Escape Simulator
- October 18, 2021
- Pine Studio
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"Escape Simulator" is a first-person puzzle mystery game that can be played solo or in online co-op with up to 10 players. Its interactive gameplay allows for thorough exploration, and it includes a level editor for community-made rooms. Despite some bugs, the game boasts masterful visuals, a good soundtrack, and sensational replayability. The game also offers a free "Among Us" DLC and a VR version is available for wishlisting.
Mac OS
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Engaging and cleverly designed puzzles that capture the thrill of real-life escape rooms.
- Endless replayability due to a vast library of community-created content and regular updates from developers.
- Fun and immersive experience, especially when played in co-op mode with friends.
- Some community-created rooms can be poorly designed or buggy, leading to frustrating experiences.
- Lack of a save feature during rooms can result in lost progress if players need to exit mid-game.
- Multiplayer connectivity issues can disrupt gameplay, making it difficult to enjoy with friends.
- gameplay233 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this escape room simulator is praised for its intuitive controls and engaging mechanics, allowing players to easily interact with objects and solve a variety of puzzles. The game features a mix of official and community-created rooms, providing endless replayability and diverse challenges, although some players noted occasional glitches and a learning curve for new mechanics. Overall, the combination of smooth gameplay, creative puzzles, and cooperative elements makes it a standout title in the genre.
“The controls and mechanics are intuitive and user-friendly, allowing you to interact with objects, inspect items, and manipulate your environment with ease.”
“With its detailed rooms and physics-based mechanics, each challenge feels unique and rewarding.”
“The gameplay is intuitive and satisfying.”
“Overall it's alright, I may have not played long enough to have a fair opinion but I'm writing this anyways. I'm more towards not liking it because first it's hard to get used to the whole picking up, inventory, inspecting mechanic and it's very glitchy on some rooms where important items can glitch through the map or fling. On a rare occurrence, I played this solo though it's most likely more glitchy on multiplayer. Most of the community rooms are not very well made but the actual good ones are worth playing. Overall just alright, not a very fair opinion though if you really want you should try it yourself; it's only $4 at the time of writing this so go ahead.”
“The only thing I have to complain about is the way that the mechanics work when creating your own room, so I gave up on that feature. Fairly good, some game mechanics aren't the greatest, the hint giver sucks, it doesn't pick up where you are on a clue, and doesn't go in correct order.”
“Gameplay and control are a bit janky; the space you have in each room is too small that turns the coop game into a claustrophobic cluster. They should've added 1-2 meters to each direction to make it more spacious. Keybindings are missing mouse features (middle mouse, forward/backwards) which sucks, and the keybindings themselves are rather confusing and don't explain what they're doing or how to use them, albeit there's only 1-2 keys that I still have no idea what their usage is.”
- graphics220 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their charming, cartoonish style, which enhances the overall atmosphere and readability of puzzles. While some players note that the graphics are not groundbreaking and can be simplistic, many appreciate the vibrant visuals and attention to detail that contribute to an engaging escape room experience. Overall, the game's art style is considered appealing and well-suited for its puzzle-solving mechanics, despite occasional minor graphical glitches.
“All the DLCs feature enjoyable experiences and you can tell the developers put in the extra effort in creating a product with a truly unique art style and essence.”
“Visually stunning with captivating graphics, it's not just a feast for the eyes but also a mental workout.”
“The graphics are beautiful, the puzzles are fun, and the interface is pleasant.”
“Quality: the graphics in Escape Simulator are relatively low quality.”
“The graphics in Escape Simulator are… well, let's just say they're not going to win any awards.”
“While not groundbreaking, the graphics are more than sufficient for the genre, focusing on creating realistic settings rather than pushing technical boundaries.”
- story129 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its minimal narrative integration, with many players noting that it lacks a cohesive storyline and primarily serves as a backdrop for puzzle-solving. While some rooms feature individual themes or light narratives, the overall experience is more focused on gameplay mechanics than storytelling, leading to a perception that a stronger narrative could enhance the experience. Players who seek a rich story may find this game lacking compared to others in the genre, such as "Escape Academy," which offers a more substantial plot.
“From the captivating storyline to the engaging gameplay mechanics, this game managed to keep me thoroughly entertained throughout.”
“All the rooms have a really cool design, and I love how they follow a sort of continuous storyline, plus the game works really smoothly.”
“Each of these has a number of individual rooms that loosely tell a progressive story.”
“This game has no story.”
“The lack of a story was the killer in single player though.”
“If that sounds fun then you're good to go, but just be aware there is nothing but the rooms, no side story, no real progression or any sort of gaming gimmicks to support it.”
- replayability103 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
Escape Simulator boasts exceptional replayability, primarily due to its extensive community-created content and workshop support, which allows players to access an almost infinite variety of user-generated rooms and puzzles. While the official levels may have limited replay value once solved, the continuous influx of new community maps and the ability to create custom levels significantly enhance the game's longevity and enjoyment. Overall, players find the game highly replayable, making it a standout in the escape room genre.
“Great amount of puzzles and with the workshop, there is probably way more replayability.”
“Built-in and DLC rooms are of excellent quality, and the workshop content adds almost infinite replayability.”
“The sheer number of available rooms is staggering and allows for virtually infinite replayability.”
“However, the rooms are not very replayable in short succession.”
“You can beat all official content in a couple of hours, and there's no replayability since once you've solved the puzzles you'll know how to solve the puzzles.”
“The only problem is a lack of replay value, but that's intrinsic to escape rooms, and at least community rooms exist!”
