Room Escape Artist

Visiting hour

Location:  Rijswijk, Netherlands

Date Played: February 17, 2024

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

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: €145 per team Monday-Thursday, €155 per team Friday-Sunday

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  All players must climb stairs.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Execution opened with a spark, and ended with a bang… but dragged in the middle.

Right out of the gate, the beginning stood out because it brought a playfully theatrical twist.

The ending wowed with some larger set pieces. Once of these was used for a stellar reveal. Another provided a wonderful interaction. As we escaped, our energy was high. In the middle, however, most of the gameplay was a slog. It felt like a prison escape room; escape room logic was quite prevalent.

If you’re visiting OuterGrounds, play Jason’s Legacy, which is more even from start to finish. However, if you have time for another game, add The Execution. Especially for less experienced players, there were some explosive moments to enjoy.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Prison break fans
• Any experience level

Why play?

• The twist out of the gate
• The penultimate and concluding gameplay sequences

Story

We’d been invited to attend an execution by electric chair. When we showed up, the execution didn’t quite proceed as we’d expected.

Setting

This jail was convincing, with unfriendly stone walls and and barred doors. The weathered set made an impression.

Gameplay

OuterGround’s The Execution was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and solving puzzles.

Analysis

➕ The in-character introduction revealed a plot twist almost immediately. It made room for us to play. Plus, it created amusing souvenirs.

➕ OuterGround built a convincing prison set. It was well weathered and stark.

➕ After the opening scene, The Execution transitioned into a puzzle-forward game. The highlights were a few communication-centric layered puzzles.

➖ The early puzzle design wasn’t tight. First we encountered lack of feedback. Soon after we search-failed pretty badly (which was on us), but we never realized we were trying to solve a puzzle without all the information because of misleading cluing.

➖ In the middle section, the puzzle design was heavy on the “escape room logic.” Our actions didn’t make sense in our story.

➕ One puzzle asked us to think outside the box of our gamespace… which worked narratively and mechanically.

➖ One interaction took more force than we expected, but was positioned in such a way that one player had to continually bash their hand on a prop while exerting the necessary force.

➕ The late game puzzle solves led into phenomenal reveals with explosive effects. This game hit its stride in the penultimate act and went out with a splash.

Tips For Visiting

• There is street parking nearby.

Book your hour with OuterGround’s The Execution, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Outerground provided media discounted tickets for this game.