Mauve

Does not deserve its score

I booked this room based on the score on here, and it does not deserve as high as it has at this current time of booking (8.7). It's easily one of the worst rooms I've done in Amsterdam, if not ever. And I'm really not picky!

To start with, our host didn't hear us ring the bell. We waited for quite a while ringing the extremely loud bell multiple times, even tried calling (The number was not in service...) and then finally when the host appeared, they said their headphones were on so they didn't hear as they thought we were to be there later. Easy mistake, not so bad, but more later. The venue was honestly not very well maintained or clean, the bathroom was shockingly dark. The explainer for the escape room also included a lot about 'not cheating' which I found honestly insulting...? Like, yes...? Of course no cheating...? I guess it's close to the Tourist area, but still, I've never had that as part of the speech and found it quite belittling. I wish the locker for your clothing was more secure/not RIGHT by the entrance door, but that's nitpicking.

The Room started out... well, okay. Some of the props are quite banged up and torn up and I was told one elements being trashed was 'part of the decor' and 'going to be replaced soon'. Sure, sure... There were lots of puzzles presented at once, which were secretly actually part 2-3 of some other puzzle chain, but there was no way to intuit what was actually step #1, what could already be solved. There were also some really stupid 'red herrings' which just read as 'this puzzle is broken and poorly maintained'. Some areas where we needed to reach and get things but was so dark I couldn't see there was more in there, and it wasn't clear we'd *need* more. During one of these sections where it seemed as though we were trying forever and failing because the "puzzle" (I use that word generously here) seemed broken (I was told it was just 'difficult') I requested help and hints and had to try for 4 times before the host heard me and replied, which made it feel as though they weren't paying attention. This would normally NEVER be something I'd comment on- I get it, you're probably paid garbage, I can't expect much.. but in combo with the earlier door buzzer thing and implying we'd cheat... I dunno.

Poor maintenance, poor service, poor puzzle design. Don't brag about 'we don't have any conventional locks' if your non-conventional puzzles aren't fun, or just legitimately aren't even puzzles.

The upsides were the location is great. I love that there was a theme other than 'GOING TO GET MURDERED', loved the easy booking on the website.

Amazing! Especially for nerds.

I went with a few other very nerdy/geeky friends who love fantasy and we had an amazing time. I especially loved that it was a fantasy setting rather than 'the same old murderer' or horror themed thing where people try to scare you. You can actually really focus on the puzzles and the story because you're not being terrified! I adored this, other rooms, take note!! Fantasy!!!!

Also the keepsake was INCREDIBLE, other rooms should steal the idea hahaha, it was so good. <3

Great Room!

Fantastic Room. The Host was great- there was a bit of Roleplaying with the host but I am sure if you are uncomfortable with that you could ask to just do the room without any, but she was lovely and we had a great time. The puzzles were all really well themed with the room, and the room itself was very clever but not so clever that it was somehow relying on a gimmick? Just really nicely well done. Three people felt great, five would have been too much already. Amazing set dressing, really cute, and great to do a solid escape room that isn't trying to scare me but instead just wants me to have a great time solving puzzles. : ) Despite the complexity, the host ran it perfectly, give them a raise!!!

Response by AdventurEscape Utrecht

2023 February 09

Dear Mauve, Thank you so much for your glowing review, both of the room and the host! I have passed it on to them and we will certainly be discussing that raise ;-) Hope to see you again in The Spear of Destiny once that opens? Kind regards, Marc van Hasselt

Great Room, weird vibes

The Room itself? Fantastic. But being in the city center meant that it was clearly more geared towards tourists, so it felt a bit unwelcoming to come in and be rushed through a talk with many people and so many rooms in one building. The Host was fine but refused to tell us if there were any actors who were going to be part of the room, when I normally ask as one of my teammates has an intense phobia and would rather be informed beforehand. I even emailed and the host said that they were too busy to reply to any emails with questions, and that it would ruin the experience if we knew beforehand. It wasn't until my teammate began to cry from anxiety that the host pulled them aside to tell them. This felt very unprofessional to me. It wouldn't have meant we'd cancel the room, we just wanted to know.

