Astral Abduction
Location: Buffalo, NY
Date Played: April 23, 2022
Team Size: 4-8; we recommend 3-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $27 per player
Ticketing: Private
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
Lock & Key Escape Room delivered a well-orchestrated escape room with The Seance. It used a myriad of puzzle types to build towards an escape that was both satisfying to play through and built on a logical game flow.
We particularly enjoyed a puzzle with an artistic aspect that had us mixing and matching elements in unexpected ways midway into the experience. We paused to appreciate the detailed novelty of the interaction, which underlined how set pieces found right away may take on a different context with information found later.
As a note, The Seance did lose a bit of its storyline later in the gameplay. While the puzzles were clearly laid out, it wasn’t always obvious how they were driving us towards the original objective of finding a silent film star. This certainly won’t heavily impact whether some people enjoy this room or not, but a stronger narrative backbone would help tie the individual moments together.
If you’re in the Buffalo area, The Seance is a perfect weekend activity to close out a day adventuring with your family or to kick off a night going out on Elmwood Avenue with friends.
Who is this for?
- Puzzle lovers
- HP Lovecraft fans
- Any experience level
Why play?
- Logical, solid game flow
- Clever gaming references for those in that subculture
Story
We were tasked with investigating the disappearance of a silent film star, and along our journey we unraveled quite the underworld of secrets.
Setting
The Seance was set in a comfortable area (dressing room? parlor?) with hints of the starlet’s adoring fans and an appreciation for the arts… and then it took us somewhere otherworldly.
Gameplay
Lock & Key Escape Room’s The Seance was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Puzzles stemmed from searching and making connections with found items.
Analysis
➕ There were a variety of search finds and puzzle types present throughout the space that allowed each of our teammates an opportunity to uniquely contribute.
➖ It wasn’t always immediately clear which items were meant to be interacted with, and which should be left to their own devices.
➕ A later puzzle was oriented very cleverly to align with necessary information found around the space.
➖ There was at least one notable point in the late game that depended on esoteric outside knowledge. Reframing some wording in this puzzle would ease confusion and eliminate the outside knowledge and (likely) subsequently required hint.
➕ There was a sense of momentum, with the collection of items cascading into a satisfying puzzle-driven conclusion.
❓Aspects of searching were incredibly fair in this room, and any delays that we encountered were typically due to a search fail of our own making. That being said, there seemed to be a numeric ghost puzzle underfoot that was a bit confusing when uncovered.
Tips For Visiting
- There are numerous restaurants to visit up and down Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, where this escape room is located.
- There is a parking lot behind the building; the door to this facility is in an alley along the side of the building.
Book your hour with Lock & Key Escape Room’s The Seance, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.