Room Escape Artist

Corpse Inc. is one of the best escape rooms in the Netherlands. Here are our recommendations for other great escape rooms near Amsterdam.

Spira’s 4

Location:  Baarn, Netherlands

Date Played: February 18, 2024

Team size: 3-6; we recommend 3-5

Duration: 75 minutes

Price: from €149 per team

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  All players need to crawl, crouch, and climb stairs.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Despite its name, CORPSE INC was tonally one of the lighter games we played on our recent trip to The Netherlands. We booked it on reputation alone, without reading anything, and given prevalent game design trends we assumed this highly recommended escape room was horror. In fact, it was a heist.

We each took on a role in this well-coordinated heist. In escape rooms, when we don’t play as ourselves, our roles often feel forced or interchangeable. With CORPSE INC, however, we were empowered by the roles. We were prepared. We all enjoyed playing our parts. (There was even a perfect role for the person who is uncomfortable with roles!) Our one critique with this set up was that it was so good that we wished Escape Room Junkie had pushed it further.

Overall this game was frenetic and exciting. It both took itself incredibly seriously… and also not seriously at all. Everything was all in good fun.

Our biggest disappointment with CORPSE INC was that it took up so much space… not because we don’t love a good getaway, but because there’s no room in the building for a second game, and we’d really like to see more from Escape Room Junkie.

We’re really glad we played CORPSE INC. We played it near the end of our trip when we were exhausted, and it was energizing. It was unlike any escape game we’ve played recently. The novelty – along with stellar execution – was invigorating.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Heist fans
• Any experience level
• Players who enjoy role-playing and acting

Why play?

• The playful tone
• To be your own character
• The thrill of a heist

Story

We entered a mortuary to get the remains of an individual out of the facility. We had to weasel our way in under the eyes of a security guard and remain undetected to accomplish this mission.

Setting

CORPSE INC. began outside the mortuary where we assumed roles and prepared to enter the facility. The sets were detailed. The first main set felt realistically clinical.

Gameplay

Escape Room Junkie’s CORPSE INC. was a standard escape room with an element of role-playing and actor interaction. It had a moderate level of difficulty.

There were different elements to the gameplay. In some sections it involved sneaking, lying, and roleplaying. In other segments, we focused on observing, making connections, and solving puzzles. We also needed a bit of agility as maneuvering through the gamespace was also a crucial component of play.

Analysis

➕ From the opening moments the tone of this heist was playful. It was a silly situation that just begged for a heist.

➕ We were eager to become our characters and thwart the security guard. We each had a role, which was an effective set up. Escape Room Junkie provided everything we needed, and there was a “designed” way to outwit the guard. However, we had the freedom to become our characters and find our own paths to accomplishing our goals. There was ample opportunity for creativity. I also appreciated that there was a role for the teammate who is less comfortable engaging in character.

➖ The written instructions we received to start the experience were slightly unclear. Although we were playing different characters, we needed to work together to plot our entire team’s entry into the facility, which wasn’t clear to us. Our actor had to stall one player (adding to our confusion) so that we wouldn’t unwittingly box ourselves out.

➖ CORPSE INC. was weakest when it was puzzle-centric. One scene had multiple logic puzzles, which had us focused on papers rather than the impressive set. These puzzles then culminated in an underwhelming communication puzzle.

➕ We love a good plot twist.

➕ CORPSE INC. felt like a heist. The later scenes got our adrenaline pumping. There were stakes, which felt real. The game design was fair, forgiving, and fun.

➕ The set was vast. It was well designed and each space felt distinctive.

➖ We worried about the genuinely sharp and heavy objects used as set dressing. While realistic, these seemed like unnecessary dangers.

➕/➖ We raced through a whole room, barely having time to appreciate it. The scene worked perfectly, but we lament the amount of real estate that players can only appreciate through the adrenaline the scene created.

➕ The hint system made sense for the experience. It worked well.

🔌 Escape Room Junkie was having some technical issues at the time of our visit. Their staff adapted spectacularly to make sure the game ran well. As one of our teammates received messages to help us through a specific section over the in-world hint system, he covered for the issues so the rest of us never knew. While I’m sure the game would run more smoothly and certain moments would be more impressive when everything works, these issues didn’t negatively impact our experience. In fact, it’s kind of cool to see a company handle technical failures as gracefully as the Escape Room Junkie crew. Respect.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.
• Here are our tips for playing escape games with actors.

Book your experience at Escape Room Junkie’s CORPSE INC., and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Escape Room Junkie comped our tickets for this game.