Locked in a room, with only one escape method to be discovered by analyzing clues from the environment and solving puzzles with our own reasoning and deduction skills. This is Escape Academy, in a somewhat synthesized way, but revealing the most interesting and elementary part of the title. As a big fan of puzzle games that present great mystery to solve, Escape Academy has turned out to be one of the best escape room experiences in video games, fulfilling every one of my expectations.
Delving a little into the world of Escape Academy, we will embody a student of the academy who will compete against other students to get the title of the best escapist. We will face challenges that will test our ability to solve problems and our ingenuity. During our time as a student we will meet new teachers who will give us new tests, each one more complicated than the previous one. This increases the challenge and finding the escape from such a complicated room will fill us with great satisfaction.
At the beginning of the game we will meet the director of the academy who will put us to the test with two very simple challenges, after completing these challenges we will have total freedom to explore the academy campus a little, meeting new very characteristic personalities that could offer us new challenges in the future.
The Dark Souls of escape rooms
By completing a room we will earn a piece of a puzzle that will be kept in our bedroom. This puzzle will be completed with each new piece that we obtain and will indicate how many tests we need to fulfill our objective in the academy. After completing a few challenges we will overcome a chapter of the story, divided into quarters. Each new term unlocks new areas of the campus and new challenges to increase your rank as an escapist.
Teamwork is one of the additions that I appreciate the most in the game, trying to escape from a room with a friend is really fun. Theorizing about the clues we have to reach a conclusion and execute our next move is an incredible experience. From my point of view, playing alone and playing together make the game two completely different titles, and this is not a bad thing. Escape Academy is totally enjoyable on its own, but it doesn’t compare to the moments you’ll experience if you play the title for the first time with a friend.
Escape Academy limits itself
While each challenge the game presents us with feels like a lot of fun the first time we play it, repeating it won’t change the level’s solutions, making Escape Academy a title limited to ‘a single run‘. It is for this reason that it is much more advisable to enjoy everything that this game offers us with a friend, playing in split screen or online. On the other hand, we have a small number of rooms, turning the game into a short walk if you managed to find the solution to each level very quickly; this added to the little replayability, leave a little bitter taste in this very sweet dish.
In summary, the Coin Crew Games team has managed to develop one of the most innovative experiences in the video game sector, simulating real life with its escape rooms, but taking them to another level thanks to the infinite possibilities when creating one of these rooms without risk of injuring any participant. Escape Academy launched on July 14 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and other platforms. Also landed on Xbox Game Pass day oneso if you are a subscriber of the service run to try Escape Academy