Escape Room Katwijk - "Pray"

LOCATION:  Katwijk aan Zee, Netherlands

Photo above is property of Escape Room Katwijk

Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Pray
📅 DATE PLAYED: November 7, 2024
🎬 GENRE: Thriller
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 6/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-6 ppl (Ages 18+)
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 80 Mins.
💰 PRICE: €189.95/ 2 ppl
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

Upon the tragic murder of a beloved family member, you head to the funeral home “The Last Honor” to say goodbye. You expect to be greeted by funeral director J. Green to guide you through this difficult process…

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

Escape Room Katwijk does an excellent job of crafting a very spooky game without lots of dramatic jump scares, gore, or scream soundtracks. The fear lies more in what might or could happen.
In part, this feeling is created through the highly atmospheric and expansive environment. This is some impressive work! Each space is well-crafted and distinct, with additional use of smells and other effects. (While we appreciated this, be aware if you have any sensitivities.)
We enjoyed the multitude of challenging puzzles in this game, with one particular standout favorite! You'll need your keen observational skills, communication, and a bit of logic to make your way through. At times the gameplay is more linear, but at others there will be multiple things for different players to work on simultaneously. If you do get stuck, lighting cues manage to give subtle hints as they draw your attention.
Amongst the moments of high tension and drama, there are periods of relative calm during narrative moments, allowing you to more easily pay attention and follow the unfolding story. There is also downtime provided to focus on the rewarding puzzles.
We appreciate that Escape Room Katwijk are up front about the use of actors during the game, who we felt added emotional depth to the experience. However, they also make it very clear that the game can be played without an actor if requested, which is fantastic for anyone for whom the interactions may be problematic or worrisome.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

During a mild chase scene, Dave hit his head HARD. Padding and lighting in these kinds of spaces (particularly when being navigated under those circumstances) would go a long way to help ensure player safety without taking away from the experience.
One puzzle in particular was made difficult not by understanding how it worked but by needing to visually distinguish two very similar items at a distance in dim lighting. It would be an easy fix to make the pieces more distinct or to bring them into closer visual range, thereby reducing the frustration of an otherwise enjoyable puzzle mechanism.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

Pray does an excellent job of balancing the experiential, dramatic aspects with engaging puzzling components. This combination makes for a thoroughly engrossing game, even as someone who is not much of a horror fan. While you will need at least one member of your party who is a bit brave, it has broader playability than the kind of extreme horror games found elsewhere (and Escape Room Katwijk classifies it as a thriller, not horror). It's easy to recommend for a broad swath of (reasonably agile, adult) players, just be sure to pay close attention to your surroundings to keep yourself safe. Prepare yourself for a dark, cinematic, puzzling adventure, and pray it won't be your last…

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

There is free parking, and bathrooms are available through an alternate entrance to the left.
How to enter the game vs. the bathrooms is clearly depicted in your pre-game instructions. However, be aware that your GPS may not guide you correctly to the entrance; by looking more closely at Google maps, we were able to surmise the correct path to reach it.
Once you enter the game area itself, there is a bench and coat rack for your things, as well as a smaller locked box for any valuables.
As with many games in the Netherlands, players should be prepared for steep stairs and crawling; it is not wheelchair-accessible or recommended for those who are pregnant.

Photos above are property of Escape Room Katwijk

BOOK NOW

(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank Escape Room Katwijk for providing a media discount on the tickets for this game. Although discounted admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion of the review whatsoever.