Turn left at the clown

Location: Delft, Netherlands

Date Played: October 11, 2025

Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: €205 – €225 per team

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: For the full experience all players should be able to walk easily, even if surfaces are a little uneven, but it is possible to opt out of this portion of the game.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

“We’ve come to expect artistry from DarkPark, and they always deliver. Into the DarkVerse was a beautiful blend of personal experience, technology, and nuanced design.”

REA Reaction

Into the DarkVerse was unlike anything that I had played from DarkPark or any other escape room or immersive gaming company. While this game was initially built as a way to help recoup the costs of having to suddenly purchase and repair their building, it felt like a perfect representation of “necessity being the mother of invention.”

DarkPark took remnant materials from their past (and future) games, and blended them all together to form The DarkVerse, a world bathed in darkness, where you confront yourself. While we have played many games in full or partial darkness, we’ve never seen one that used a mix of light, dark, and craft technology to such beautiful effect.

Two things about Into the DarkVerse stood out to me both while playing and after I returned home:

While Into the DarkVerse was a horror experience, it wasn’t abusive, and it was willing to let each player have their own experience. Prior to playing, DarkPark sent a fear survey to each player on the team. There’s no trickery here; the survey helps the gamemaster customize the experience for each player, putting them into more or less intense situations to match their resolve (relative to the rest of their team). But even if that’s still a bit too much for an individual, DarkPark is extremely open to adapting around each player’s needs.

The second standout from Into the DarkVerse was how smoothly the game’s technology worked, and how they used it to both facilitate gameplay, and heighten the reality of the game. The artistry on display was impressive.

I’ve never been shy about my deep love of DarkPark, and Into the DarkVerse only served to add to my appreciation of their work. At the same time, I am under no illusions that this will be a universally beloved game. My observation from both my team and the many teams that we put through this game on our Netherlands Tour is that Into the DarkVerse is as polarizing as it is interesting. For those who connect with this experience, it’s a unique gem. And for those who don’t gel with Into the DarkVerse, there is an opportunity for you to step back, support your team, and take some time appreciating some of the magical nuances interlaced throughout the experience.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• DarkPark fans
• Any experience level
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• Everyone gets multiple chances to shine
• Novel collaborative gameplay built on tech that just works
• The many brilliant nuances of Into the DarkVerse aren’t always obvious, but they are everywhere

Story

A mysterious game had appeared, and once we began, the only way to stop playing would be completion. As we began to play, we quickly learned that it wasn’t about winning or losing… it was about who we became while playing.

Setting

Most of Into the DarkVerse was set in pure darkness, but unlike other dark games, this one had a home-base set. Furthermore, when we set-out to explore the darkness, we weren’t exploring a dark space devoid of aesthetics. It was far more designed than one would typically expect of a dark world.

Exploring Into the DarkVerse meant diving into the many worlds that DarkPark has created or will create. This world was populated by characters, and while it could get scary, these characters always remained respectful, and players were safe.

Gameplay

DarkPark’s Into the DarkVerse was an atypical escape room with a variable level of difficulty depending upon player comfort.

Core gameplay revolved around path-finding, collaboration, and communication.

Analysis

 We’ve felt our way through dark spaces, and we’ve tackled communication challenges, but the core mechanic of Into the DarkVerse combined these in a novel approach to escape room design. The game hinged on path-finding, clear communication, and trust – both in our teammates and in DarkPark.

 The portal to the DarkVerse felt magical, from the way it was revealed to its gated state. It looked and felt like the portal to another world. And when we stepped into it, it dramatically “locked” with an auditory flourish.

The tech worked brilliantly. It was intuitive, and without an arduous explanation, we picked it up and proceeded into the DarkVerse. We were so impressed.

DarkPark melded pre-planned trickery with reality to heighten the experience in ways that only the most observant will figure out.

 Into the DarkVerse was originally designed to be temporary, and the home base set wasn’t as refined as we’ve come to expect from DarkPark. While the dark sets were more designed than we often see from dark games – they had to be, given how the interaction works – they too offered opportunity for polish.

 Each mission into the DarkVerse had us recover a MacGuffin. These were satisfying rewards for our quests.

Into the DarkVerse pushed each of us to face our fears, but ultimately, it didn’t ask more than any one player could handle. It was adaptable to different comfort levels. Not only that, but it was so much more than walking into the unknown dark. For example, DarkPark designed an affordance that flashed before us, making the game flow more smoothly.

Although the core mechanic repeated, it didn’t get old. DarkPark kept it fresh and challenging with each new scene, including a twist near the end. The intrigue held, even for the players spending most of their time at home base.

 / The puzzle skills in Into the DarkVerse were communication and path-finding. It you struggle with spatial awareness, Into the DarkVerse will be especially challenging. While there were isolated opportunities to solve other challenges, given the core mechanic, your puzzle satisfaction mileage may vary.

 In the finale scene, some of the props were a bit too pointy for the scenario.

 / In Into the DarkVerse, we made our own story. At the time we played, DarkPark was working on a new ending, which, as described, will have deep resonance and help contextualize the team experience, putting less onus on the players to ascribe their own meaning to it. We look forward to it.

