When a lab setting isn’t boring as purgatory.
Location: Bunschoten-Spakenburg, The Netherlands
Date played: May 8, 2017
Team size: 4-6; we recommend 3-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: from €99 per team
Story & setting
Trapped in a mad doctor’s lab, we had to escape.
The Lab Room was dark and bright, clean and dirty, polished and ragged. While not horror, per se, it kept us on edge. All of the set’s contradictions created an emotional ride. It was the most intense lab scenario we’ve encountered to date.
Puzzles
We puzzled linearly through The Lab Room. With each successive solution, new information and triggered events opened to us.
Much of the puzzling was tech-driven. Props didn’t necessarily open in the manner one would expect.
Standouts
Escape Room Netherlands’ use of set, lighting, and sound design in The Lab Room was brilliant. It both kept us on edge and also functioned as clue structure. More than in most room escapes, lighting was an integral component of the experience.
Not everything was high-tech. There was a great low-tech puzzle that fit well with the laboratory theme.
The technology was well-hidden and seamlessly integrated into the escape room. This wonderful execution drove much of the experience.
The Lab Room was full of surprises. Even when I knew a surprise was coming, I still jumped whenever the room reacted to us.
Shortcomings
The narrative didn’t really come through. The drama was environment and technology driven, but didn’t tell a story in the way that the Girl’s Room did.
Given how well thought-out most of The Lab Room’s details were, some of the puzzles seemed a bit random.
The ending happened abruptly and didn’t really feel like an ending.
Should I play Escape Room Netherlands’ The Lab Room?
The Lab Room was the first escape room in The Netherlands. It set the tone for many of the thrilling adventures, detailed sets, and impressive technology we experienced in our weekend of 10 Dutch escape rooms. Despite its location about 50km outside of Amsterdam, Escape Room Netherlands had a profound impact on the growth of the industry throughout the region.
With this original escape room, Escape Room Netherlands leaned into the set, crafting a gamespace that would elicit reactions from players. They integrated technology masterfully to create the emotional roller coaster of The Lab Room.
It’s thrilling, but once you know what Escape Room Netherlands did next, it’s rudimentary. For a truly integrated experience, with puzzles, narrative, set, and story, play The Girl’s Room. If that’s too much to handle, emotionally or physically, play The Lab Room instead. It’s older, but it’s on a higher level than many newer escape rooms you’ll find.
Ideally, play them both, in the order in which Escape Room Netherlands created them. You really have to go out of your way to visit Bunschoten-Spakenburg. It’s not the easiest place to get to, but it’s so worth it.
Book your hour with Escape Room Netherlands’ The Lab Room, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Full disclosure: Escape Room Netherlands provided media discounted tickets for this game.
