Exodus Heilbronn - "Zombie Lab"

Ryan Driver
Sep 27
3 min read

LOCATION:  Heilbronn, Germany

Photo above is property of Exodus Heilbronn

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Zombie Lab
📅 DATE PLAYED: June 29, 2025
🎬 GENRE: Sci-Fi
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 5/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-6 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: 25-44 €/ pp
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes (28:00)

📖 THE STORY

The world is falling apart. Since the outbreak of the airborne zombie virus, humanity has been teetering on the edge. Routine health checks are the only line of defense… until yours comes back positive. You’re infected.

But there’s one last hope: an abandoned research lab rumored to hold the formula for a long-lost cure. As symptoms begin to creep in, you and your team must race against the clock, navigating sealed chambers, old experiments, and encrypted data left behind by desperate scientists. The transformation is coming—and once it starts, there’s no going back.

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

The absolute highlight of this experience was the introduction. It’s refreshing to see an escape room company put real thought and effort into this often-overlooked part of the experience; and it should be noted; this is the same for all games at Exodus. Each one has a fun and interactive intro. Although, ironically, the intro for Zombie Lab may have outshone the escape room itself!
In the intro, we were welcomed by a chief scientist from the Zombie Research Lab who was due to give us a tour. But before we could proceed, we had to undergo a security scan… to ensure we weren’t carrying the highly contagious zombie virus. Spoiler alert: we were!
What followed was a delightfully silly and interactive sequence. Our gamemaster played along with our banter brilliantly and even pulled in another gamemaster to join the fun. Without giving away too much, the result was a whole lot of laughter — and custom ID cards with our photos, as a quirky and immersive souvenir.
Now deemed too dangerous to roam free, we were escorted at gunpoint into the lab. Our mission: find the antidote within the hour, or get reacquainted with Mr. Gun. The lab’s set was fairly spacious and held some basic equipment, but it didn’t exactly scream “high-tech biohazard facility.” It would work for larger beginner groups, but lacked the kind of immersive detail that could have really sold the story.
One standout puzzle, we hadn’t seen before, involved two players on opposite sides of an interactive map, with one guiding the other through a booby-trapped route. This tested our communication and coordination — a great idea in theory, although the tech didn’t always respond as expected.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

Sadly, several elements fell flat. Once inside the room, the narrative quickly dissolved. There was no building tension, no environmental cues to reinforce the urgency, and almost no special effects to amp up the zombie theme. Even the mannequin on the surgeon’s table stud out because there was no zombie makeup or modifications at all.
The set design felt underwhelming and even a bit cheap, especially when compared to the company’s other rooms. The puzzles were basic and lacked thematic integration. A few times, we simply found a note that gave us a code for a padlock — zero deduction needed. This stripped the puzzles of any sense of challenge or narrative purpose.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

While this room is clearly geared toward first-time players, I’d hesitate to recommend it — mainly because I worry it might not inspire them to play more.

We had an interesting chat with management, who openly debated whether to invest in updating the room. Apparently, it’s their best-selling game, which makes the decision tricky. But in my view, that’s exactly why they should upgrade it.

If this is someone’s first escape room experience, it should leave them buzzing with excitement and curiosity — not just thinking “meh.” … You only get one chance to make a first impression, after all.

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

Exodus is a centrally located location within walking distance from the train station. There is no dedicated car park, however there is plenty of parking within the city.
There is a lobby area with comfortable seating and drinks for sale

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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(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 Exodus Heilbronn for providing us with a media discount for this game. Although a media discount was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.