Stay in the Dark: Dark Park (Vlaardingen)

More than an escape room, so much more

Your breathing stalls as you suddenly hear footsteps on the stairs you’re hidden beneath. You see him descend slowly, turn around, and walk towards your hiding place. He reaches in the dark, his gripping hands barely missing you and his face getting ever closer to yours. His hollow eyes see right through you. As you bite your tongue trying not to make a sound, the same words keep running through your head: “Why on earth did I go in here?

Stay in the Dark is closing on May 19, 2024 so it may be too late to book this incredible experience

One of our most anticipated games of our entire Netherlands trip was Stay in the Dark by Dark Park. We’d heard a lot about this game and it was probably the one our team was most apprehensive about. We drove down from Amsterdam towards Rotterdam and arrived with plenty of time so checked out the lovely little bar next door to our meeting spot called ‘Brandweer’ where we made sure to consume some caffeine to push us through the 2.5 hour experience that was Stay in the Dark.

At our allocated time slot we headed outside and went to the meeting point that we were given. Not long later, our host ‘Skip’ arrived and kindly provided us with umbrellas as it was raining. From that moment on, we were immersed in the experience and the incredibly immersive welcome carried through the whole experience.

Other than its reputation, we didn’t know much about this game other than the key headlines;

• Over 4,000 m2, over multiple floors,
• 2.5 hour experience
• “You’re gonna climb, run, crawl, fall, and get back up.”

Were we ready? I think so….

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

Reviewing escape rooms is never easy as we have to tread a fine line of painting a picture of the key details of the experience while not giving away any spoilers. Stay in the Dark is one of those games where the less you know about this experience, the better.

I’m not sure I’ve ever played a game where I felt more immersed in their world. From start to end, this game was about immersion. The space was truly huge and getting around it was one hell of a workout – stairs, running, hiding, and then more hiding. Stay in the Dark was non-stop from start to end, and I loved every minute of it. The space, the sights, the sounds, the smells – they perfected it all.

This is a live actor experience, and the live actor is used to perfection. They add the right amount of fear just knowing that you’re not alone, but when the actor does appear, it’s a whole different ball game. Couple that with an amazing dynamic sound track, and it makes it feel like you’re living in your own real-life horror movie.

I should probably talk about the sound aspect a little more. Dark Park are proud of the music for their games (and rightly so), so much so that they actually have a number of playlists on your favourite music platforms that you can listen to to remind yourself of the terror you experienced. What was clever though, was that the music changed to help you know when things were safe, and equally when you really should think about what was around the next corner – perfection.

Oh oh, and the ending! PERFECTION (again)!

PUZZLES

Stay in the Dark is not your normal escape room experience. In fact I don’t think you can really call it an escape room. Yes, there were puzzles, but they were limited and not the most difficult. But throw in the darkness, a terrifying live actor presence, the huge space, and loud heart pumping music, and you have a recipe for an experience that elevates itself above needing puzzles.

Normally when we play escape rooms I get annoyed when darkness is a puzzle. But in Stay in the Dark, darkness is essential (obviously) and strangely it doesn’t negatively affect the puzzles at all.

I even managed to create my own ‘puzzle’ in this game. I spent ten minutes thinking I was locked in a pitch black room only to find out I wasn’t – I just needed to give the door a good nudge! But with a psycho roaming the corridors I don’t think I was in any rush to get out.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Our host, ‘Skip’ played by Dominick was exceptional. From the start through to the very end, he was in character and he played it perfectly. After the game it was wonderful to be able to sit down and have a proper chat with him about the game and get a bit more insight into how it all works.

Stay in the Dark wouldn’t be the immersive experience it was if a voice just came over a speaker system and told you what to do. But with subtle lighting changes and even more subtle prompts from the live actor we always knew where we were supposed to be heading and what we needed to do.

ANYTHING ELSE

Stay in the Dark in a word: Unmissable. There aren’t many games that I would replay, but this is one. The more I look back on it, the more I realise how much I enjoyed it. Sadly it’s closing in May 2024 but if you get a chance to play it, you must.

You know you’re in for a good time when you have to remove anything that gives off light, including your watches. Annoyingly this meant I didn’t get to log my steps as I’m sure I would have got a lot from this game.

Success/Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players – escaped in… no concept of time.

Address: Olivier van Noortlaan, 3133 AR Vlaardingen

Website: https://www.darkpark.com/