Who are Asylum Labs?
This tiny online gaming software outfit is based in Santa Cruz in California. Famed for its beautiful coastline, this small city is situated around seventy miles south of San Francisco. It certainly sounds like a nice place to live, but fortunately for us, the team at Asylum Labs still manage to find time for work.
Some Background on Asylum Labs
Formed in 2013, Asylum Labs have remained a tight knit team ever since. Led by current CEO Jason Kaehler, the company has already forged a good reputation within the industry as a quality producer of excellent casino games. Jason himself has over twenty five years of experience in the industry, having worked previously with the likes of gaming company EA. He has also spent time with Sony and Disney, and the wide variety of technological experience on his CV has stood him in good stead in his new role. Now running his own show, Jason has surrounded himself with a talented team of around half a dozen fellow industry stalwarts. This has enabled him to build a formidable outfit which is taking the industry by storm.
It’s clear from a brief glance at the company’s media output that this is indeed a strong team of industry insiders. The Asylum Labs online presence is very much orientated toward fellow business leaders, with plenty of ‘in the know’ jargon and the usual references to ‘focus’ and ‘vision’. Everything the company does is apparently built around the single goal of “creating an online gaming community with millions of engaged, connected and passionate players.”
OK, the marketing spiel may be a little over the top, but it must be said that the hard working team at this company do seem to have succeeded with their mission statement. Their games are popular with casino operators and players alike, and they are sought after by knowledgeable online casino content curators for their imaginative and creative designs.
What About Asylum Labs Games?
Perhaps it is the broad background of experience that these designers bring to their games, but their creations do indeed seem to have something unique and distinctive about them. It may be that varied video and computer game heritage that is the key. Whatever it is, the graphics and gameplay on an Asylum Labs title really do seem to have something special, something other software outfits struggle to match.
Take Blackjack Cats for example. This innovative slot / blackjack mash up truly is an exceptional concept which manages to combine the excitement of both games. It’s not just the fact that Asylum Labs have managed to mix and match two completely different formats – that would be impressive in itself. But the accompanying graphics are superb too. The Dealer Cat is so cool: not only does he assist you with some helpful extra cards to improve your hand, but he looks top dollar too. I suspect Hanna Barbera’s lawyers may be looking at Mr Dealer Cat because he certainly bears more than a passing resemblance to their own Top Cat.
Not only does the game impress with its uniqueness, originality and stunning graphics, but it’s exciting to play too. The Return to Player Rate (RTP) is good but not exceptional, at a little over 96%. Yet because there are so many different ways to win, it seems as if it is more. This is a handy trick for the designers to accomplish of course – remember that you aren’t really more likely to bag a prize – it just seems like it. This is because you can get a standard slot line win, but also win with your Blackjack hand as well. Plus there is the Bonus Feature to consider too. All in all, it’s a brilliant game to play.
Blackjack Cats is an outstanding game, but there are plenty of other top notch titles in the company’s portfolio too. Indeed, Asylum Labs has carved out its own unique niche in creating entertaining hybrids of traditional table games and slots. The cool Blackjack Cat is more than matched by the ferocious Poker Dog Slots, while Texas Hedge ‘Em loses the slot element but is still an interesting variation on the standard Poker format.
In truth, if you’re looking for a conventional slot format, Asylum Labs are probably not going to be your favourite software supplier. They really do specialise in producing unique and imaginative concepts, which are perfect for players looking for something different from the conventional. Their trio of ‘Wheel’ titles use the “wheel of fortune” mechanic rather than the usual five reel spin format. You can choose Africa, Hounds or Monsters as your central characters.
Meanwhile, Wild Party Bingo brings another wildly new twist to one of the UK’s most traditional games. You can play in teams and plot against your more successful rivals in this superb social game.
Players who are looking for a more typical slot experience will probably find Paywire more to their tastes. Yet even this game, based on the traditional classic fruit machine, has been updated with a modernistic tweak.
Summary
There is no doubt about the quality of the Asylum Labs output. Yet on the other hand, there is not much of it. Small, but perfectly formed you could say. Then again, they are one of the most compact organisations in the online gaming software industry. Considering their diminutive size, they certainly do punch above their weight.
They are not exactly prolific either. Even taking account of their lack of personnel, their rate of production is not swift considering they’ve been around for the best part of a decade. At the time of writing, there has been little new from the company for quite a while. Maybe they are spending too much time on the famed local beaches after all…
Nevertheless, if Asylum Labs can continue to come up with astoundingly original gaming concepts, the future looks bright. They are actively looking for new licenced partners to improve their international reach and achieve a more worldwide distribution. In the meantime, more and more UK registered online casinos are licencing the company’s games, so look out for them at your chosen Apple Pay casino.