Inclán Brutal Bar – Escape Room [Review]

Duty Calls

Location:  Madrid, Spain

Date Played: June 14, 2023

Team Size: 1; we recommend 1-4

Duration: 3-60 minutes, depending on player’s combine bowel movements

Price: Free

Ticketing: Public

Game Breakage: Yes, the water pressure in the left sink was lacking

Accessibility Consideration:  Players must be able to all fit in a very small space, approximately the size of a bathroom stall.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] Locking yourself in is optional

Physical Restraints: [BYOH] Bring your own handcuffs

REA Reaction

While in Madrid for escape rooms, we saw this sign:

Of course, as an escape room reviewer, I just immediately knew I had to review it. We were in the city to play escape rooms, so why not cover this one? Room Escape Artist loves covering the most interesting and unique takes on the genre, and while mis-labeled bathrooms are not our norm, we decided to dive deep and uncover the hidden truths behind an otherwise mundane bathroom. Spoiler alert: It was just a bathroom.

Escape Room was a unique experience unlike any we had done before. Spain is known for cold start games, which begin the moment you enter the facility without any introduction. This game was no exception. We never saw a gamemaster, never paid, and were quite unsure when the game started or ended. We didn’t even know the entrance was an entrance!

Whoever set up our experience really did not put the time and effort into ensuring the reset was correct. We found unlocked cabinets hiding clues, overflowing garbage cans with seemingly no puzzles, red herrings, and multiple items without clear use. We also encountered a lot of water, and pouring it into multiple holes did not yield any clues. This seemed like a blatant safety hazard, and will in time ruin the game if not flood the facility.

The puzzles were very unclear, yet fun. Our team was giggling along with the potty humor and having fun with the input mechanisms. We quite liked one interaction with some toilet paper, but I won’t spoil it!

We really like the décor that Inclán Brutal Bar has implemented, and truly think this experience could flourish with some more cluing for the puzzles.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Any experience level, once potty trained

Why play?

• Unique décor with do-it-yourself interactions 
• When duty calls 
• Because you have to

Story

We were in need of a bathroom and found ourselves in one labeled “escape room”… so here I am reviewing it.

Setting

Escape Room was set in a lovely and very realistic bathroom. Inclán Brutal Bar really put effort into making the set as real to the subject matter as possible, with running toilets and working sinks. The walls were adorned with red herring wallpaper and the spot lighting fit the mood. Every inch of the space was well designed aesthetically. 

Gameplay

Inclán Brutal Bar’s Escape Room was a standard bathroom with a variable level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, sitting, standing, discussing, and collaborating. 

Analysis

➕/➖ The décor was lovely, with bright red walls covered in fish. The red herrings were a bit unsettling though. 

➖ The gamemaster made a mess of the reset. It’s like they almost expected us to reset the room ourselves? They left boxes unlocked and the garbage hadn’t been taken out in a while. 

➖ Where puzzles started and ended was unclear. Once the puzzles were identified, we were still stuck on how to exactly solve them, and there was a strong lack of feedback when something was solved. 

➕ The room was clean enough, it seemed like they genuinely sent in a gamemaster to clean at least once a day. 

➖ When we finished the game, we were not greeted by any gamemaster. Instead, we ran into the next group. It’s unclear why they just funnel players through like this without any regard to booking timeslots. 

➕ The lobby served cocktails and snacks, which was perfect for some post-game grub. We really loved how their lobby design extended beyond the game space. 

Tips For Visiting

• Please note that this experience is in their Madrid location. It is unclear if their other locations have this experience. 
• We recommend checking out the lobby for some cocktails and bar food. The burrata was particularly tasty. 
• For more on escape rooms and bathrooms check out Escape The Bathroom – Musings on Escape Room Facilities (2019) and Escape Room Owners: Bathrooms & You (2020).

Book your hour with Inclán Brutal Bar’s Escape Room, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.