Coin Crew Games is a group of developers who found it necessary to use their escape room creation talents and translate them into the world of video games. The result was the release of the 2022 indie game titled Escape Academywhich was launched in Xbox Game Pass.
In the game, the player takes on the role of a puzzle solver who gains access to the Escape Academy. This school is what Hogwarts is to wizards in the world of Harry Potter, but to those who are talented at solving puzzles. It has different levels with unique designs, themes and solutions that will keep the player engaged for hours.
11 Introduction/Entrance Exam
There is nothing inherently wrong with the Introductory escape room that gives the player access to the Escape Academy or the next entrance exam. These are just meant to get the player used to the mechanics of solving an escape room and so aren’t the hardest of safes to crack. They are still fun and offer a real sense of discovery and problem solving.
When designing these levels, they had to be made to be difficult enough to challenge players, but also inviting enough not to stop people from making progress in the game.
10 The outbreak
Between all escape rooms Escape Academy it’s hard to find a place that’s probably the source of more tantrums and takedowns than The Breakout. In addition to some of the more obtuse puzzles and designs in the entirety of the game, it also has a gimmick that also requires the player to stay in constant communication.
Sure, it’s designed with the intention of keeping the player’s mind occupied and distracted to increase the difficulty, but at the end of the day it all takes away from a spy environment that could have turned out something really special.
9 Under pressure
Sure, a timer does a good job of providing bets for the player, but when the area is flooded by water, it can also inspire the player to move at a faster pace. Under Pressure forces the player to play with both electricity and lighting, while also paying attention to his surroundings and how things are intertwined.
It feels a bit like a marathon as it consists of four separate rooms that all require unique solutions, so players need to understand what they’re signing up for. Some parts can feel a little blunt, so it doesn’t flow as seamlessly as the water slowly filling the rooms around the player.
8 Escape artist
Escape Artist can be tricky as it starts out relatively blunt, despite most of it happening in a single room. This one is really focused on perspective and where the player is in a three dimensional space, which can be tricky for some.
The premise of the level is also quite delightful, as the reward for solving is the ability to tag the wall with a name. An understanding of colors and what happens when they are combined is a bit of knowledge one expects to have.
7 Taste for taste
Escape Academy happens to have an escape room that takes place entirely in a kitchen and dining room. Conceptually, the idea is nice, and the revelation that the player has been poisoned by people at the school adds stakes to the story.
The only problem with this level is that it takes just a little too long. That said, solving puzzles by preparing food and setting tables is a fun concept that changes the formula of the game. Players get used to flipping switches and such, so adding a bit of thematic flair makes Trial By Taste a rather fun experience.
6 Lab Rat
The idea of adopting sentient artificial intelligence is a trope in movies that audiences love, and it’s no different in the Lab Rat level of Escape Academy. Players are locked in a room with Quanty the computer and must outwit technology by solving puzzles.
This level stands out for a number of reasons, as it both introduces a cute pet rat and also has the player navigate files on a computer that are crucial in escaping. It’s these subtle mechanical changes that add up to the total package of what Escape Academy offers to those who want to get the thrill of completing an escape room without having to leave their home.
5 tea kettle
A lot of Escape Academy takes place in dark and lifeless rooms filled with metal and electricity. Tea kettle, on the other hand, is a level that puts nature at the center of its design. The ultimate goal is to make a hot cup of tea and by solving the different puzzles in the garden, the player gains access to the different parts of the tea making process.
It includes the use of butterflies and bees, a living dynamic rarely seen in the world of escape rooms, but possible when the experience is translated to the world of video games.
4 Where’s the smoke?
Nothing simulates a ticking clock like a room burning to the ground. That’s the background of Where’s The Smoke, a level that takes place in the library of the Escape Academy. It is a good mix of information and perspective puzzles that require the player to run through the various corridors attached to the central node of the library.
It skillfully places hints and clues in a way that feels natural to the world, but stands out enough to feel like they’re intentionally out of place. If that sounds like something that wouldn’t be easy to pull off, that’s because it exactly is, but Where’s The Smoke delivers on this front without a doubt.
3 Tea ‘N Tea
Tea ‘N Tea is probably the smallest escape room in all of Escape Academia, but the lack of distance covered doesn’t take away from how well designed it is. Everything works together as players navigate a circular courtyard with a tent in the middle.
The goal is to disarm a bomb that can go off and cause a lot of destruction. The clues do a great job of pointing players in a general direction without giving too much away, and nothing is more exciting than successfully disarming a bomb and coming out victorious.
2 The Rival Room
Of Escape Academy drawing many parallels to the Harry Potter series, The Rival Room’s level felt very much like the Triwizard Tournament for students of the Escape Academy. The player competes directly with his classmates in an attempt to finish the course first and prove their competence.
Since the other competitors can be seen in real-time completion targets, it feels like a legit competition and adds to the immersion of it all.
1 What lies below?
What Lies Below is the last escape room in Escape Academy and manages to provide the player with a challenge that takes into account all the skills they have learned along the way. It is divided into several stages in which the player rooms flow in a circular pattern around a centralized room that houses the final puzzle.
As the pinnacle of events, What Lies Below does a great job of creating the stage and making it feel like the stakes have never been higher. Everything is designed in an understandable way that flows seamlessly from one puzzle to another, and from room to room.
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