- stability74 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern among players, with many reporting frequent bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, particularly in multiplayer and community-created maps. While some users find the core game enjoyable despite these issues, others describe it as nearly unplayable due to game-breaking bugs and connection problems. Overall, the experience is marred by a lack of polish and stability, leading to mixed reviews on its reliability.
“The game is well designed and the interactivity is pretty cool; it runs really well and is not too buggy.”
“The graphics are nice, mechanics aren't buggy, and it's not too easy.”
“Found it almost completely bug free during my playthrough, which left smooth gameplay.”
“However, there's one fairly game-breaking bug that literally breaks the game and that's that it freezes sometimes when you interact with locks.”
“I want to love it, I really do, but due to all the glitches or disconnects, it's practically unplayable for me.”
“Tried to play this game with several friends - absolutely unplayable - constant connection glitches, couldn't get through a single level with players being cut out of the game for minutes at a time.”
- music54 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the ambient and thematic soundtracks that enhance the overall atmosphere. While some find the music to be repetitive or basic, others enjoy its chill vibe and fitting nature for different scenarios. Overall, the soundtrack is generally considered pleasant, though some players prefer the option to turn it off due to personal taste.
“Great game overall, amazing music.”
“The music is top notch and really has a focusing effect (for me, at least) and fits the maps perfectly.”
“Beautiful art style, amazing soundtracks and fun levels.”
“Music can get repetitive after a while.”
“The music isn't the greatest and can sometimes get annoying.”
“This isn't helped by the nauseatingly repetitive music (especially in the Egyptian rooms), though you could just turn off the music to be fair.”
- humor42 mentions
- 98 % positive mentions
- -5 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a standout feature, with players frequently highlighting its ability to elicit laughter through clever dialogue, funny mechanics, and amusing interactions, especially when played with friends. Many reviews mention the joy of shared experiences, such as laughing at each other's mistakes and the game's quirky elements, which enhance the overall enjoyment. While the game presents challenges, it balances them with humor, making it a fun and engaging experience for players.
“Let me start by saying that this game is the perfect mix of hilarious and challenging.”
“The best part of the game was the hilarious voiceovers and dialogue that kept us laughing throughout.”
“It's challenging enough to keep you engaged, but funny enough to keep you laughing until your stomach hurts.”
“There are some moments that are funny, but they are few and far between.”
“The humor feels forced and often falls flat.”
“I expected more laughs, but the jokes just didn't land.”
- optimization36 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, particularly in VR and on larger community maps, leading to low framerates and stuttering. While certain official maps run smoothly and the game performs well on moderate hardware, many users report that custom maps can cause severe lag and bugs, indicating a need for further optimization. Overall, while the game shows promise, it requires substantial improvements to enhance the gameplay experience.
“Escape Simulator runs smoothly for the most part, with load times being reasonable.”
“The official maps are well optimized and have a good variation in puzzle-logic.”
“The graphics are great, the game is optimized so well it runs on our friend's PC that barely has a graphics card.”
“This game is genuinely the most poorly optimized VR game I've ever played.”
“It's currently extremely buggy and unoptimized, to the point of being nearly unplayable.”
“The game claims it's running at 120 fps, but it's more like 20-30 fps, thanks to massive microstuttering.”
- atmosphere28 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and relaxing qualities, enhanced by well-designed graphics and sound effects that draw players into each escape room. While some players note a preference for darker or more intricate aesthetics, the overall vibe is described as charming and engaging, with a variety of themes that contribute to a satisfying puzzle-solving experience. The attention to detail and the ability to customize room experiences through community content further enrich the game's atmospheric appeal.
“From the subtle flicker of candlelight to the creaking of wooden floorboards, the game's sound design contributes significantly to the overall atmosphere.”
“The immersive environments and atmospheric sound effects further enhance the experience, drawing you into the world of each escape room.”
“What sets Escape Simulator apart is its attention to detail and immersive atmosphere.”
“Enter 'Escape Simulator', with simple aesthetics, minimal storytelling, and atmosphere; the puzzles and Steam Workshop are where it truly shines.”
“It doesn't have a dark atmosphere or fancy graphics like other games, but it has something else.”
“Nice and good puzzle game, each stage in a different world to get you out of the boring atmosphere and give you a boost of enthusiasm to explore.”
- grinding26 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite tedious, often requiring excessive time and effort to complete tasks, especially when searching for collectibles or solving puzzles. While some puzzles are enjoyable and challenging, the repetitive nature of certain elements can detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration rather than fun. Despite this, the game offers moments of creativity and interaction that can alleviate some of the grind.
“Puzzles are satisfying to complete and not tedious.”
“Puzzles fun and challenging, not tedious and annoying.”
“Fun achievements to hunt for 100% completion (no grindy achievements)”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“It gets a little tedious to play over long stretches, though.”
“Collectible tokens can be annoying to find because they're in the most obscure places and give you more of a headache, becoming tedious rather than fun.”
- emotional11 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report a mix of emotional experiences while engaging with the game, highlighting a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from solving puzzles, akin to the thrill of an escape room. However, some also express discomfort, including feelings of motion sickness and claustrophobia, which detracted from their overall enjoyment. Despite these challenges, the game successfully evokes a range of emotions, from frustration to exhilaration, making it a memorable experience.
“This game is the only game that has successfully made me feel the magic of doing an escape room in real life.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed searching my mind for solutions, and finding those solutions made me feel like a genius.”
“Made me feel stupid, but I love it.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy is viewed positively, as it effectively serves as both a compelling sales pitch and a form of free advertising.
“The monetization strategy feels more like a cash grab than a fair system.”
“It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls.”
“The constant push for in-game purchases ruins the overall experience.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that character development is hindered by subpar character design, which detracts from the overall experience.
