What Escape Academy is
Escape Academy puts you in a school where students train to become Escapists. You work through more than a dozen handcrafted escape rooms, built by people who design real-life escape rooms. Along the way you explore the campus and meet the faculty, a colorful cast of characters who are experts at escaping, some with secrets still to uncover. The rooms ask you to solve puzzles, hack servers, defuse a bomb before your tea gets cold, climb a puzzle-tower that is filling with water, and spray paint a monument before the Headmaster notices. Music and sound design come from doseone, known for Gang Beasts, SLUDGE LIFE, Disc Room, and Enter the Gungeon.
Playing together
The whole campaign runs in two-player co-op, either local or online, with local and online splitscreen. One person can also play through everything alone. Beyond the campaign, Escape Academy: The Tournament of Puzzles gives you head-to-head puzzle competitions against friends across three large arenas: Tomb of the First Escapist, Hackannery, and The Showman's Studio. Three modes sit in those arenas: Escape Race, a puzzle race to the finish; Tic-Tac-Toe, where the X's and O's are locked up; and Scavenger Hunt, where you hunt for trophies while solving puzzles. Power-ups let you drop traps on opponents or take assists to gain an edge. The arenas carry secret passages and alternate routes, so replays can play out differently. Coach Yoach also lets you run the tournament courses solo.
Before you start
Expect a mix of puzzle-solving and light pressure: some rooms run on a clock, some fill with water, and a few carry stakes beyond a bad grade. The tone is cartoony and colorful, but the curriculum is described as wacky and occasionally lethal, so a room can turn on you quickly. The tournament content arrives as a major update with three arenas, three modes, puzzle power-ups, and extra achievements. Controller support is listed, and the game carries tags for split screen, local co-op, online co-op, and team-based play alongside the single-player story.