IRL Escape Rooms are a phenomenon that have soared over the last few years. Challenging a group of friends to break their way out of a puzzle box using their minds is a concept that translates perfectly to the world of video games. That’s exactly what developer Pine Studio has recreated with its upcoming game ‘Escape Simulator’.
This first person puzzler tasks players to muster up all their neurons to figure out how to escape 15 interactive escape rooms. It can be played in single-player, but in true escape room fashion can be experienced with up to three friends in co-op. There’s a character customisation menu too. You’ve got to be looking fly for your co-op companions.
Players are able to pick up and examine objects to their hearts content. It invokes similar vibes to other puzzle games like The Witness and The Room but with a hint of Resident Evil about it – minus the horrifying monsters. Unlike real life escape rooms, you can pick up furniture and objects to your hearts content. There’s no big brother watching you over the cameras here, so mess the room up as much as you like! Maybe that will help you discover an answer…
All of the available rooms have wildly different themes. One sees players navigate their way through an Egyptian Labyrinth. Another see’s players blast off into space in a level set deep in the cosmos. There looks to be plenty of variety in the levels available at launch, which is great to see.
Brains over brawn
Perhaps the most interesting prospect of Escape Simulator, though, is the option to create your own puzzle box from scratch. Using the game’s library of assets, players can use a level editor to build up their own level ideas. Steam Workshop integration makes these ideas super easy to share, too. It’ll be exciting to see what the community comes up with. It’ll also drastically expand the game’s library of content, providing a wealth of new content beyond launch.
‘We’re so pumped to see what players create with our level-editor. We’re doing something we don’t think’s ever been done before, and we’re sure the community’s gonna blow us away with their ingenuity,’ says the Pine Studio Lead, Tomislav Podhraški. ‘The ultimate moment for us will be getting stuck in our own game – thwarted by a player who’s custom-made room is way smarter than us. That’ll be pretty neat.’
Escape Simulator is set to release on October 19th on Steam. A demo is available to download right now if you fancy an early preview of what the game has to offer.
Have you got any zany ideas for your own escape room creations? Tell us about them across our social channels!
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[Featured Image Credit: Pine Studio]