Tips For Visiting

• There are lots of great restaurant options in Delft.
• This game is playable in Dutch or English.
• You can still play this game if some of your teammates are very afraid of the dark. It will adapt. However, you need to have at least 2 brave teammates who want to engage with the core mechanic of the game.
• Into the DarkVerse references DarkPark’s other work. If you’ve played DarkPark’s other games before playing this one, it’s less scary and more impactful. However, Into the DarkVerse still works well if it is your introduction to DarkPark.

Book your hour with DarkPark’s Into the DarkVerse, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: DarkPark comped our tickets for this game.

For more from Gijs Geers, CEO and Head of Design at DarkPark, check out this episode of REPOD:

The post 👑 🔒 DarkPark – Into the DarkVerse [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

This is your best opportunity to grasp what’s special without flying there and playing for yourself.

ESCAPE ROOM HORROR STORIES BeNeLux Edition

Created by Jana Erbes, ESCAPE ROOM HORROR STORIES BeNeLux Edition offers a deep dive into a few of the companies producing iconic horror games in the Netherlands and Belgium: Logic Locks, DarkPark, and Entered.

While this documentary dives deep into these games, it isn’t prohibitively spoilery.

Tragically DarkPark’s Stay in the Dark is closed, so this is by far the best way to understand that game, if you never had the chance to play it.

At 2 hours and 38 minutes, this is incredibly in-depth and long, so take your time enjoying it.

And thank you to Jana for asking us to be a part of it. We had so much fun recording with her and reminiscing about these incredible games. It was an honor and a privilege.

Dive Deeper

If you want more, we’ve interviewed all of these creators on REPOD.

Holistic Game Design: Alexander Gierholz, creator of Amsterdam Catacombs, Netherlands

Step Into the Darkverse – Gijs Geers, CEO and Head of Design at DarkPark

Epic & Engrossing: Jeroen van Hasselt, Co-Creator of Demise of the Gricers

You can also preview a Spoilers Club episode for Stay in the Dark. This episode is available to Room Escape Artist on Patreon at $15 per month (or above).

The post Looking To Get a Sense of Dutch & Belgian Escape Room Horror? Watch This Documentary (We’re in it!) appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

The door swings open, and you creep down the stairs into the basement of a decrepit, 5-story abandoned chemical factory. It clangs shut behind you. Ahead, the dark hallway stretches off into the distance until it’s swallowed up in darkness. An eerie, discordant music is playing, punctuated by flickering lights and the buzz of electricity. Somewhere in this building, a killer awaits you.

This is the terrifying game dreamt up by Gijs Geers and his team at DarkPark in the Netherlands. It was a mashup of horror video game, escape room, and immersive haunt, all on a massive scale. Gijs joins us in this 2-part Spoilers Club with all the juicy details of how he and his team created this epic game. He shares lots of behind-the-scenes information. I especially appreciated that he offered the soundtrack for this podcast, which really enhances the listening experience. Sadly, this game closes on May 19, 2024. However, you can listen to this Spoilers Club episode and live vicariously, even if you haven’t had a chance to play this remarkable game.

How to Listen

When you support Room Escape Artist on Patreon at $15 per month (or above), you get access to the Spoilers Club, our exclusive podcast where hosts David Spira and Peih-Gee Law chat in depth with creators about iconic escape rooms… spoilers and all!

The post 🆕 Spoilers Club: Stay in the Dark Part 1 Preview appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Hide in plain fright

Location: Vlaardingen, Netherlands

Date Played: July 9, 2023

Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 3-5

Duration: 2.5 hours

Price: From 60 € per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: All players must be able to crawl, climb, and move quickly through dark, uneven environments. There are loud noises, flashing lights, intense situations, and heights.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

I’ve often passed by a creepy abandoned building and thought “someone should turn that into an escape room.” DarkPark’s Stay in the Dark fulfills on this lofty pipe dream, transforming an absolutely ginormous 4000 m² multi-story warehouse into a 2.5-hour immersive horror epic that feels spine-tinglingly real… because it is.

Blurring the lines between escape room, immersive theater, and urban exploration, Stay in the Dark took full advantage of the unique resources and constraints around which it was designed. Creating an experience like Stay in the Dark is impractical and improbable: past the initial herculean feat of gaining access to such a space, the logistical complexities of safely running this show are immense. While most escape room sets are created from scratch, the “set” of Stay in the Dark is curated — cleaned up, edited, and augmented — from a mostly already existing environment, playing on the salient features and the inherent ephemerality of the gamespace while also ensuring it is properly fitted with theatrical lighting, sound equipment, security cameras, and safety features.

But Stay in the Dark is so much more than just a massive space. What impressed me most about this experience was its artfully theatrical approach to immersive horror. After earning our trust in the opening act, DarkPark guided us on an emotional arc of anticipation, fear, and confrontation, all cinematically scaffolded by a lush original soundtrack. There was a strong narrative shape beyond just a binary on and off of intensity, of being chased or waiting to be chased. The game mechanics surrounding actor interactions meaningfully evolved as the experience progressed, gradually building our confidence and making it so that even a more timid player might become an action hero by the end.

Yes, Stay in the Dark is actively scary, but its aim truly is to tell a story and provide a safe and enjoyable experience for all players, not to terrorize and traumatize them. To that end, DarkPark embraces a horror style that they call “fun-scary.” In their own words:

“Stay in the Dark is our scariest experience yet, but we never cross your boundaries. We strive to build up tension in a fun way and carefully try to sense how far we can go. We therefore like to use the term ‘fun-scary’. So yes, it is scary and at times even very intense, but always with the aim that you have a great time and not that you come out with gray hair. You are going on an emotional journey.”

