The Escapists
The Escapists
Game
Game2017
The Escapists 2
Developer Team17, Mouldy Toof Studios
The Escapists 2 is a strategy role-playing video game developed by Mouldy Toof Studios and published by Team17. It is the sequel to The Escapists (2015) and it was released worldwide for Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in August 2017. Nintendo Switch and mobile phones versions were released in 2018 and 2019, both iOS and Android respectively. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
259 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
86
LovedLoved
210 positive · 35 negative
95% range 81–90%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 210 | 35 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 4 | 3 | 7 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
12,695 of 14,029 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Players praise the creative escapes and co-op, but some find it repetitive and grindy.
Many players enjoy the creative escape mechanics and the co-op experience, calling it a well-designed puzzle game that is even more fun with friends. The game is praised for its variety of maps and satisfying progression, with some noting high replayability. [3][7][24][25]
However, some players criticize the game for becoming repetitive over time, with a grindy gameplay loop and limited freedom to create unique escape plans. Others note that the coolest escapes are often multiplayer-exclusive, and the single-player can feel boring alone. [27][33][34][35][4]
Praised creative escape mechanics · co-op multiplayer · variety of maps · addictive gameplay loop
Criticised repetitive gameplay · grindy progression · limited sandbox freedom · boring single-player
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 8, 2026. Method
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
The Escapists 2 sits at 86% positive across 245 opinionated reactions from 2 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The game received generally positive reviews from critics according to review aggregator website Metacritic. The Russian magazine Igromania praised the game's humor, characters, variety of maps, and the option to play multiplayer, while somewhat criticizing the interface, specifically the dialog boxes.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 259 · most liked firstThe Escapists 2 was supposed to be the “ultimate prison sandbox.” At first glance, the game looks incredibly promising: sprawling prisons full of rooms, patrols, vents, destructible walls, guard schedules, and over a hundred craftable items. Everything seems ready for creative, Hitman-style breakout strategies. However, after spending a few hours with it, the limitations and design frustrations begin to pile up. The co-op mode, for example, feels bafflingly underdeveloped. Players can’t hold…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I took so much time to get out of prison and I almost got caught multiple times. Then I went home and downloaded the Escapists 2.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was disappointed to learn that this is not a true sandbox in which you could really fabricate your own escape plan. There is a handful of pre-defined “correct solutions”, many of which include a very specific sequence of required steps. Making your own plan usually fails without clear explanation unless it happens by accident to be a variation of one of the scripted escapes. The game is not so good that I would want to spend my time figuring all of this by myself, and checking the solutions…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☑ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☑ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game alone is a really good puzzle game. in multiplayer you realize how retarded your friends are. this game improves bonds. ---{ 8 / 10 }---
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →good with friends, a bit boring by yourself.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Free Play Days: Game Pass members can jump into The Escapists 2 and Young Suns this weekend, while all players can enjoy PGA TOUR 2K25 and The Division 2, no membership needed. news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/0...
neutral · AI labelView post →i love this game, i play it all the time with my kid, hes 2 years old and hes having a blast. i would recommend this game to any ex-convicts expecially rapists.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After 3 hours and 6 in game days we were too close to escaping. We just needed 2 more shovels. My friend hardly found 2 wooden sticks and made the shovels and headed to underground where we were digging the hole. I was bored so i decided to do some quests. I didn't know that other npcs can ask you to backstab real players. So i just put some soil on his desk and he got caught by guards. They took away the shovels and everything suspicious. He was so upset he uninstalled the game and said "this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have played countless hours of this game on both PC and playsation, 100% worth it for fun cartoonish violence and strategy, And for a breif and fleeting second I manage to forget about the ever present threat of death that has so burrowed into my lungs.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →spent 40 in game days tunneling under an electric fence. The moment i popped out on the other side of the wall, i realized it was broad daylight and was noscoped by a guard tower. 11/10 experience perimeter breakouts are peak
