[3] Randall and Thor began collaborating on Blackout after expressing frustration that it was growing increasingly difficult to be scared.
[4][5] Both Randall and Thor have stated that they view Blackout to be more "performance art than haunted house".
[7] The attraction's features will differ depending on the location and will change over time in order to avoid participants predicting what will occur.
[13][14] io9 wrote a favorable review for Blackout, stating that participants must be comfortable with potential nudity and being touched.
[16] The Los Angeles Times remarked favorably on the Los Angeles Blackout, writing "Visually, Blackout is artful and occasionally kind of beautiful, evoking early ambient horror films like Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Vampyr.