RATING: 6 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: +1:12
The plan is to break into a facility rumored to be haunted by the former demented patients who were tortured there – what could go wrong?
With an alleged 7000 deaths taking place inside its walls, the old abandoned Avery Island asylum is up to its eyeballs in spirits, not surprisingly topping lists of America’s most haunted spots.
Originally built as a tuberculosis hospital in 1913, the building saw many die from the disease. But with the addition of mentally unstable criminals and the mentally handicapped in 1919, the facility became severely understaffed and soon tales of mistreatment and dubious human experimentation trickled out.
Many believe the murderous owner of the facility, Doctor Victor Delacroix, was to blame claiming he kept patients as hostages to perform gruesome experiments and medical procedures on them. It was not until HIS mysterious murder in 1931 by several of the patients that an investigation was launched and the facility was finally shut down for good.
Apparitions include Beaux Davis (aka “Mouse”), a small girl who leaves her toys lying around and who’s been caught on camera, a nurse who hanged herself in the central hallways and can still be heard yelling at her patients, hundreds of scattered screams of tortured souls throughout the facility, and the murderous ghost of the doctor himself, who is said to still walk the halls, searching for his next victim.
Your friend Jenny, a local reporter, broke into the old asylum this evening in the hopes of capturing footage for a story she was working on about haunted places. She’s been gone for a while and it’s getting dark and a storm is coming, so you and your friends decide to go look for her. You hesitantly enter through a broken window and start searching through the maze of dark rooms. You enter an old patient room when suddenly you hear the door lock behind you, trapping you inside.
Can you find your friend and escape or will you become the doctor’s next patient?
It quickly becomes apparent that Mouse is recruiting visitors to help find and unlock her bedroom door to finally free her spirit from this dreadful place. Her meek voice can be heard echoing through the halls, pleading for help from the other side. Her spectral breadcrumbs serve as the narrative catalyst, pushing apprehensive visitors deeper into the facility’s mysteries.
As trespassers tread further into the dark asylum, more questions arise. What sinister fate befell those unfortunate enough to be trapped inside? Is there a way out of here that doesn’t involve electroshock therapy?
The story begins in a patient room where a small dirty bed and desk serve as the only furniture. The once white walls are now covered in large rusty stains that, although dry now, appear to have been dripping significantly at one point in time. Someone has scribbled the names of a plethora of phobias above the mattress. The paint is peeling, revealing a crumbling brick wall beneath. It looks like even when this place wasn’t deserted, it may not have been an ideal place to live.
A secret crawlspace leads into a shadowed hallway. From the small toy left behind on the ground, it appears that Mouse has been here. There are several patient quarters lining this corridor. Does one of these doors hold the key to unlocking this mystery?
Down the hall, in the bathroom, a clue to the last chapter of Jenny’s story lies in crimson on the cold floor. Although it is unclear whether someone in the spirit realm or the real world wrote the plot. A trio of dingy sinks topped with mirrors are lined up on the far wall next to a locked maintenance closet. Three bathroom stalls, the last one labeled “Out of Order,” sit across from a set of employee lockers filled with reminders of those who once dared to work here.
Moving into Dr. Delacroix’s office reveals a benign space containing a desk topped with a microscope, a bookshelf holding various medical volumes and elixirs, a large filing cabinet, and an anatomical skeleton suspended on a rusty cart. From the looks of this room, one could mistakenly think the psychiatrist was just an ordinary physician.
In stark contrast, the procedure room next door tells the grim tale of the atrocious torture experienced in this place. The last victim of the murderous doctor lies on the metal table, covered in a sheet. Various jars of internal organs are displayed on the shelves of a glass cabinet like macabre souvenirs. These morbid artifacts leave no doubt about the asylum’s dark history, transforming a simple room search into a chilling walk through a horror movie.
One of the early challenges in The Asylum is both physical and terrifying in nature, requiring one brave soul to volunteer as tribute to crawl through a small dark passageway and enter the creepy facility alone. After solving one quick task, they are once again reunited with the rest of the visitors. Strategic choices matter here, as those who scare easily may find this too unsettling.
The thematic clue system leans on the supernatural theme, requiring investigators to call out to the spirit of Mouse for help navigating this maze. One can only communicate with her from the space where she and another former resident used to chat through the pipes connecting their quarters. This creates a strong sense of urgency, as the clock winds down and seekers must run back and forth to ask for assistance and then relay the message to the rest of the search party.
Many puzzles require careful attention to multi-sensory details as well as effective communication and teamwork. While there are standard combination locks, their placement makes sense in this storyworld. There are also several unique challenges that require physical manipulation of objects, appropriate to the context. Multiple tasks can be attempted at one time, keeping all seekers fully engaged from start to heart-stopping finish.
The gruesome sights and ominous sounds throughout The Asylum, paired with startling jump scares and challenging tasks, effectively envelop investigators in a chamber of horrors. Flickering overhead lights, messages written in blood, and cries from the beyond ensure there is never a moment of relief from the pervasive sense of dread.
13th Gate Escape has delivered another incredibly transportive encounter where it is hard to remember this is only an escape game. It stands as a wildly thrilling experience, though visitors may leave with a lingering urge to double-check that their own doors lock from the inside.
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Venue: 13th Gate Escape
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Number of Games: 8
GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
Duration: 60 minutes
Capacity: 8 people
Group Type: Private / You will not be paired with strangers.
Cost: $34.99 per person
We thank 13th Gate Escape for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.
