What an absolute whirlwind of a soon-to-be summer it has been here at Digitalchumps. We have been diving into preview after preview and have seen some interesting titles along the way. The newest preview we were given access to was Escape Academy from Coin Crew Games and publishers iam8bit and Skybound Games. The game’s concept is simple and familiar – you’re trying to complete an escape room. What could go wrong?
Now, the good folks at Coin Crew Games are known for their actual escape room designs (yes, real-life). When the pandemic hit, they shifted their focus to bringing the escape room concept without the need of getting people together in person. They partnered with iam8bit and Skybound Games to take their escape room designs to a virtual environment, which also allowed them to think bigger and slightly more dangerous. What came out of this cognitive shift in game design is a multi-tiered experience that is guaranteed to last 7-8 hours, offer up multiplayer capabilities (and single-player), and truly make the escape experience riskier.
Let’s dig into this preview of Escape Academy.
What we saw
We were shown a few levels in the game, but one stood out from the bunch – “Under Pressure”. This level was a multi-tiered level where players are trapped in a tight structure and must climb the inside of a tower that is filling with water. Not only do you have to figure out puzzles along the way, but you must be mindful of time and water level. Up to this point in the preview, the timer was the biggest concern when trying to figure out how to escape from the locked puzzle room you’re placed in but adding the water element absolutely created an additional layer of danger and stress to the entire process. Escape rooms are supposed to have stress to them, which brings out either the best or the worst in people, but now that there is nothing ‘real’ at stake when you’re playing a gaming version of this, Coin Crew seemed to up the ante with how much pressure they put on the player in “Under Pressure” (pun intended). Having your brain figure out puzzles while being fully aware of the water level was intense. It was also lovely.
Some of the puzzles in this room included trying to figure out a phrase to unlock the final door, while also trying to activate electronic lines in a particular order. It was madness from afar, though the devs were running through it like they knew the solution by heart (imagine that). In addition to the water and puzzles in this escape room, the added physical obstacles and the claustrophobic construction of the confinements also put some additional pressure on the experience. Again, it was lovely.
At the end of the escape room, once the devs ‘escaped’ in what could only be described as record time, they were graded on their efforts. This grade is the key point in providing motivation to replay the levels and the game, which is a brilliant way to get players to come back and do better. Or to harass their friends.
The details of the game
While the game is mimicking the concept of an actual escape room, there are wonderful ways to ease up on the puzzle pressure. To start, the game allows you to ask for hints. While the hints are finite, they are available for you to get some help when you’re absolutely stuck. You never want to feel stuck in the mud when it comes to puzzles. Unless you’re one of those gamers who enjoy The Witness. Those folks are a rare breed of puzzle solvers. Anyway, of course, the hints come at a price. The price is the letter grade you get at the end. The more help you get from the game, the more your grade is negatively affected. If you’re in it to win it, then enjoy. If you’re in it to be the best, hold off on hints.
The game also mixes up the puzzles. No two puzzles are repeated in the game. For you gamers out there trying to ‘game the system’, then you’re in for a world of confusion. While we didn’t get an example of this, the devs let us know this was the case. I like that personally, as I think it prevents people from spilling the beans on solutions and getting better through memorization. It’s like an escape room Simon.
While this was mentioned before, the game features both multiplayer and single-player. Both modes contain the same rooms. The devs noted that the game is designed for a multiplayer experience, just like the real-life escape rooms, but if you know that you’re going to hate your friends by trying to figure out puzzles, then the single-player offers a way out. I find it fascinating that both modes feature the same rooms, but fully understand that players are going to truly believe that MP is much easier. You honestly don’t know how well you love/hate your friends until you jump into an escape room with them. The challenge looks to change even though the puzzles don’t shift. Multiplayer can be brutal when you’re trying to figure out who is the most right.
What we played
There was an additional preview opportunity to sit down and play one of the game’s levels with a dev to see how it works. I had the opportunity to play the level “Lab Rat”, which had my character going up against a computer named Quanty, who wasn’t interested in letting me out of the room. They were cute but quite evil.
The room featured plenty of onion layers to peel back. The layers included Sudoku puzzles, connecting pipes, playing what could only be described as a DDR clone (dancing, not RAM), figuring out how to traverse laser beams blocking the entrance, and a literal lab rat puzzle. There were more parts to this level, each puzzle was a unique experience that connected with the next puzzle and provided a push to keep going. The connections and sometimes obvious solutions to puzzles were intriguing. I liked how everything moved and everything was interesting, as I never felt bored one bit. That’s the thing about puzzles, having a different type of experience with each one just engages and keeps the gamer-focused and motivated. The “Lab Rat” room was no exception to this design.
As for difficulty, I can safely say that I figured out one of the more difficult puzzles in under 30 seconds. While I was patting myself on the back, the next puzzle kicked my ass. The final puzzle in this level was brutal, though obvious once explained. The dev who took me on this adventure certainly was patient with my stupidity at the end. I still have the math solution written down in my notebook and it reminds me to not overthink things. By the way, don’t overthink things in this game.
I don’t want to give too many details here, so we’ll end there. The experience was as advertised.
Rest stops
Before we wrap this preview up, it should be noted there is a dorm rest stop in between escape rooms. You can access other escape rooms in the dorm, as well as customize your dorm as you get rewarded for completing rooms. While we’re not talking about Skyrim customizations here, it’s still a neat place to make your own and to have easy access to rooms you have completed if you want to try them again.
Conclusion
Escape Academy is shaping up to be a great experience. Having seen it and played it, it was far more than I expected, and I can’t wait to see what we didn’t get a chance to experience when the game comes out.
Until then, keep an eye out for our future review.
