Asia's first virtual horror-mystery escape room stars you alongside Ben Kheng solving a Mandai Camp murder

With the threat of Covid-19 still lingering, it’ll be some time until performance venues start reopening properly to let crowds in to enjoy live performances.

Escape rooms, on the other hand, are allowed to operate but the fun of cooperating with others to solve puzzles together and break out of the room could take a hit with all the safety precautions involved.

In a blend of live-action performances and interactive gameplay (with a side of horror), digital theatre company Sight Lines Entertainment has announced Murder At Mandai Camp: The Case Reopens.

It’s a direct sequel to the first Murder At Mandai Camp virtual theatre outing, which ran for three days back in June. The mechanics this time involves deeper gaming aspect — you’ll be immersed in a virtual horror-mystery stage production that’s completely interactive, with the audience-player controlling the decisions made in a non-linear format. Treat it as a choose-your-own-adventure game, but with real-life actors and a storyline that reacts to your choices.

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Audiences will be solving the mystery alongside actor-singer Benjamin Kheng, who’s the newest addition to the returning cast, which includes the likes of Erwin Shah Ismail, Bright Goh and Irsyad Dawood. As these things go, there’s been a murder, but one that took place at Mandai Camp with multiple suspects within the military service. Oh, there's a Pontianak too, if you’re lucky enough to meet her.

Viewers will have to interact with evidence such as physical clues that they’ll receive in the mail, as well as video footages and flashbacks to identify the culprit. To gain an edge, an exclusive clue is bundled together with cocktail packages sold by Ah Sam Cold Drink Store. Can’t go wrong with getting buzzed during a horror-mystery show, anyway.

In any case, if you get the culprit right, you’ll have your name thrown into a mystery draw to win the very real, non-virtual bounty of $1,000.

Tickets have already gone on sale at Sistic at $20 a pop, and attendees will be able to access the stream online for the 90-minute gameplay experience from Dec 22 to Jan 2, 2021. Remember, everyone is sus.

ilyas@asiaone.com