Tales of Escape

About

Tales of Escape is a single player and multiplayer action game. It was developed by OnSkull Games and was released on March 15, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Tales of Escape" is a multiplayer escape room game for virtual reality or desktop PC that features 6 different stories. Players must solve puzzles and escape the room before time runs out. In the "Black Rock Mine" story, players explore a closed mine from 1964, rumored to be guarded by the spirits of trapped miners.

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60%

Audience ScoreBased on 968 reviews

graphics22 positive mentions

stability33 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and challenging escape room experience, especially when played with friends.
The atmosphere is engaging, with good graphics and sound design that enhance the horror elements.
The puzzles are mostly clever and require teamwork to solve, making it a great multiplayer experience.

Only one room is available for free, and all additional maps require separate purchases, which can be frustrating.
The controls can be clunky and unintuitive, especially in VR, leading to a less enjoyable experience.
Some puzzles are poorly designed or lack clear hints, making them frustrating to solve.

graphics
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
37%
21%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising them as "great" and "nice visuals," while others criticize them for being "bad," "laggy," or "below average." Many users note issues such as poor lighting, glitches, and a washed-out color palette, suggesting that while the graphics can be decent, they often lack polish and optimization. Overall, the visuals are seen as a highlight for some, but they do not compensate for the game's other shortcomings.
- “The graphics are great, although quite dark.”
- “Great graphics and smooth.”
- “Very nice game, the graphics are pretty crazy and it's very cool to play with friends.”
- “Bad lighting, graphics are laggy, multiplayer design is the worst I've ever seen.”
- “Colour palette was grey and washed out, very flat appearance to visuals.”
- “The game makes no sense, confusing and the graphics/layout are terrible.”
stability
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting significant bugs, glitches, and visual issues, particularly in VR mode. Common problems include items not spawning, players crashing or freezing, and awkward mechanics that disrupt gameplay. While some users acknowledge the game's potential and express hope for future fixes, the overall consensus is that the current state is frustrating and detracts from the experience.
- “It had good potential, but it has some glitches (items can get out of the room), and there's only one free room (and the codes are always the same), literally just one; any map that you click redirects you to buy it.”
- “This game is bad and full of glitches; items don't spawn and you will waste a lot of your time just to find out items didn't spawn. Also, there is only one free map, so it's not that free to play.”
- “I am giving this game a thumbs down because there is no apparent way to save your progress if you have to exit, and because it is glitchy and buggy, particularly considering the length of time it’s been on the market.”
gameplay
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
55%
18%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing it for being repetitive and lacking engagement, primarily revolving around finding codes in various rooms. While some appreciate the intuitive mechanics and challenging puzzles, others find the overall experience unsatisfying and lacking in replayability. Despite good graphics and smooth controls, the gameplay loop is often described as tedious, leading to a general consensus that it falls short of delivering an enjoyable experience.
- “Overall good game mechanics, the game is optimized and has no performance issues.”
- “The gameplay was enjoyable, the puzzles challenging.”
- “The game mechanics are intuitive and combined intelligently to create very interesting levels.”
- “The various rooms lack both engagement and entertainment value, boiling down to repetitive 'find the code for the safe' mechanics.”
- “The only gameplay aspect is going from room to room and finding new codes again and again.”
- “The gameplay is really repetitive.”
story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
66%
13%
The game's story is described as loose and not significantly impactful, with some players feeling it lacks depth and cohesion. While certain puzzles are well-integrated into the narrative, many reviewers suggest that a stronger storyline could enhance the overall experience. Some missions feature engaging backstories that add interest, but overall, the narrative elements are seen as underdeveloped and in need of improvement.
- “Game play is clever and although some of the escape puzzles are not intuitive, the storytelling is fun.”
- “I really enjoyed the storyline behind the levels and all of the rooms.”
- “Our favorite room was 'Cold as Ice,' which not only had interesting puzzles in interesting environments (a meat locker and butcher shop), but seemed to have an underlying story about a forbidden marriage.”
- “There is an overarching story, but it's loose and doesn't add much to the game.”
- “I understand that some games like this do not have stories, but perhaps having a storyline would do something to make this game less bland.”
