Room Escape Artist

Johanna is one of Bavaria’s best escape rooms. Here are our other escape room recommendations in the region. While not exactly near by, if you’re playing escape rooms in Germany, consider a trip to Berlin or Hamburg. Here are our recommendations for Berlin escape rooms and Hamburg escape rooms.

Hauntingly beautiful

Location: Dorfen, Germany

Date Played: June 22, 2024

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

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: 35€ per player for 2 players to 24€ per player for 6 players

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: Nothing of note

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Escape Room Dorfen’s Johanna immersed us in an ethereal tale of ghostly love. More atmospheric than scary, this puzzle-centric adventure was a shiny new standout within the Bavarian escape room scene.

Between Johanna and Bavari Sacrilegio, Escape Room Dorfen crafted a compelling interconnected world that emerged from local history while telling its own original story. Both games featured a high level of both interaction design and set design, with Johanna leaning more into adventure and exploration and Bavari Sacrilegio leaning more into straight-up puzzles. These play styles were complementary, and experiencing the two games back-to-back (ideally Bavari Sacrilegio followed by Johanna) led to a whole that was even greater than the sum of its parts.

While Johanna was a masterpiece in its own right, it was yet more impressive within the context of Escape Room Dorfen’s progression as escape room creators. I love seeing how escape room companies evolve over time, and I frequently make a point to play the older rooms at companies that have top new games. I’d heard chatter of Escape Room Dorfen’s stellar puzzle design, but their older 3 games were not available to play in English. I did, however, get a brief walkthrough of these games after finishing Johanna, and while the puzzles indeed seemed quite creative, the sets were nothing to write home about and the marketing imagery looked like clip art, especially alongside the gorgeously illustrated posters for Johanna and Bavari Sacrilegio.

I share this contrast not as a knock on those older games, but as utter admiration for a level of humility that enabled Escape Room Dorfen to level up by a truly jaw-dropping margin. They recognized their strengths as puzzle designers, and realizing that they could collaborate with outside artists, they massively improved their set design, graphic design, lighting, and overall immersion all at once, and across 2 new experiences released around the same time. It’s hard to make escape rooms, and creators often try to wear so many hats simultaneously — but they don’t always have to.

Some of this assistance came from established leaders in the Germany escape room scene: THE ROOM Labs consulted on both Jonanna and Bavari Sacrilegio. Johanna felt reminiscent of THE ROOM’s Ghosthunter Brandon Darkmoor; both share a certain moody lighting style, vividness of texture, and general ghostly theming. Yet, it was exciting to see this distinctive cinematic style taken in a more explicitly puzzle-forward direction that still maintained a strong narrative focus, also relative to a more task-based cinematic adventure like The Tale of the Heartless Pirate at Dream Labs. These 3 German standouts are all world-class premium experiences that each represent different yet equally valid and important directions for escape rooms.

I went into Johanna knowing practically nothing, and we may have even been the first group to play in English. I exited misty eyed, thoroughly surprised, delighted, and inspired by this beautiful experience. For locals and touring escape enthusiasts alike, Johanna is not to be missed.

Who is this for?

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

Why play?

• Impressive integration of puzzles, story, and scenery
• A touching ghost story

Story

We checked out Escape Room Dorfen’s back storage room to investigate some strange sounds and paranormal activity that had been reported within.

Setting

Johanna took place in an old, abandoned wing of the building that now houses Escape Room Dorfen. With peeling wallpaper, weathered wood, and a thunderstorm brewing outside, you could really feel the layers of history in this place.

Gameplay

Escape Room Dorfen’s Johanna was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

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

Analysis

➕ Johanna balanced elegant puzzles, a gorgeous set, and a compelling narrative arc. It flowed phenomenally and delivered the full package.

➕ Layout, lighting, and sound design all worked in tandem to guide our movement and mood. Nuanced environmental effects heightened the realism and helped the space feel timelessly alive.

➕ With well placed lighting and handheld lanterns, Escape Room Dorfen created a moodily dim environment which was sufficiently bright to comfortably puzzle in. The photos in this review don’t begin to capture the impeccable in-person vibe.

➕ Johanna featured puzzles that were not just clever, but that also consistently required communication, fit the narrative, and were creatively integrated into the physical space.

➕/➖ Contrasting environmental textures shepherded a sharp transition. I appreciated the effort to also apply this progression to the gameplay, though your mileage may vary on whether a short segment of gameplay lands more as storytelling or just less interesting puzzles.

➕ There was a high attention to detail throughout every prop in Johanna. In particular, numerous high-quality 3D printed items blended in seamlessly, with impressive heft and finishing textures.

➖ By recognizing a fairly common puzzle mechanic prematurely, we accidentally bypassed one of the more elegant puzzles of the game. Without a shadow of a doubt, this sequence-breaking possibility could be tightened to ensure all players get the full experience.

➕ Johanna told a ghost story with a level of maturity and nuance rarely seen in escape rooms. The emotional payoff was small, focused, and profound.

➕ A passageway connected parts of Johanna and Bavari Sacrilegio, physically positioning the two spaces relative to one another. This door is typically kept locked during normal games, but we were told that for larger groups who might split up and play the two games simultaneously, they can reunite with the other team in the middle. This seems like a cool and unique way to create a shared experience.

Tips For Visiting

• The full title of the game translates to Johanna, the White Woman from Moosen Monastery.
• Johanna is available to play in German or English.

Book your hour with Escape Room Dorfen’s Johanna, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.