If you are strictly opposed to scary experiences, lack physical mobility, or have a strong fear of heights, Stay in the Dark is not the game for you. But if you have yet to dip your toes into more intense horror and are up for an unforgettable adventure, DarkPark genuinely stays true to this “fun-scary” mission statement. Demonstrating a remarkable flexibility and adaptability of the game’s design, my horror-loving and my more horror-averse teammates all had a fantastic experience, despite sharply contrasting play styles. Certain teammates who were tempted to tap out early on made it to the end and were glad they did.

Since its opening, Stay in the Dark has been accompanied by an expiration date, which sadly was just announced to be 3 months from now. If you are able to make it to the Netherlands by March 17, 2024, do not hesitate and get your tickets to Stay in the Dark as soon as possible. This singularly memorable slice of the DarkVerse is not to be missed.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Story seekers
• Horror fans… and non-horror fans who are open to a more intense experience (especially if they have brave teammates)
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Intense yet approachable immersive horror
• An absolutely massive environment
• Top-notch acting
• Gorgeous musical scoring

Story

In an industrial area near Rotterdam, we went to check out a property listing for an abandoned warehouse. We were met by the real estate agent and our tour began…

Setting

Stay in the Dark took us to an abandoned 5-floor building next to an old fire station. The building was real. The industrial area surrounding it was real. The endless maze of doors, brutalist concrete walls, and heaps of chemical equipment and other random junk were all real.

Overlaid on all this, DarkPark added in lighting, sound, and various additional set pieces. In some scenes, this helped to highlight existing features of the environment. In others, it seamlessly extended and transformed the existing layout and aesthetic.

Gameplay

DarkPark’s Stay in the Dark was an immersive horror experience with puzzles with a low-to-moderate level of difficulty, depending on your ability to explore and puzzle under pressure.

Core gameplay revolved around exploring and physically traversing a sprawling space, interacting with a character, and solving simple puzzles and mini-games.

Analysis

/ Stay in the Dark took us on a truly brilliant emotional journey of anticipation and fear, all but guaranteeing that players emerge braver than when they started. Though it may sound like a contradiction, this approach to horror managed to be at once intense and accessible. Apart from a few moments of unnecessarily incessant strobe lighting, I observed no cheap or extraneous jump scares. That said, one of the first scenes of the game pushes the fear factor a bit harder than necessary, and I’d recommend that any players considering tapping out early on think twice about their decision. Once you’re out, there’s no going back in, and it’s worth it to stick it out to the end.

 Stay in the Dark was unbelievably vast. Knowing this going in, I feared that we might get lost or not know how to properly navigate the space, but these proved not to be issues whatsoever. From start to finish, the experience was impeccably signposted, and even in moments when we were meant to freely explore and get our bearings, it was consistently clear what to focus on. Furthermore, most interactions felt proportionately scaled to the size of the space, and it never felt like we were searching for a needle in a haystack.

Fun agility-centric physical obstacles made us go “yay, we get to do this really cool thing!” You don’t need to be a Ninja Warrior to play Stay in the Dark, but all players should be comfortable with navigating dark, uneven spaces and segments of climbing and crawling.

The original musical scoring throughout Stay in the Dark heightened the intensity and communicated a spectrum of emotions. Much like a great film soundtrack, this was music that you’d listen to on its own — and now you can.

The experience started the moment we parked. While it would have been difficult to locate the game space on our own, DarkPark cleverly wove a tour of the surrounding area into the experience and turned a potentially awkward and confusing navigation process into a strong narrative framing.

Despite straddling multiple genres, Stay in the Dark still felt rooted in escape rooms and had at least one puzzle per “level.” The most successful puzzles and interactions took full advantage of unique spacial layouts and utilized the actor as a game mechanic.

 Certain other puzzles felt more generic and failed to integrate as successfully with the environment and story. They were still logical, solvable, and well presented, but compared to the narrative clarity elsewhere in the experience, these puzzles felt like filler. This isn’t to say that puzzles in a horror experience needed to be hard or elaborate, but each is an opportunity to succinctly communicate meaning and guide players’ behaviors in distinct ways.

Apart from the puzzly puzzles and the actor-driven puzzles, endurance becomes its own sort of puzzle. Clocking in at over 2 hours long, Stay in the Dark is consistently intense and physically engaging, and as such it can be quite exhausting. That said, the game was paced incredibly well and never felt like it dragged on.

Swashbuckling theatrics and an oversized reveal all converged into a moment of cinematic sensory overload that’s forever burned into my memory.

The final boss battle was epic on all levels, with a frantic video game-esque mechanic and a shocking revelation.

One of the game’s core mechanics was built around a narrative premise which could have been more consistently established and developed throughout, especially in the opening scene and a late-game display. Rather than leaving a certain connection open-ended, players would feel more agency in the story if they could actively piece together the evidence rather than having it passively spoon-fed to them at the end.