- “Honestly, I would play a 10-hour version for $50 easily if there was more content, story, etc.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
20%
15%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and creepy qualities, enhanced by effective sound design and visual elements that create a dark, mysterious environment. While some players noted that the graphics could be improved, the overall ambiance significantly contributes to the gameplay experience, making it particularly enjoyable in co-op mode. However, a few reviews mentioned that the atmosphere sometimes obscured puzzle solutions, indicating a balance between immersion and clarity is needed.
- “The atmosphere is amazing and immersive.”
- “Really the best thing about this game, by far, is the look and design of the rooms: dark, mysterious, great sound effects, and they're each sufficiently atmospheric to let you dive in and be immersed.”
- “Wow, very atmospheric game, very nice graphics, and scary too.”
- “Not the best looking game, but the atmosphere is there (ish).”
- “The puzzles were okay, but the atmosphere made it hard to see some solutions.”
- “It was an okay one-off game, but you can probably find better multiplayer escape rooms with better atmosphere and more puzzles.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
29%
50%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its overall performance and lack of issues, while others report significant stuttering, low quality on VR headsets, and frame drops. Many users express disappointment with the game's optimization, particularly in VR, indicating that improvements are needed for a smoother experience. Overall, the feedback suggests that while some players have had a good experience, others have faced frustrating performance problems.
- “Overall good game mechanics, the game is optimized and has no performance issues.”
- “And from all reports, there were no performance glitches.”
- “Needs some optimization; some frame drops, nothing much.”
- “Really poorly optimized.”
- “Glitchy, not very optimized for VR, unplayable with the FPS.”
- “Performance on the headset was slightly stuttery despite high specs (GTX 1080, etc.) and wasn't resolved by minor tweaking of graphics settings.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
Overall, the game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with many players noting that the gameplay remains unchanged across multiple runs. While it offers a brief and enjoyable cooperative experience, the absence of new content or challenges diminishes its long-term value, leading to concerns about its pricing, especially for DLCs.
- “In my 1.8 hours of game time, I'm pretty sure I completed the game three times, so the free map is pretty easy and since the gameplay doesn't change at all per run, the replayability value just isn't there.”
- “Very expensive for a non-replayable game.”
- “However, like others have said, this game has no replay value and while fun, it's nothing special.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is often derived from its flaws, with players finding amusement in its bad controls and absurd elements like skeletons and zombies. While some reviews highlight the presence of red herrings, many agree that it can provide a lighthearted experience, especially when played with friends, despite its shortcomings. Overall, the game is seen as a humorous, albeit flawed, experience that can elicit laughs.
- “A funny joke if you want a laugh with a mate for half an hour, I'll give them that, but a joke.”
- “Very funny game because it is bad.”
- “Funny game lol.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The music in the game has received mixed feedback; while some users find it mundane at times, it notably intensifies towards the end, creating a more engaging atmosphere. Additionally, there are issues with independent sound controls not functioning properly, although the overall soundtrack is appreciated as "very cool."
- “Special note: the soundtrack is very cool! :D”
- “Independent sound controls didn't seem to work (like music level) even though the master sound control worked fine.”
- “I haven't gotten the chance to play it in VR yet, but I imagine it would be much more nerve-wracking with the music.”
- “And speaking of the music, I thought it was pretty mundane at times, until it really picked up in the last 5 minutes on the clock.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with users noting the lack of playable content and an overemphasis on advertising for downloadable content (DLC). While the game is free, the approach of releasing multiple titles instead of expanding a single game has left players feeling frustrated and exploited.
- “All you get is a hub with a playable tutorial and ads for the DLC, no actual level to play.”
- “I understand games take time and effort to make, as I am in college for video game design myself, but this is a blatant cash grab.”
- “You could have easily just released new levels for one game without creating, releasing, and selling five or six games; this is just cash grabbing (at least this is free, lol).”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be initially enjoyable, but it quickly turns tedious and frustrating, particularly as puzzles become repetitive over time.
- “The game is pretty fun to start with, although the puzzles become somewhat tedious after a while.”
- “Overall, it's an extremely frustrating and tedious experience all around.”