Kamer 237 – Kamer 237

There is a specificity to escape rooms in the Netherlands that you will find almost nowhere else in the world. I will not reveal what it is, as I really don’t want to spoil the experience for the reader, but after I finally played Kamer 237, I knew that this is where it all started.

This room I had heard about for a long time, but it was always out of reach. So after 7 years of waiting, let me tell you, my hopes were unbelievably high. Not only has this room been proven to be one of the best in the world over and over again in any ranking there is, but I also really wanted to find out if I would enjoy old game that much. This is something that I now tend to compromise on when playing a mediocre game. I think, “Okay, it’s old, it was quite impressive 6 to 8 years ago, it was new, and the mechanics were innovative, but now it is something that is just reliving its golden days,” so I give it a pass. With my expectations and hype, this room didn’t stand a chance.

And of course, Kamer 237 was everything I needed it to be. Unexpected, a bit dark, with twists and turns there were no way for me to anticipate. The moment the team pushed and the game actually stayed, my mind was blown away by the simplicity of the puzzle and the impact it made on the game. How with a single push, you can be in a completely different dimension. The game is not automated, and the puzzles are on the classical side, but this made the time spent there even more special. I didn’t miss the gadgets; I didn’t miss all the bells and whistles that new 2023 games usually have.

This game was true to the story, true to the foundations of the escape room genre, and true to you as a player and an escape enthusiast.

It’s like reading the classics. If you want to know how escape rooms became what they are now, you have to come here and play. Same as if you want to understand what rock&roll is, you have to start with The Beatles.

This game is a gem, it should be treasured and one day, if possible, to be saved in a museum.