other great escape rooms in Berlin.

Update 8/4/23 from Matthew Stein: 6 years after our original review, The Beast of Berlin more than held up to current standards. Start to finish, the set and props had been well maintained and showed minimal signs of wear. The first act stayed mostly the same, whereas the second act puzzles, narrative, and musical scoring had all been upgraded, leading into a dynamic finale.

Update 4/13/21: If you enjoy Beast of Berlin, we hope you’ll check out our interview with Chris Lattner, CEO and creative director of The Room, on The Reality Escape Pod.

The roar in the roaring twenties was the sound of the Beast of Berlin.

Location: Berlin, Germany

Date played: September 4, 2017

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: from 35€ per ticket for 2 players to 22€ per ticket for 6 players

Story & setting

The notorious serial killer known only as “the Beast of Berlin” had claimed another life. His most recent victim was found boldly placed within the office of Chief Inspector Ernst Gennat, the man hunting for him. Gennat assembled a special commission to track down this killer and bring him to justice.

Beast of Berlin set us off on our adventure within the latest crime scene, Chief Inspector Gennat’s beautiful office. It looked and felt like a real and functional place.

Puzzles

From a puzzling standpoint, Beast of Berlin played similarly to The Room’s other early game, Go West… but with moderate horror tossed in for intensity.

Beast of Berlin was a puzzler’s room escape. Some of the puzzles carried narrative weight; others were simply good puzzles.

Standouts

Beast of Berlin began in a compelling and strangely beautiful detective’s office from a bygone era. It was a comfortable but intriguing space to explore.

The Room’s commitment to set detailing showed in every area of the experience. They fully decorated spaces that we barely spent any time puzzling through. This attention to detail elevated the ambiance and intensity of the surrounding experience. In spite of the level of detail, Beast of Berlin was not plagued by red herrings.

We enjoyed most of the puzzles that we encountered in Beast of Berlin.

Shortcomings

There were a few puzzles that seemed a bit too opaque or worn down.

This detective’s office included a few gorgeous props that were just… props. We would have liked to see them worked into the puzzles.

We spent the majority of Beast of Berlin moving through the escape room without any urgency. The early gameplay was emotionally level, at times even monotonous, and didn’t foreshadow – or push us towards – the excitement that was to come. Then, after the tension escalated, the ending felt small. It didn’t return adequately on the built tension.

Should I play The Room’s Beast of Berlin?

Beast of Berlin started comfortable and relatively standard, but it became far more interesting than it originally appeared.

Note that Beast of Berlin turned dark, both physically and metaphorically. If that’s not your thing, choose one of The Room’s other escape rooms.

Otherwise, regardless of your experience level, there was an intriguing set along with satisfying puzzling to enjoy in Beast of Berlin. It will be challenging, but approachable and exciting.

Following our visit, The Room closed Beast of Berlin for refurbishing. We expect that some of the heavily worn or less integrated puzzling has now been reworked for future players.

Book your hour with The Room’s Beast of Berlin, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

For a local perspective, see Escape Maniac (in German).

Full disclosure: The Room comped our tickets for this game.