Who are you? Who, who, who, who?
Location: Austin, Texas
Date Played: February 2, 2019
Team size: 2-10; we recommend 4-6
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $27.50 per player
Ticketing: Public
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
In CSI: Murder at the Asylum, Lockout Austin did the crime solver genre of escape room justice.
CSI: Murder at the Asylum was a puzzler’s escape room. It was organized and focused. It combined standard escape room-style puzzles with a larger deduction-based narrative.
Although the setting wasn’t particularly interesting, with their in-character gamemaster, Lockout Austin built just a bit more world around the experience.
Play CSI: Murder at the Asylum for the puzzles and you’ll get just a bit more than that from it. If you’re in Austin, we recommend you stop by to solve this crime.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Armchair detectives
- Players with at least some experience
- Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
Why play?
- To solve the crime!
- Interesting puzzles
Story
There was a murder at Pinnhurst Asylum and for unexplained reasons, the feds wanted to take over the investigation. We had to solve the mystery before they arrived at the scene.
Setting
CSI: Murder at the Asylum was set in a fairly bland office-like environment for the first act and a more interesting asylum in the second act.
While the second half was a little more visually interesting, the set was merely adequate, serving as a container for the puzzles and gameplay, which were the real reason to play this game.
Gameplay
Lockout Austin’s CSI: Murder at the Asylum was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty and a twist. In the first act, we had to solve a crime by discovering alibis and narrowing our list of suspects.
Core gameplay revolved around deduction, searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.
Analysis
➕ Lockout Austin’s gamemasters are characters in their experiences. In CSI: Murder at the Asylum, we didn’t just start puzzling when the door closed. This added intrigue and fun.
➖ CSI: Murder at the Asylum had a dull, sterile set. While appropriate, the set wasn’t invigorating.
➕ The investigation made sense. We searched for alibis to verify innocence. Any fact we learned could apply to one or more suspects, which felt a bit more realistic than what we’ve experience in many crime-scene deduction games.
➕ The puzzles flowed well and were satisfying solves. They became increasingly more challenging as the game progressed, which worked well.
➕ The gameplay was organized. The locks were labeled. The suspects were neatly presented and when we eliminated them, it was clear where to put their pages. No clutter. We could solve with incredible focus.
➖ It was easy to miss the story while focused on solving puzzles. For those paying attention to the story, the ending didn’t really land.
➖ CSI: Murder at the Asylum missed an opportunity for an exhilarating and memorable moment. They set it up, but it came too soon and lacked the necessary sound or lighting effects to stop all players in their tracks.
➕Lockout Austin repurposed one escape room cliché for a legit solve. It worked really well.
Tips For Visiting
- Lockout Austin had many food options nearby.
- There is a parking lot.
Book your hour with Lockout Austin’s CSI: Murder at the Asylum, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Lockout Austin comped our tickets for this game.
