Beyond the Locked Door: The Art of Immersive Storytelling in Amsterdam

Of the three Benelux countries, two are internationally considered a “Mecca” within a very special niche industry: escape rooms.

Both The Netherlands and Belgium boast an extraordinary level of quality of escape rooms – so much so, that actual tours are organised, like pilgrimages, from across the globe to play them.

Within this wondrous little niche, we visited the Amsterdam escape room company that’s particularly famous for its storytelling, immersiveness and spectacle: Sherlocked.

Founded in 2014, they made waves internationally with the launch of their heist adventure, The Vault. The surprising level of realism of that experience made it the first escape room that people would travel for from around the world. 

The Vault: a heist movie starring you

Set inside a century-old safe deposit complex in Amsterdam’s iconic former stock exchange building, the Beurs van Berlage, The Vault is an amazing twist to the heist movie genre. Think Ocean’s Eleven, Entrapment and Inception, but in real life. 

From the moment you book, there’s no mention of a “game.” You’re a crew with a job to do, and Sherlocked takes that very seriously. So much so, that one time people actually got themselves arrested. The vault itself is genuine, with heavy brass dials, steel doors, real security mechanisms and among over 30,000 escape rooms worldwide, it was ranked 7th by TERPECA, the community-voted awards known as the Oscars of escape rooms.

The Alchemist: a family-friendly escape room in Amsterdam

Years later, as the industry had matured, they once again raised the bar with their magical adventure, The Alchemist. When David Spira, the American critic whose Room Escape Artist reviews can make or break a room’s reputation, introduced it at TERPECA, he told the audience he wept at its beauty.

I understand why. Where The Vault seduces through realism, The Alchemist works through wonder. It took four years to build, involved thirty-five artists and every element was meticulously designed. To give a sense of the attention to detail: the fireplace inside the space is real marble, cold to the touch, because the makers knew your hands would notice what your eyes might forgive. 

We paid a visit to this particular escape room in Amsterdam, and were blown away by the immersive nature of The Alchemist.

We would actually recommend it as an experience to do with your family, especially with children aged 8 or older, as the magical realism of this experience can become a treasured memory for them.

Co-CEO Francine Boon comments “One of our goals was to give grownups a sense of childlike wonder, but we hadn’t expected just how much actual children would be touched by the story and spectacle of The Alchemist. Originally, we only allowed players of 14 years and older, but now we welcome them as young as 7, as long as they’re accompanied and watched by their parents.”

“It also helps that we steer clear of scary experiences, unlike many other escape rooms, making us one of the few family-friendly options available” adds Francine.

The Alchemist is recommended for a team size of 3 to 6, but exceptions can be made for experienced teams of 2. We also recommend booking as soon as you know your travel dates, as the prime time slots tend to sell out weeks in advance, especially for The Alchemist. 

Team building in Amsterdam: when grownups need to play

Francine mentions how adults slowly lose permission to play, and how the pressure to be a productive professional crowds out the curiosity that made them good at their work in the first place.

That may be why Sherlocked has become a quiet favourite for team building in Amsterdam. Apple, Adyen, Nike, Netflix and Heineken all bring their teams regularly. “It’s fantastic to step out of the hierarchy and just play together. In a game, a director and an intern can rub shoulders figuring out a puzzle” says one executive. 

Beyond rooms: Amsterdam city games

Sherlocked’s currently launching their first city game in Amsterdam: Atlantis Protocol. This story-driven scavenger hunt focuses on one of Amsterdam’s strangest facts: the whole city sits on swampy land and wooden poles, never really suitable to build on. From that fact comes a story of a fragile foundation starting to fail, a centuries-old protocol activated, and a secret society sworn to keep the city standing.