Room Escape Artist

Soup du Jour is one of the best escape rooms in The Netherlands. Here are our recommendations for other great escape rooms in The Netherlands.

Bon appétit

Location:  Amersfoort, Netherlands

Date Played: February 18, 2024

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 75 minutes

Price: €155 per team

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  All players need to crawl.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Rock City Escape is located inside a deconsecrated monastery, and they lean into the setting. Their games are run by nuns and monks who never break character. It’s an incredible building in which to construct escape games.

In Soup du Jour, tension meets absurdity, in a restaurant setting… which was a unique and delightful staging.

Rock City Escape brought the main character of Soup du Jour to life through video, with a finesse that we rarely see in escape room video work. The game told an unusual story. Plus, it had killer transitions.

Our main critique was the abrupt ending, which felt like the ending to a different game.

Soup du Jour is horror, but it’s not downright terrifying. For those who love horror, this is a must-play. And for those who are intrigued by horror, but prefer a more playful take on the genre, Soup du Jour is intense and bizarre… so really, it is the perfect choice.

There was a lot of love in Soup du Jour; this place is worth driving out of your way to visit.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Any experience level

Why play?

• An unusual and amusing theme
• Video and projection cut-scenes
• An inclusive solo-moment

Story

A new restaurant, Le Monastère, recently opened at a nearby monastery to much acclaim. In fact, the chef had been awarded a Michelin star for his soup. However, nuns kept disappearing from the monastery. We secured a dinner reservation, but we weren’t there for the food. We wanted to know why the chef was so tight lipped and what sinister things were happening in the kitchen.

Setting

A nun lead us to the restaurant. We made our way into the dining room. It was artistically decorated. Tables were set for service.

Gameplay

Rock City Escape’s Soup du Jour was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and solving puzzling. Communication was also especially important.

Analysis

➕ Soup du Jour had a sense of humor. It didn’t take itself too seriously. It was dark, but playful.

➕ Soup du Jour was a puzzley escape room. The puzzles flowed well, with good feedback.

➕ The video cut scenes rewarded our solves and moved the story forward. The video production was high quality, and perfectly in tone with the game.

➕ The first act culminated in an exceptional video projection. This was beautiful, thematic, entertaining, and well-paced.

➖ One transition lacked clear stage directions. We needed more in-world signposting for how to move through the space.

➕ One especially meaty puzzle probably hangs many teams. It was unusual and we enjoyed it.

➖ The plot points (and the motive!) unraveled in a rush in the final scene. We would have liked the narrative drama to start building earlier in the experience. We didn’t feel a real connection to some of these characters.

➖ We had the sense that the final scene was meant to be scary, but instead it was funny. Since the game was humorous, this wasn’t far off, but somehow the ending tone didn’t quite match the rest of the experience.

➕ Rock City Escape cooked up a wonderful solo moment in Soup du Jour. The player who opted to go alone felt the thrills of any solo moment: the fear of the unknown and the need to rely on themself. The teammates who stayed behind, however, got to enjoy the humorous effects baked into a scene transition. Win-win.

Tips For Visiting

• Rock City Escape is located in the beautiful OLV ter Eemklooster (Our Beloved Lady of the Eem monastery) in Amersfoort. There is parking in front of the entrance to the escape room. See the map on their website for details.
• This is a horror game. It’s not terrifying, but it is dramatic.

Book your experience at Rock City Escape’s Soup du Jour, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Rock City Escape provided media discounted tickets for this game.