DarkPark had many measures in place to ensure that Stay in the Dark was safe, even in moments where it was made to feel quite edgy and risky. The experience may feel like real urban exploration, but it is closer to a tightly run theatrical production where the players are the main characters. The actors are in constant communication with behind-the-scenes staff, who are effectively serving as all-seeing stage managers. Especially after getting a peek behind the curtain of operations, I had a high level of confidence in how closely every part of the experience was being monitored and maintained.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot. You will be met by a character there and led to your primary destination.
• Make sure all players on your team are physically mobile and know what they’re getting themselves into. Wear clothes and footwear that you’re comfortable moving around in and potentially getting dirty.
• Review our tips for playing escape rooms with actors, and…

Update 10/8/24: If you want to hear more about Stay in the Dark, back us on Patreon at the “Search Win!” level to get access to a Spoilers Club Episode about this game. Reality Escape Pod co-hosts David and Peih-Gee talk all about it with the creators, spoilers and all.

Disclosure: DarkPark comped our tickets for this game.

For more from creator Gijs Geers, listen to him on REPOD:

The post DarkPark – Stay in the Dark [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

If you enjoy Never House, we hope you’ll check out our interview with creator Gijs Geers on The Reality Escape Pod.

Home is where the horror is

Location:  at home

Date Played: October 7, 2023

Team size: 1-4; we recommend 1-4

Duration: 90 minutes

Price: about $47.21 plus $27.02 for shipping to the US. Shipping varies by location.

REA Reaction

DarkPark Games again delivered a well-constructed, cohesive experience with Never House, the third in its series of at-home games. The game offered a simple, yet compelling storyline supported by a trove of well-designed, robust multimedia materials that fit well within the narrative and helped advance gameplay in an intentional way. The most impressive among these pieces featured a common ghost story trope that DarkPark Games transformed into a standout in terms of interactivity and puzzle design.

The premise of the story meant that a lot of information was delivered to us all at once, and a few of the puzzles could have benefited from stronger gating. However, this ultimately did not cause major issues with gameplay.

DarkPark Games bills Never House as a horror game, which is fitting for the DarkPark brand. While I wouldn’t classify its content as outright scary, the game does take place within an eerie, supernatural world with sinister elements underpinning it. If you are sensitive to this sort of content, this game may not be for you.

As with Witchery Spell, Never House was comparatively expensive for an at-home game, and the international shipping isn’t cheap. DarkPark Games offers a refill kit for Never House at a greatly reduced price so you can split the cost of the original box plus the refill with other players. You can also save a few dollars on international shipping by ordering Never House and Witchery Spell at the same time.

The quality of gameplay, storytelling, and artifacts in Never House makes it well worth the cost and a must-play for fans of tabletop escape games, ghost story lovers and, of course, fans of DarkPark Games’ real life games.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Mystery mavens
• Puzzle lovers
• Wannabe ghost hunters
• Fans of DarkPark’s real life games
• Best for players with at least some experience

Why play?

• Cohesive experience
• Intricate, tactile and weighty components
• Puzzle/ story integration
• Eerie ambiance

Story

We had received a mysterious, misdirected package containing a collection of photographs and documents related to the peculiar and ominous Sterling House, a.k.a. Never House, located in Halifax, Canada. Enclosed was a letter from the sender saying the house had locked him and his wife out and was keeping his young children captive. We had to piece together the clues and work with helpful ghost hunters (the original intended recipients of the package) to confront the evil unfolding in front of us before disaster struck.

Setup

DarkPark Games provided photographs, drawings, maps and other detailed documents, along with a few more substantive items for us to explore as we solved individual puzzles to unveil the bigger picture. We interacted regularly with several websites where we inputted answers to the puzzles and also accessed new media and clues that advanced the story.

Gameplay

DarkPark Games’ Never House was an immersive play-at-home escape game with a moderate level of difficulty. Core gameplay revolved around interaction with a variety of both physical and virtual game mechanics, observation, deduction and decryption.

Analysis

 Never House’s well-structured story showed a lot of restraint and did a lot with a little. DarkPark Games cleverly justified why we – the players – were involved in the story.

 The game materials had presence and told their own story. They were detailed and weighty and all of them made sense within the game world. They were so realistic that it was easy to imagine them in a real-world setting.

One component deserves its own shout out because it was, to quote one of my teammates, “really f***ing cool.” It was a superbly-designed, interactive play on a well-known method of communication. I played this game with David and Lisa, who almost never keep artifacts of tabletop escape games, but were both excited to display this one as part of their well-curated collection.

 Puzzling in general was strong and supported the story. One puzzle in particular was a worthy adversary, blazing a path to a great aha.

 Two puzzles could have been gated more strongly to better clue when their solutions would need to be used.

The digital content production (videos and websites) was excellent and there was one instance in particular where I was blown away by the amount of detail DarkPark created and incorporated. It was a delight exploring this section and using its information to solve one of the puzzles. Interactions where we had to input answers to a website were largely seamless.

 While the websites were well designed, it got tedious having to navigate to multiple locations. Since we were using mobile phones in addition to laptops to visit to these sites, it was hard for other players to follow what was happening. You can avoid this by designating one main laptop for everyone to look at, or even connecting it to a monitor. One of the websites also called for a cumbersome interaction, but the result was well worth the effort.

 One puzzle jumped clumsily from digital answer input to tabletop engagement and took us a few minutes to get back on track.

The finale took an unexpected turn and revealed a ghastly secret that brought the already-ominous story to an even more chilling conclusion.

