Escape Republik: Nakatomi Plaza (Barcelona)

Yippee Ki Yay

Do you want to test your problem-solving skills in an exciting, action-packed environment?

Our Die Hard themed escape room in Barcelona is perfect for you. With tests and challenges that will test even the most experienced, you’ll feel like you’re in the movie as you try to save the day.

Hosted by professional actors, our escape room is designed to immerse you in the world of the movie and make you feel like you’re on a real rescue mission.

Can you solve the puzzles and escape in time? Only the most cunning and brave will succeed in this dangerous mission, will you be one of them?

When the movie ‘Die Hard’ was released, I was a little too young to see it. Fortunately, because it’s a Christmas movie (yep, that’s our hill to die on), it has continued to grow in popularity and is a staple in our household at least once a year. So when we learned that there was a Die Hard themed room, lovingly called ‘Nakatomi Plaza’ in Barcelona, we knew we had to add it to our list.

We closely follow the TERPECA awards so we were familiar with Nakatomi even before going to Barcelona. Its best rank in the awards was position 108 in 2023, and then in the 2024 awards it had dropped to number 239, but still, it would be a welcome break from some horror games so we booked it in.

We followed the instructions that we had received in our welcome email and at our specified time we WhatsApp’d the number we had been given. Receiving instructions back, we followed them and then entered the lobby of the ‘hotel’. Before entering this game is the only time we needed our phones for this experience, other than that, everything else was self-contained.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

So although this game is called ‘Nakatomi Plaza’ and is clearly inspired by Die Hard, don’t go in expecting the set to look like the one in the movie. That being said, there were plenty of nods to the film, and a few easter eggs dotted around the place.

There was some clever set design and the use of space was done in a way to make it feel like we were in a different area of the hotel, when perhaps we weren’t. Couple that with the GM interaction and it was certainly an entertaining experience.

I don’t know how old this game is, but there were unfortunately a number of areas where it appeared to be a little run down, and like things had been stuck back together quickly rather than giving them a proper fix – this could have been down to time and perhaps we were just unlucky, but this is how it felt in our experience.

At times this game felt like we were indeed attending a party on New Years Eve, with lively music and a party atmosphere, while at other times there was just some background noise to take away the silence. When it was loud, it was loud, but it was on theme for the occasion and I don’t recall ever finding the music too loud when we needed to focus.

There were a few moments in this game where you’ll need to be a little more agile, or at least one person in your group will need to be comfortable with a small ladder. So that’s worth considering if you are thinking about booking this game.

PUZZLES

Nakatomi Plaza had a traditional feel with the puzzles but there was also the need for a little role-playing with the GM to ensure we could get where we needed to be. Personally, I’m not a fan of role-playing but as our group consisted of three actors, I was able to just sit back and go along for the ride.

The puzzles were the usual escape room tropes; searching, observation, pattern recognition, colours, etc… Generally the puzzles were fair and generally somehow tied to the Die Hard theme. There were some bonus puzzles that you could choose to complete, or not – that is up to you.

Unfortunately I think this game has seen better days. There were a number of things in the room(s) that were clearly once puzzles and now appeared to be just part of the set. After the game we had a discussion amongst ourselves and a lot of it ended with ‘Oh yeah, I thought that was going to do something’. One puzzle was also broken not long before our game so rather than having to solve it (and it was a very big looking puzzle) the key was just placed on top of it which was a shame.

Some of the game involved us interacting with the GM and items in the room. This would have been fine but I’m not sure if we were going too quickly, or the GM just wasn’t ready, but we would do something and then find ourselves having to redo the same thing again a little later – despite nothing changing.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

I’ll be honest, I don’t speak Spanish (although one person in our group did), so I can’t really complain about translation issues with our GM, but they were present and it did hamper things a little at times.

If we needed help, it came via a walkie-talkie and the GM would chime in every now-and-then. Unfortunately we found a lot of what he was saying to us were things we had already done and even said out loud so I would question how attentive he was to our game.

Saying that, he was enthusiastic and genuinely seemed to have fun in his role(s), so well done to him for being able to play his part in a foreign language.

ANYTHING ELSE

Nakatomi is a fun game and perhaps a must-play if you’re a Die Hard fan and want to enjoy some little easter eggs from the movie. I don’t know if it was hype, but we were expecting a more refined experience, and perhaps when it was new, it was. But our experience was just a little rough around the edges and didn’t give us the buzz we were hoping for.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players

Address: Calle Porrera 12 Local – 08031 Barcelona

Website: https://www.escaperepublik.com/