Review: Locked Inside

RATING: 4 Key RESULT: Win REMAINING: 21:55

A relative new-comer to Florida’s Space Coast, Locked Inside puts the competition on notice with a firm statement that story and scenic quality really matter.

Story

Behind Bars pens a familiar story for anyone who has played a jail-themed game before – but that doesn’t ultimately detract from the quality of experience it provides.

Here, you’re members of a mafia-esque local crime syndicate, but a mole among the family has sold everyone out to the cops. You’ve been arrested, and need to escape the local lock-up before being sent up state to the penitentiary later tonight.

Truthfully, any jail-themed game has become more than cliché in the Escape Room genre, so it really does become more about the quality of overall experience, as well as what surprises you find along the way.

To that end, Locked Inside does not disappoint.

Scenic

It’s sometimes difficult to discuss the quality of scenic in a jail game – as by its very nature it *should* be bland and basic. Behind Bars does manage to deliver on a slightly higher level than the norm, thanks to some subtle attention to detail.

Rather than plain white walls, the cells attached to this warden’s office are somewhat scenically painted, with faux cracks to imply age and dress, as well as graffiti left behind by past prisoners.

Though technically a larger single room game, Behind Bars creates a sense of discovery with several different inmate cells as well as an area clearly defined as the dedicated warden’s office and a medical station. Combined, this one room feels like a functioning space that would exist over several rooms in a real building, making for a satisfying experience.

Puzzles

As is common with Jail-themed games, players should expect to start isolated (depending on the size of their group) in their own personal cells. Teamwork is a must to break each other free.

From there, one often finds themselves needing to “think like a criminal” in order to solve several of the steps that follow – and that’s a good thing.

Locked Inside does a great job of keeping the puzzle steps connected to the story world that all build to a satisfying surprise ending likely capable of catching even experienced players off guard.

It’s truly one of those rare moments where an experienced player will say “I know exactly what they want us to do with this, but do they really want us to do that?!”

I love when something is outside the box enough that it makes me question my own actions.

Overall

Locked Inside impressed us with their attention to detail, connection to story and decent quality scenic. Add to that a wonderful, clearly enthusiastic staff and you have a recipe for a great game experience.

The game play here is intuitive, and what I’d consider the “just right” level. It’s not too difficult for someone unfamiliar with the genre – which is important in a market that Escape Games are still somewhat new to, but it’s still quite satisfying for experienced players.

We’ve already touched on the cool finale surprise, but it’s worth stressing again in our wrap up. Behind Bars was a fun prison game better than most of a similar flavor we’ve seen elsewhere, that really gets bumped up to the next level because of how clever its final moments are.