Room Escape Artist

Ask Soltan

Location:  Antwerp, Belgium

Date Played: June 22, 2024

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

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: 130 € per team

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  One transition requires players to crawl.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Illusionist was a traditional escape room that presented us with a stage magic-themed puzzle gauntlet.

Each room varied in feel, but each presented well-crafted puzzles and props in otherwise minimalistic environments.

The first couple of rooms didn’t immediately grab our attention, but once we worked through them, we found the mid and late game quite compelling. At its best, some of these puzzles were evocative of the video game series The Room.

De Kraakfabriek Escape Games was conveniently located in Antwerp, and if you’re in the area, it’s worth checking out for traditional, puzzle-driven play.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Magic fans
• Any experience level

Why play?

• A large number of well-designed puzzles
• At its best, some of these puzzle evoked the video game series The Room

Story

Antoon Ackerman, better know by his stage name, “The Great Hyperion” had passed away. He had made one final show for his fans. Step inside and see it for yourself.

Setting

The Illusionist took us through many spaces. Each was filled with detailed props, set within mostly minimalistic rooms. The rooms felt like containers for the props and puzzles, which were generally quite nice.

Gameplay

De Kraakfabriek Escape Games’ The Illusionist was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty and a heavy focus on puzzles.

Core gameplay revolved around puzzling and making connections.

Analysis

➖ The first room was uninteresting. The room didn’t look like much and it lacked intriguing, purposely crafted props. To solve the puzzle, we followed written out instructions. It was an unimpressive beginning.

➖ From there, we moved to a slightly more interesting room, but the gameplay felt uninspired. While it did have a nifty reveal, unfortunately this malfunctioned during our playthrough, and the replacement prop was missing a key piece or two.

➕ As we progressed, the The Illusionist continued to escalate in pretty much every way. The puzzles became gradually more complex and more intriguing. We felt like we really earned the finale, which was high energy and engaged the entire team.

➕ The Illusionist was a puzzler’s escape room. There were multiple layered solves. However, not everything was logic and connections. We also maneuvered props creatively and lined up other props to illuminate fun reveals.

➕ The puzzles gave good feedback. We knew when we were on the right track.

➖ De Kraakfabriek Escape Games didn’t put much effort into set design or storytelling. The sets were merely containers for the puzzles. The characters were simply backstory. There was opportunity for the gameplay to be a part of a much more dynamic world.

➕ De Kraakfabriek Escape Games took care in prop design. We loved the beautifully laser cut props. They hand painted many little details.

Tips For Visiting

• This game is available in Dutch and English.
• There is metered street parking.

Book your hour with De Kraakfabriek Escape Games’ The Illusionist, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: De Kraakfabriek Escape Games comped our tickets for this game.