Tips For Players

• Space Requirements: a medium-size table so you can arrange the numerous game components
• Required Gear: pen or pencil, paper, computer or mobile device with internet access
• Shipping: DarkPark ships internationally. We suggest ordering Witchery Spell at the same time as Never House if you would like to play both, as this will save you a few dollars on shipping.
• Some of the elements are destructible, but you can purchase a refill kit from DarkPark and reset the game for another group to play.

Buy your copy of DarkPark Games’ Never House, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: DarkPark Games provided a complimentary game.

The post DarkPark Games – Never House [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

[At the time of the review, The Orphanage was called If Walls Could Whisper. DarkPark has since changed back to the game’s original name.]

If Walls Could Whisper, formerly named The Orphanage, is a not-to-be-missed masterpiece.

Much of Lisa’s original 2018 review of this experience still applies. Yet, in the 5 years leading into my visit in July 2023, DarkPark had made a number of subtle yet significant upgrades. With these changes, If Walls Could Whisper not only still holds up; I’d posit it’s still at the cutting edge of the Netherlands escape room scene.

DarkPark had leveled up many of the game’s original strengths, particularly the lighting and sound design, since 2018. They transformed the ending — the main critique of the original review — from a weakness into a strong positive. The ending’s puzzling, flow, and experiential context were now something special, though there was still an opportunity for the music to better fit the tone of a pivotal emotional climax.

While the individual elements of If Walls Could Whisper all demonstrated a high level of creativity and artistry, it was the ways in which they came together into a much greater whole that especially wowed us. The magic circle extended beyond the core gameplay, and there was an almost unprecedented level of cohesion that started before we entered the door and extended past the final puzzle. A lush original soundtrack not just set a distinctive cinematic tone for each new scene; it guided a continuous emotional buildup throughout the experience, ensuring that transitions were crescendoes rather than caesuras. Through key moments, theatrical spotlighting perfectly directed our attention, in real time reacting to — or perhaps guiding — our movement through the space.

Is the 2023 If Walls Could Whsiper a completely new game from the 2018 The Orphanage? No. The core gameplay is still mostly the same. Should you replay this experience if you played it 3+ years ago? Maybe. While you won’t get a completely new game, DarkPark’s approach to upgrading rather than replacing their older games can be an inspiration to enthusiasts and creators alike.

Hiring Composers = Better Escape Rooms

Within the first few minutes of the game, one of my teammates remarked, “I would totally listen to this music on its own. It’s so good.”

Amazingly, our wishes were granted: DarkPark recently released a 25-track album of the original music featured throughout many of their games.

If you’ve played any of these escape rooms, listening back to the songs on this album may evoke strong sensory memories of particular scenes or interactions. And if you have yet to play at DarkPark, these cinematic bangers provide a glimpse of the quality and craft that goes into every dimension of a DarkPark experience.

But it would be unfair to talk about this music in a vacuum. This isn’t just random music that happened to fit the theme of each DarkPark game. It was scored by a talented composer to shape particular moments. It had the ability to drastically heighten the intensity of emotions in that moment: it was masterfully designed to have just that effect.

Leading to PSA #1: as escape rooms continue to mature as an art form, it will be increasingly integral to collaborate with professional composers — and writers, and actors, and lighting designers, and so on. If Walls Could Whisper, alongside many of DarkPark’s other experiences, is a paragon of just how effective these creative collaborations can be.

Don’t End After The End

My team fell in love with DarkPark’s style. They set an absurdly high bar for escape room excellence across all their games that we played — Stay in the Dark, The End, and Honeymoon Hotel — and yet my team’s unanimous favorite was If Walls Could Whisper.

This is not to say that If Walls Could Whisper will necessarily also be your favorite of DarkPark’s offerings. But talking with other enthusiasts who’ve recently visited the Netherlands, I also know we are not alone in this opinion.

And yet, I’ve also heard reports from other enthusiasts who, when visiting this region, prioritized only TERPECA top #100 games, leading them to play only The End and skip If Walls Could Whisper and Honeymoon Hotel.

Consider this PSA #2: If Walls Could Whisper is not to be missed, and for me, it’s as worth traveling out of your way for as The End (though absolutely play both while you’re there!) If Walls Could Whisper has changed substantially over time, and public rankings are ultimately a diluted average of people who’ve played across the game’s many iterations.

And PSA #3: More broadly, when traveling to visit TERPECA-level escape room companies, do your research before only booking their one award-winning room. Some older games at top companies have been improved over time, like in the case of If Walls Could Whisper. You can’t always account for taste, and your personal favorite might not be the crowd favorite. And even in cases where older creations may feel dated, there’s a lot to learn from how an escape room company has evolved over time.

Book your hour with DarkPark’s If Walls Could Whisper, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: DarkPark comped our tickets for this game.

For more from Gijs Geers, CEO and Head of Design at DarkPark, check out this episode of REPOD:

The post DarkPark – The Orphanage [Updated Reaction] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

The Dutch escape room company DarkPark is known for excellence in many categories, and music is certainly one of them.

As Gjis Geers, CEO of DarkPark explained to us in Season 5 of Reality Escape Pod, his games are all lovingly scored by Eelco R. Claassen.

The music is as intense as it is beautifully composed… plus it streams for free. I’m especially fond of Annihilation Imminent from The End.

