De Gouden Kooi: Han’s Revenge (Mechelen)

A very cool game

It is a hot summer in Mechelen. Temperatures have been swinging out of control for several weeks. People are looking for cooling and the demand for new air conditioning installations is booming.

The successful firm Aircotech, led by Michel Aerts, is urgently looking for new installers. Maybe you are the new talent he is looking for. Apply today for this dream job!

Meanwhile, the news has been dominated for several days by a remarkable break-in at the Inram Research Center. Some unsavory types made off with a particularly dangerous product…

When we heard that Demise of the Gricers might be closing (don’t worry, it’s not), the FOMO was real, and we immediately made plans to get to Belgium and play before we missed it. But if I’m being truthful, while Gricers was the reason for the timing of our trip, Han’s Revenge was the game I was most looking forward to.

When planning a trip around escape rooms, we look at a variety of factors to choose which games to play, but one of the first things we do is check the TERPECA rankings. In 2023, Han’s Revenge shot straight to number 5 on that list, and in 2024 appeared at number 11. And while a game’s TERPECA ranking doesn’t necessarily mean it will be the best game ever, it is a pretty good indicator that it will be something to remember. So, needless to say, Han’s Revenge went onto the list of must play games for this trip. (It helped that a good friend had also given us a gift voucher to play too.)

We actually visited De Gouden Kooi on our first day in Belgium, when we played The Secret of Saint-Rumoldus (which was excellent, by the way). But that was only a flying visit, before dashing off to play The Movies Experience, so we hadn’t managed to see much of the area. And although we started our day with all the fun, enjoying the glorious weather and all of the delights of Efteling, we thankfully arrived with plenty of time to explore the beautiful city of Mechelen this time around. In fact, we were so early, that, after a bit of exploration, we dropped by De Gouden Kooi to see if it was possible to play Han’s Revenge earlier since we were so ahead of schedule; we were delighted when our GM, Baas, was happy (and able) to do this.

All we had to do was wait for a little while in their reception area – not exactly a hardship since due to the comfortable furniture and relaxing vibe of the decor it’s almost like the waiting room of a spa. But, we actually didn’t have to wait long before Baas was back, and ushering us through the door to the briefing room. We settled onto the little stools to go over all things health and safety, before making our way to the door where we waited for the green light to tell us it was time to begin.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

Han’s Revenge began in much the same fashion as The Secret of Saint-Rumoldus, with our group stepping through the door into a small projector room, where the incredibly well produced video gave us a bit more background on our mission. But that’s where the similarities stopped, and once we had the keys in hand we opened the illuminated door and found ourselves back on the streets of Mechelen.

Okay, we weren’t really on the streets, but the quality of the set build was so high, that apart from the ceiling above us, it would have been easy to mistake the set for the real thing. The game continued to impress from there, with plenty of new and exciting places to explore, each totally different to the last. In fact, each new space we encountered was so well designed, with so many little intricate details, that they could have quite easily just been their own game in the UK.

Lights, sounds, videos, the sets, and even at times, it felt like the temperature combined to help pull us fully into the world of Han and his revenge. The puzzles combined with the narrative, to give us an immersive game that revealed bits of the story, and threw some drama our way with each new thing that we encountered, giving the game a fast, but never frantic pace, as the story and the tension built to the finale (us saving the world, of course!)

PUZZLES

The puzzles in Han’s Revenge were, honestly, perfection in my eyes. Clever, engaging, varied, and structured in a non-linear way so that all of the team could get in on something, and no one was left waiting around. Logic problems, observation, a bit of searching, plus team work and communication challenges were layered in with physical and tactile challenges that were just plain fun. The puzzles flowed effortlessly, and the telegraphing was subtle, but clear, so we never found ourselves wondering what we were missing.

But there were also moments of fun and whimsy interspersed with the pure puzzle solving, giving us opportunities to just play. I’m often in the minority, in that I don’t typically enjoy non-linear games, partly because I struggle to find a starting point, and partly due to FOMO on the puzzles I didn’t see. But even though parts of Han’s Revenge were multi-linear, and still others were an almost completely open puzzle free for all, I never felt confused, like I was missing anything, or even just standing around with nothing to do.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Baas was an excellent host, and not just because he was able to squeeze us in early so that we would still have time to get dinner and drinks after our game. He was warm, welcoming, friendly, and efficient – what more can you ask for in a host? Of course, Han’s Revenge did just click with us, so we did make things easy on him by not needing any clues.

Had we needed assistance, there were screens dotted around throughout the game, and clues would have been delivered through those. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be my favourite method of clue delivery (especially with a set as fantastic as this one), but those screens were also an integral part of the game, so it really just works, and works well.

ANYTHING ELSE

We’ve played a fair number of the games that have made it into the Top Ten games in the TERPECA rankings, and while excellent, so many of the ones that aren’t straight up horror games seem to walk a fine line between Escape Room and Immersive Theatre. But Han’s Revenge is just a classic Escape Room – no actors, no terror, no dramatic shoot out – and it is excellent. De Gouden Kooi are developing their next game, and trust me when I say, I can’t wait to go back.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players – 48 mins

Address: Haverwerf 7, 2800 Mechelen

Website: https://degoudenkooi.be/en/