Lockhill: The Sanatorium

I should start by admitting that I convinced my husband to play this with ‘day mode’. So we had the full puzzles and no live actors. This was a good opportunity for me to experience a scary room without the fear of something chasing me/jumping out. It was nice to have the opportunity to explore the expansive layout, without sweating at every turn. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t scary though! The music is timed well and they definitely knew when I was feeling confident as they would ramp up the sound bites whenever I would walk around on my own. It was easy to see how terrifying this would have been with the actors as there is no place to hide. The layout is expansive enough to feel like you could get lost, without being overwhelming. I truly felt like I was in an abandoned sanatorium, as the set-design is beautiful. I was so grateful to have full access to a fully functioning torch throughout the experience. It’s possible these aren’t available during the midnight mode, best to ask! 

The puzzles were themed well to the story and the clue-system complemented the story. For the first time in a long time, I came out of the room with many questions. We had somehow not done roughly 3 puzzles yet somehow escaped successfully. We escaped with a minimum of 20 minutes spare so we couldn’t understand why we weren’t able to complete these puzzles. I felt like it ended abruptly. The GM spent his time (still in character) explaining why it works this way, but I still don’t fully understand. I imagine with the actors and completing all the puzzles would make this a 5 star room. 

The. Scariest. Escape. Room. At least the scariest I've ever done. Unbelievably immersive, and cleverly designed. If you're looking for an experience you'll be talking about forever, this is it. 

Truthfully, you need to do Midnight mode to get the most out of the game.

Magical set that truly becomes part of the character of the scares - we were left constantly wondering how 'something' appeared 'there'.

In terms of design, once you're out, you'll realise how clever some of the mechanics were to ensure all teams get a decent experience, even if they're too scared to do much! Play it - the therapy bill afterwards will be worth it.