The Puzzles were great! The set dressing, the atmosphere, the puzzle design. I felt clever at times and never too stumped, not too many hints, nothing that felt illogical. Everything was reset properly and the room itself was fantastic.

Fantastic!

We did this room for our anniversary as it says its recommended for two people, and I definitely would! It was a pain in the nards to get to, but once we were there it was incredible. (I regret not suggesting to the host that they make some sort of deal with a taxi company in Bruges for folks who arent driving in themselves)

One of my favourite things about the room is that beforehand the host asked us how frightening we'd like it to be and calibrated with us and answered all of our questions, and had ways to modify the room so it would be just as fun but was very conscious of our enjoyment of the experience. And we did really enjoy it! Absolutely fantastic, really well done. Great puzzles, amazing set dressing.

Response by The Push Mystery Rooms

2023 January 26

Thank you so much Mauve!!!

GOOD AS HECK

I was shocked by how good this was! Most escape rooms in amsterdam are clearly here as experiences for scaring tourists or whatever, but not this one! This was just a SOLID ROOM. Great host, great experience that was solidly themed and everything of the puzzles went along with pushing the story rather than just trying to be an impressive gimmick. Really fantastic. Nothing illogical, the story made sense as we played along, and it was incredibly exciting to get from one element to the next and really felt like a culmination of everything coming together. Didn't need to rely on scaring anyone to be a fun time. Just fantastic!!! Also the hosts were willing to tell us the level of scariness + adjust it accordingly, which we really appreciated.

There was one section where we couldn't hear the audio-clue/instruction so we wasted a lot of time, so we advised that in the future they should really prompt that clue again + perhaps have it repeated visually somewhere for folks who have hearing difficulties.

Great!

Was great, they modified the level of scariness for one of our players and it was still a great time.

Great Aesthetics, okay room

We made the journey out here based on the reviews, and it was worth it! But the more I think about it, the less this room is 10/10 and the more its just.. okay. But VERY impressive visually! So if you like a cool experience and great visuals, definitely check this one out.

We found the puzzles not very logical and didn't really fit the environment we were in and didn't quite work with the storyline. It felt like random puzzles had been hammered into an environment/storyline that didn't suit them at all and made no dang sense, but were still neat. There were also some puzzles that had far more stages/complexity than were necessary and we killed a solid 15-20 minutes on one puzzle that could have had... 3 elements instead of 25. It didn't add to my experience. The music volume was also frustrating at some times. The room felt like it cared more about being an impressive looking/feeling experience rather than a good set of puzzles with progression. I was rolling my eyes pretty quickly on at the 'scary' stuff being way over the top, and I feel like it should really have a warning for folks who might have traumatic experiences with the 'scary' element, as the room on the surface doesn't seem to have anything to do with that (We just thought it was vaguely stranger-things themed based on the logo, maybe some Amityville, not what it ended up being. Also confusing title with the movie/book also existing...) The story made no dang sense and had to be explained to us because it was overly complicated.

Still! Very much a room you NEED to check out!!! Just perhaps lower your expectations, be prepared for incredible, impressive gimmicks. Also, incredible host!! Very lovely. Great service and waiting area.

Great room, fantastic location

The place they've built this is incredible. The room is great.

Don't sleep on this, GO!!!

I feel like people underestimate how amazing this room is. It was by far my best experience in Amsterdam, if not the Netherlands. Maybe not as flashy or impressive as folks expect rooms to be now but THE PUZZLES! The PUZZLES, yall!! Logical and sensible and a great mix of different kinds, with a big group we never felt like there wasn't enough for folks to do, and everyone had a chance for one of the puzzles to compliment their own skillset. Really, really incredible! And the theming and the story? Absolutely frickin GREAT!! Don't sleep on this, GO!

Super fun theming

Very unique theming, great clever puzzles, definitely moments where I felt like a genius.

Decent room

I went to this room many years ago so my review for it isn't accurate anymore. It wasn't well run then but I've heard they majorly improved things!

Very nice! Not horror

Great to do a well designed, fun, atmospheric room that doesnt rely on horror.