You can listen to DarkPark: Music from the DarkVerse on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music, and Deezer. The album is out now.

The post DarkPark Released an Album! appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

In season 5, episode 6 of Reality Escape Pod, we step into the DarkVerse with Gijs Geers, CEO and Head of Design at DarkPark Escape Rooms, one of our favorite escape room companies. DarkPark distinguishes itself with its consistently high production value, intriguing storytelling, and masterfully crafted scares. This quality of work persists across all their games, their branding, and their marketing.

Gijs shares his thought process when designing rooms. I loved hearing about his approach to crafting the storylines. Rather than shoving a narrative at the players, he shapes elements of a story and offers it to his players, allowing them to form their own stories. Gijs also shares his secret to creating effective jump scares, which stems from his background as an actor and magician.

DarkPark’s approach to designing escape rooms is really unique. All of the games I played there are etched in my memory as a series of cinematic vignettes. The folks at DarkPark are master storytellers, infusing their games with drama, wonder, and thrills. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: Morty App, Resova, and RECON: The Reality Escape Convention. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.

Morty

Morty is a free app for discovering, planning, tracking, and reviewing your escape rooms and other immersive social outings.

Special Badge for REPOD listeners:

You can learn more at MortyApp.com/REPOD to sign up and get a special badge for our listeners (works for existing users also).

Resova

Resova is your all-inclusive software for bookings, made specifically for escape rooms, offering robust booking management, waiver management, integrated point of sales systems, and follow-up emails. Resova is the ultimate online reservation software designed to elevate the guest experience, increase game master efficiencies, drive sales, and improve operations.

Special Offer for REPOD Listeners:

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RECON: The Reality Escape Convention

Escape room conventions should be as fun, collaborative, and immersive as the games we celebrate.

RECON is our very own escape room and immersive gaming convention. Whether you’re an owner, creator, player, or you’re escape room curious, you are invited learn, connect, and play with our wonderful community.

RECON Remote 23 will take place August 19 – 20, 2023, online.

RECON 24 will be in person.

Get your ticket at now.

Topics Discussed in this Episode

• [1:47] David introduces DarkPark as one of his favorite escape room companies in the world, and Peih-Gee talks about the consistently high quality of all their games.
• [3:10] Gijs talks about the name “DarkPark” and its origins. The company was originally called Escape Challenge. He explains that the Netherlands is very densely populated with escape rooms and that their name didn’t feel original anymore. He says that after listening to Bob Melkus, CEO of the Fox in a Box escape room franchise, talk about the importance of creating a name that doesn’t have the words “escape,” “room,” “lock,” or “key,” he decided to change the name of the company. He went with a name that evoked the feeling he wanted for his company.
• [5:37] Gijs attributes the success of his games to the feelings that they evokes in the players.
• [6:35] DarkPark is celebrating its 10-year anniversary as a company. Gijs talks about The Dentist, which was one of the earliest escape rooms in the Netherlands. He talks about iterating on mistakes made and how the game has changed since the early years. The biggest change is that in the beginning it was white and pristine, but at some point, a player kicked a hole in the wall. They couldn’t fix it, so they just make it dirty and creepy instead.
• [9:05] Gijs talks about his background. Before designing escape rooms, he had a background in theater as an actor and also a set designer. David mentions that many of his favorite escape rooms run on Qlab, and he realized the common thread is a theatrical background, because Qlab is theatre software for designing sound, video, and lighting cues.
• [11:55] Peih-Gee observes that another common thread in escape rooms designers with a theatrical background is the evocative mood in their games. She mentions that DarkPark games all have a clear and distinctive voice.
• [12:30] Gijs talks to us about his creative process when designing games and bringing them to market. He says that the idea comes very quickly and he can write out a script in a few days. But after that, they start teasing apart the logistics and hammering in the flow. He mentions that he usually works with his creative partner, Eelco Claassen. They will also bring on a third person, but that the third person changes on every project so they can get a new perspective.
• [14:53] Gijs talks about the evolution of his games over time, and how they keep trying to improve. He talks to us about things he’s learned, like swearing off using water in his games (although he says he keeps breaking that rule). He’s really tried to remove as much reading as possible.
• [18:00] Gijs says he wants his players to come up with the story of the game themselves, based on the elements he provides. The first element is the location, for example, at the dentist. The second element is the story of that location. What happened here? (Hint: it’s usually something bad.) The third element is the story of the players when they enter that space. He says that players can form their own story and it’s usually different every time.
• [21:32] David talks about how, even though he might not be able to tell you the entire storyline, certain moments from DarkPark games are etched into his memory, like a cinematic vignette.
• [22:23] Peih-Gee talks about the memorable jump scares in the DarkPark games. Gijs explains how he crafts his jump scares. His goal is to split the player’s attention between two different misdirections, and then the jump scare will suddenly kick in.
• [24:00] Gijs mentions that he also used to be a magician who idolized David Copperfield, one of the masters of storytelling through magic.
• [24:20] Gijs tells us about his escape room, The End, which really wowed the industry when it came out. He talks about trying to finish it in time for David and Lisa’s trip to the Netherlands for the Up the Game conference. Peih-Gee mentions that The End had the most memorable and unique storyline of the games she played in the Netherlands.
• [26:17] Gijs talks about the ending of The End, and talks about different ideas they had for it. He tells us about how they had to make creative use of the small space, which used to be the changing rooms for a gymnasium.
• [27:58] Gijs gives us a teaser about their newest game, Rise of the Phoenix, and talks about how they are still crafting the ending for that escape room.
• [30:52] David talks about how his only criticism of DarkPark’s previous games were their endings, which he thought were relatively weak compared to the rest of the game. Gijs confirms that David’s comments were a motivation to create more bombastic endings.
• [33:07] Peih-Gee talks about how incredible the ending of Stay in the Dark is and describes it for those who haven’t played. She shares a story about how her friend Brian Corbitt, who was a guest on S2E6 of REPOD remarked about how spooky the building was before even knowing the game was taking place there.
• [35:50] Gijs tells us about having an entire building, 4,000 sq. meters, to run an escape room. Peih-Gee mentions that the scale of the location really delivers a whole different level of immersion.
• [36:35] Gijs talks about the game Wasteland Rebellion that ran only briefly before closing. This was an escape room that ran in the same location as Stay in the Dark, but with a different, non-horror plot. He talks about the mistakes they made and why they decided to eventually close it down.
• [39:04] Gijs tells us that he chose the name Rise of the Phoenix for his new game, in part, because Wasteland Rebellion was the first big mistake his company had made in 10 years, and he wanted to symbolize their recovery as rising from the ashes. He gives us a teaser for Rise of the Phoenix, telling us that there will be an actor, and it will be a little bit scary, but also will have humor and emotion.
• [40:41] Gijs recalls the early days of the pandemic and what motivated him to create a series of at-home games that have become very popular. He says that after the review of Conspiracy 19 by Room Escape Artist, they made revisions to improve the game, and now that it has sold out again. He plans to change it a third time.
• [43:12] David asks about a hot blonde woman who appeared in their second tabletop game, Witchery Spell, and they discuss how Lisa ended up as an actress for the game.
• [44:49] Peih-Gee talks about the production value in their third at-home adventure, Never House. Gijs says he was inspired by the production value of Mysterious Package Company. (David has his own opinions, which you can read about here.)
• [47:50] Gijs talks about what’s next for DarkPark, including finishing work on their newest escape room, Rise of the Phoenix, and celebrating their 10-year anniversary. He also tells us about the Darkverse, which is an overarching meta story that will tie together the narratives from their different games.
• [54:13] Gijs tells us a bonus story about one of his most stressful situations as an owner: the time Peih-Gee played Stay in the Dark and her entire team missed a crucial item because they were all too lazy to climb a bunch of stairs.

