Room Escape Artist

Here Be Dragons

Location: Vienna, Austria

Date Played: April 4, 2026

Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 80 minutes

Price:  €34 – €63 per person, depending on team size

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: There are a few stairs and at least one player needs to crawl

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Open the Door’s Dragon Cave 2.0 surprised me. Instead of the typical medieval-themed room I was expecting, I was delighted to find a quest filled with original puzzles, surprising moments, unique transitions and fun special effects. And dragons, lots of dragons. 

We were led into the first space blindfolded, just for a few moments, which immediately immersed us in the cave adventure. Low lighting added to the dramatic effect. Around us were the remains of explorers who had failed before us, their skulls staring blankly from the stone walls. As we progressed deeper into the cave, interesting transitions elevated our experience, including one that moved us towards the next puzzle in an unexpected way. As the set expanded into a larger game space with brighter lighting, it lost some of the cave-like immersion.

Puzzles were well-themed and had a home-built touch, often using oversized props that were simply fun to interact with. Task difficulty varied from straightforward to fairly tricky. Some required teamwork and communication, while others used logic and outside-the-box thinking. One fun puzzle had a distinct, video-game-like quality that was quite whimsical, though I wished it lasted longer. When an actor made an appearance later in the game, it was done in a subtle, in-world way that enhanced, rather than interrupted our puzzling. They even added a touch of humor when we struggled with one complex task. 

The game culminated in a player choice which felt arbitrary and resulted in an underwhelming finale no matter what choice we made. Even so, it didn’t diminish the overall experience crafted by Open the Door. So if you are in the area looking for a puzzle-forward game, try a little spelunking in Dragon Cave 2.0.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level
• Dracophiles
• Potion masters
• Daenerys Targaryen

Why play?

• Lots of puzzles
• Roomy game space
• Here be dragons!

Story

We’d heard about the legendary Dragon’s Cave, a sanctuary for the fire-breathing beasts of lore. For years, curious explorers had ventured into the cave, but none had returned. It was up to us to seek knowledge of the dragons and determine how their story would continue…

Setting

The game started just inside the cave, with rock walls lit by glowing lanterns and a stone altar against one wall. Numerous skulls, presumably of explorers long gone, adorned the walls, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Gameplay

Open the Door’s Dragon Cave 2.0 was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty. 

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.

Analysis

➕ The extensive game space included multiple areas and thematic transitions that added to the medieval look and feel. One early transition was completely unexpected, and added a rather memorable moment to the game. Another loudly declared our progress to the next space.

➖ Early spaces used low lighting effectively to create a moody atmosphere, but this created gameplay challenges. While hand-held lanterns in this area helped cut through the shadows, they didn’t work consistently. Even a later space with better lighting contained dark areas that made it difficult to interpret some props.

➕ Puzzle styles included logic, physical, and mechanical constructs, giving players a chance to shine on the solves they preferred. The mechanical puzzles were some of my favorites.

➕ Special effects blended with gameplay, adding ambience; some were subtle, others over the top, giving scenes an extra boost of energy and motion.

➕ Our experience was enhanced by an in-game actor. Although their role was understated, it definitely got our attention.

➖ At the end, we were given a choice to make, and though it offered us a bit of autonomy in how the story wrapped up, the decision felt random. We would have preferred a more exciting finish to the dragon tale.

🔥🐉 According to Open the Door’s blog, Dragon Cave 2.0 opened in the summer of 2021, and was a completely new version of the OG Dragon Cave.

Tips For Visiting

• The game is playable in German or English.
• Open the Door is easy to reach within a short walk from U1 subway, trams 1 or 11, or bus 65A/66A.
• A ‘beisl’ is a local pub that serves traditional Austrian food and beers. We enjoyed Reinthaler’s Beisl, which is popular with both tourists and locals. It was crowded, loud, and busy with a positive energy buzz, and the food was delicious.

Book your session with Open the Door’s Dragon Cave 2.0, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Open the Door provided media discounted tickets for this game.