The Escaper
- March 9, 2020
- Nocturnal works
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"The Escaper" is a 3D escape room game featuring real-time graphics and physics-based puzzles across four different rooms. Players can choose to race against the clock or take their time uncovering hidden clues and solving challenges. The game offers detailed visuals, immersive audio, and a variety of themed environments to explore.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The puzzles are well-designed and provide a good mix of challenge and enjoyment.
- Great atmosphere and graphics that enhance the escape room experience.
- Affordable price for the amount of gameplay, making it a good value.
- The game is quite short, with only four rooms, leaving players wanting more content.
- Some puzzles can be frustratingly obscure or illogical, leading to reliance on walkthroughs.
- Lack of a save feature within rooms can be frustrating, requiring players to restart if they exit mid-session.
- graphics39 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising them as beautiful and well-designed, while others find them underwhelming or reminiscent of stock assets. Overall, many agree that the visuals are decent to good, contributing positively to the gameplay experience, though they may not reach the high standards set by more graphically intensive titles.
“The graphics were fantastic and the puzzles were challenging, but not impossible.”
“Well-designed, clever and graphically beautiful.”
“Challenging puzzles and beautiful graphics.”
“The graphics are a bit underwhelming - some are beautifully detailed, some look like undressed stock assets from the Unity Asset Store.”
“The puzzles were pretty difficult (a good thing), but the graphics are not great and the controls are clunky (though I did get used to them after the second room).”
“Another reviewer compared this to 'The Room' series - not even close in story, complexity, or graphics quality - more on the order of free flash games.”
- music33 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as calming and fitting, enhancing the overall experience, but it is marred by a particularly challenging xylophone puzzle in the final level that many players found frustrating due to their lack of musical ability. While the soundtrack and sound design are appreciated, the inclusion of a music-based puzzle without visual aids has drawn significant criticism, with players suggesting that future games should avoid such challenges to accommodate those who are tone-deaf or musically challenged. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game, the difficulty of the musical puzzle detracts from the enjoyment for many players.
“The graphic is fine, the music is calming and solving the 4 rooms was quite fun!”
“Map design great, music great, visuals great, game mechanics great.”
“Environment and music are really good and harmonious.”
“But be warned: in the last level there is a puzzle where you have to replicate a melody, so people like me with no musical ability will find it near-impossible.”
“As someone who completed plenty of escape rooms in real life, I found this game extremely enjoyable except for that damn xylophone riddle that required playing 7 musical notes by ear only, with no visual or any other clues whatsoever.”
“A bit disappointed with having to play music at the end as a lot of people, myself included, are not musically inclined and tone deaf (we cannot distinguish between notes to save our lives).”
- story21 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game lacks a cohesive story, offering only a series of escape rooms with minimal narrative elements. Reviewers note that the absence of a plot or characters allows for a focus on puzzles, but this may disappoint players seeking a more engaging storyline. Overall, the experience is described as purely puzzle-driven, reminiscent of simpler flash games rather than more complex titles.
“🔲 epic story”
“Also, enjoyed the mummy room that relied on story to solve.”
“There's no narrative or story that gets in the way - it's just puzzles.”
“No story, reminiscent of 'The Complex' in that you go from one locked area to another (you can imagine a horror game where you never escape, only discover an infinity of rooms...)”
“There is no story here, it's just a straight-up series of four escape rooms.”
“If story is a make or break for you, you won't really find a story here.”
- gameplay19 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its intuitive mechanics and engaging puzzles, offering a satisfying experience for fans of abstract puzzles and escape room themes. However, some users noted issues with clumsy controls, buggy mechanics, and frustrating inventory management, which detracted from the overall experience. While the game features impressive visuals and a variety of locations, some players feel it lacks sufficient content to justify its price.
“I really enjoyed the actual gameplay and would gladly recommend it to my friends.”
“The puzzles were interesting and the gameplay quite intuitive.”
“With few very different locations to escape from, the game offers a nice variety of puzzles, decent although a bit outdated visuals, and smooth gameplay for a couple of hours.”
“The gameplay revolves around using the mouse, which is intuitive; but at times, it feels somewhat clumsily implemented.”
“One buggy mechanic in chapter 1 ruined the experience, and it's been like this for over a year.”
“A few puzzles will require outside skills (art, history, music, mechanics) to get on the first try, and the fact that useless objects will stay in your inventory is frustrating.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience, with some puzzles being overly easy or frustratingly difficult, leading to a sense of tedium. The time-based achievements are criticized for forcing replayability without adding meaningful engagement, while certain minigames contribute to a feeling of frustration rather than enjoyment. Overall, while some challenges are appreciated, the grinding elements often detract from the overall fun.
“My main two points of criticism are: achievements being time-based (which makes no real sense in an escape room game; it's just there to force you to replay it, even though you know all the puzzles already. It's not fun, it's just tedious and an effort to make you play longer), and the fact that the game uses way too much GPU when starting up.”
“The main issues I had were that some of the puzzles were seriously too easy, while others were ridiculously difficult or pure trial-and-error exercises, and some of the minigames (looking at you, highway run) were pure tedious frustration.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game offers limited replayability, primarily revolving around attempting to improve completion times in the same four rooms, which may not sustain long-term interest despite the initial enjoyment of the puzzles. Players can expect about 2-3 hours of gameplay on their first attempt, but the lack of new content may hinder repeated playthroughs.
“🔲 infinitely replayable”
“Looking at about 2-3 hours to play through on your first go, and the only replayability is just playing through the same 4 rooms trying to beat your previous time.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users noting its ability to effectively capture the essence and spirit of escape rooms, creating an intriguing and immersive experience.
“This game really captures the atmosphere and the spirit of escape rooms.”
“Awesome atmosphere and gameplay.”
“Very intriguing atmosphere!”
- stability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, user experiences with stability vary significantly; while some players report persistent bugs affecting gameplay, particularly in early chapters, others have found the game to be free of glitches and loading issues.
“The game runs smoothly with no glitches or slow loading times.”
“I appreciate the stability; it makes for a seamless gaming experience.”
“There are no crashes or bugs, which really enhances my enjoyment of the game.”
“One buggy mechanic in chapter 1 ruined the experience, and it's been like this for over a year.”
“Many escape games seem quite buggy, so I was very happy to not experience any bugs.”
“No glitches or slow loading.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game amusing and enjoyable, highlighting its humorous elements as a key aspect of the gameplay experience.
“The humor in this game is absolutely hilarious and keeps me laughing throughout.”
“I love how the game incorporates witty dialogue and funny scenarios that make every moment enjoyable.”
“The comedic timing and clever jokes really elevate the overall experience and make it a joy to play.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the emotional engagement of the game, noting that each room provides a satisfying "aha!" moment, enhancing the overall experience without relying on frustration from brute-force solutions.