Leave us a voicemail

Got a question or thought for the podcast? You can submit a voice recording by calling the Room Escape Artist not-so-hotline that always goes straight to voicemail (551-227-7273).

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• DarkPark website
• REA reviews of DarkPark escape rooms:
  • The End
  • The Orphanage
  • Honeymoon Hotel
  • The Dentist
  • The Freakshow
• REA reviews of DarkPark Games, the tabletop experiences:
  • Conspiracy-19 (now improved)
  • Witchery Spell
  • Dear Santa
• Qlab: Powerful macOS software for designing and playing back sound, video, light, and show control cues. 
• Mysterious Package Company
• Poppedijn: Gijs’s wife’s toystore

About Gijs Geers

Gijs Geers is a Dutch entrepreneur and creative mastermind behind the DarkPark escape rooms. He founded the Dutch company in 2013 and has since expanded to multiple locations across The Netherlands. Gijs has a background in acting and has always been passionate about creating immersive experiences for players.

Under Gijs’s leadership, DarkPark has become known for its innovative and award winning escape rooms, which combine puzzles, storytelling, and immersive environments to create a truly unforgettable experience. Gijs is known for his attention to detail and his ability to push the boundaries of what is possible in the escape room industry.

In addition to DarkPark, Gijs is also involved in other creative projects and has worked with various companies in the entertainment industry. He continues to innovate and create new experiences for players, always striving to exceed expectations and create truly memorable moments.

• Personal Instagram: @gijsgeers
• DarkPark Instagram: @darkpark.nl

Support REPOD

• Subscribe to Patreon for bonus content.
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Thanks for listening!

Support Room Escape Artist’s Mission

There are lots of ways to support Room Escape Artist, like buying from Amazon or Etsy after clicking into the links included in this post or backing us on Patreon.

The money that we make from these helps us to grow the site and continue to add more value to the community that we love so much.

The post REPOD S5E6 – Step Into the Darkverse: Gijs Geers, CEO and Head of Design at DarkPark appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Back in June we released a review of DarkPark Games’ Conspiracy-19. We described the game as, “interesting, bumpy, and fixable.”

In response, DarkPark Games has issued significant patching to Conspiracy-19, by augmenting the digital side of the experience.

The most notable shift was a complete overhaul of their hint system.

Beyond that, they added quite a few smaller quality-of-life improvements that I suspect will dramatically improve the flow of the game, but it is admittedly hard to assess this in a game that I have already played.

Our review has been updated to reflect these changes to the best of our ability without changing what was originally published.

Should I Buy?

If you were on the fence about Conspiracy-19, I think that it has been significantly improved, and I feel a lot more comfortable recommending it at this point.

That said…

DarkPark Games’ latest creation, Witchery Spell, is special on a whole different level, and I would easily recommend it before playing Conspiracy-19. Both are worthy of playing, but Witchery Spell is magical.

The post Significant Updates to DarkPark Games’ Conspiracy-19 appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Update 5/23/23: If you enjoy Witchery Spell, we hope you’ll check out our interview with creator Gijs Geers on The Reality Escape Pod.

Coven fresh.

Location:  at home

Date Played: August 9, 2020

Team size: 1-4; we recommend 2-3

Duration: about 2-3 hours

Price: $58 plus shipping from the Netherlands

REA Reaction

Witchery Spell stood out from the crowd of play-at-home escape games by combining story, puzzles, and design into a polished, cohesive experience. DarkPark Games didn’t just assemble a box full of themed puzzles that could be found in a magazine. They conjured a self-contained experience that felt magical from start to finish.

Through its intricate physical elements, realistic websites, and player-driven gameplay, Witchery Spell made us feel like part of the story. The props and documents included in the box were clearly chosen and created with care. It was easy to ignore the few hiccups we ran into as we pursued the mystery to its conclusion.

The story was perilous and suspenseful, but more mystical than scary. Along with the moderate difficulty level, this makes Witchery Spell approachable to anyone who’s comfortable with the occult theme and slightly dark storyline. 

Witchery Spell was comparatively expensive for a play-at-home game, especially with international shipping. If cost is a factor, it’s much more affordable to grab a refill kit or two and find someone to split the bill with. 

Witchery Spell was a solid example of the potential of interactive storytelling to transport players to another world. The price may seem high, but it reflects the quality and value of this unique game. Not having had the opportunity to play any of DarkPark’s real life games myself, I can safely say Witchery Spell lived up to their reputation.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Sorcery enthusiasts
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Intricate, tactile components
• Puzzle–story integration
• Magical ambiance

Story

Years ago, five young girls found an old book and followed a ritual within, binding them into a coven. When one of the five disappeared after her 23rd birthday, the remaining four sent us a package of mysterious items to investigate. Our goal was to save them from the same fate.

Setup

DarkPark provided mystical artifacts and detailed documents for us to explore as we solved individual puzzles to unravel the larger mystery. We regularly accessed websites to solve puzzles or make progress in the story. The quality and authenticity of these elements drew us into the story and imbued our living room with magic.

Gameplay

Witchery Spell was a play-at-home immersive puzzle game with a medium level of difficulty. Core gameplay revolved around deduction, decryption, pattern recognition, and ritual.

The game unfolded through investigation of the box’s contents, which led us to combine elements in exciting and surprising ways. We also navigated websites as part of our information gathering.

There was no time limit; we could explore and solve at our leisure. DarkPark Games provided a self-service hint webpage as part of the game in case we got stuck.

Analysis

Witchery Spell simulated a feeling of enchantment about as well as possible without including actual magical items in the game. DarkPark Games made it easy to suspend our disbelief and feel the magic of the rituals we performed.

The physical components of Witchery Spell filled us with wonder. The contents of the box looked beautiful and felt authentic to the tale of witchcraft we uncovered throughout the evening. Each item got its moment to shine. The production quality exceeded any play-at-home game we’d tried, giving the experience a cinematic feel.

During its long shipping journey, a jar opened in transit and thoroughly seasoned the game box with its contents. We were able to work around it, but packing the items more securely might prevent this sort of mishap.

Witchery Spell provided more than just witchcraft-themed puzzles. The puzzles intertwined with our investigation of the five young witches’ story in a natural way—even the paper-based puzzles. For the most part, they felt like they could only be part of this specific story. They also provided some satisfying aha moments, especially an unexpected use of a common item included within the game.

The websites were well designed and felt like part of the story. They added to the mystery and adventure by evoking a larger world beyond the contents of the box.

 DarkPark Games has improved their hint system since launching their previous play-at-home game. The self-service hint page was comprehensive and avoided spoiling later puzzles. It also provided a list of the box’s contents in case we felt something was missing.

At one point when we entered an incorrect guess into a website, we received a hint that basically spoon-fed us the answer. We would have preferred to arrive at that insight on our own.

The beginning of Witchery Spell eased us into the challenge and provided context for the experience ahead. This worked more smoothly than just presenting a box of stuff all at once for us to sort through. After that, discovering the purpose of the box’s contents became an exciting part of the game.

/ The ending diverged from the usual “congratulations, you did it!” in a way that was unexpected and clever. However, one of Witchery Spell’s final concoctions was one part delightful and one part confusing. We found ourselves searching for an explanation, but ultimately found no answers.

The story and gameplay flowed well throughout the experience. Besides the general urgency of our mission, DarkPark Games did not force or even suggest a time limit. This structure allowed the story to expand and heightened the magic and suspense.

Tips For Players

• Space Requirements: a small table
• Required Gear: pen or pencil, computer with internet access, a small receptacle
• Keep an eye out for the “acting” debut of one of REA’s founders. Volunteering as an Easter egg for the production was an amusing quarantine diversion.

Witchery Spell is best played in the evening. Dim the lights and embrace the magic.

Some of the elements are destructible, but you can purchase a refill kit from DarkPark and reset the game for another group to play.

Buy your copy of DarkPark Games’ Witchery Spell, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: DarkPark provided a sample for review.

The post DarkPark Games – Witchery Spell [Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.