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →aside from this bitchass 5 job periods in detroit and my friend artem pulling the metal baton out his ass in the middle of the playthrough, yeah this game is pretty solid! Also did yall notice there are no female characters beside the nurses? You know why? Cause male prisons consist of only men prisoners, and women are just not there. So no ♥♥♥♥♥ in prison i guess...other than male puhh...I mean it aint that bad but when Darius from the next cell decides its time to meet you at your crib late…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i stuck a bar of up another prisoners butt, and put a banana in my butt. 10/10 game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very helpful and educational. I will definitely use what I learned from this game in the future.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like this game. I wish they would make another. One big complaint with it is there are normally 3 ways to escape in each prison. One is always boring, digging your way out or a similiar way. Then each prison has a multiplayer and a single-player escape. My main issue is that all of the coolest escapes are always multiplayer exclusive ones. There are unique single-player ones, but they are always less cool/fun/unique. Ultimately not a turn off to playing it but it does make me somewhat…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My Gripes Difficulty: I think the global achievements say it best. Over half of all players escaped the first prison, and then percentage rates for the following prison nosedived. After the first prison, it's really hard for you to escape in ways the developers didn't want to you (i.e. not perimeter breakouts). Of course, it shouldn't be easy but I always felt the first game challenged me to come up an escape plan on my own, not force me down a pre-intended escape I couldn't figure out…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☑ MS-DOS (not a bad thing though) ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☑ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am finding that the "puzzle" aspect of this game is solved fairly easily. Once you plot out your escape method, there are not a lot of surprises you will face. Just set backs. Set backs to a long grind. You have to raise your character stats, earn money, get people to like you, find enough crafting materials for escape tools, dig a lot, ect. It is a massive grind for what is otherwise a very simple plan. I find it deeply unsatisfying because of how predictable the game plays out. And…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ Forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Staring at it for too long will make your eyes explode ☑ MS-DOS ---{ Sound Effects }--- ☐ Good ☑ Very Good ☐ Not bad ☐ Terrible ☐ I'm deaf now ---{ Audience }--- ☑ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Seniors ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run Minesweeper ☑ Toaster ☐ Decent ☐ Normal ☐ Requires a 3090 ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☐ Easy ☑…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's decent with friends, but it is still unpolished. It requires a lot of effort for little payoff and for me, it is just not worth it. You spend majority of the game doing boring, repetetive, nigh pointless tasks.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I spent 3 real-life days digging a tunnel with a spoon. I forgot to cover the hole. A guard named Steve found it. Steve now owns my soul. 10/10 would attempt escaping again.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a person who 100% this game, it is fabulous but my friend still remained inside because he was trafficking minors to get them reproduce more popularity in this world
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ laptop can run only one game really well and i love it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GOTY edition, played for 3ish hours so return window closed. game is a snooze fest. collect correct items, craft tools, get past next "thing", whatever the obstacle is. just boring puzzle but the puzzle isn't all that complex. the social element and prison "roleplay" isn't really there. NPCs are total bots (I mean DUH right, it's a videogame npc!) but I mean like. TOTAL lack of personality, character, social politics, nothing interesting happens in the game, random prisoner punches another…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I used to watch letsplays of this game and I was soooo obsessed. I couldn´t wait to see another video uploaded and finally get to see the other prisons and possible ways to escape. Now, FINALLY, after like 5 years, I´m able to play this game myself!! Even though I technically know how to escape each prison, it really is so much fun to find your own tactic and play with friends who have no idea how to play The Escapists. I can not lie, despite the fact that it really can be difficult to figure…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Accidently dropped the soap and felt my fart box getting filled by something long and slightly warm, It felt weird yet quite pleasing. Got put in there for running an old lady with a semi truck so i didnt deserve what came of me. Lets just say i didnt see him ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Escapists 2. no its not bad or nothin. it ran like shit on my laptop (one that ran isaac decently!!!) and was the only game that i genuinely actively did not enjoy at all after checking it's everything out.
negative · AI labelView post →It lacks so many things. At first you'll think there are plenty of ways to escape, but in fact it's always the same. Maps are built to be escaped a certain way. Quests are kinda useless. You'll need to do a few eventually to get some items but that's it. The "relationship" you have with other NPCs are useless. I genuinely don't understand how this game won a GOTY with such few features.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ love this game! (never played the firs one tho) I sugest that you buy it durring a sale and that you buy the goty edition it is the best if you play it with friends, if you have any
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You get to beat up people and steal their clothes. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very fun i die am bad gaurds ar rakist/j game is very good well polished would reccommend i am still terrible at this :) have fun
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a pretty good game but there's not enough players to play online.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Even if you only want to beat every prison once, you still get your money's worth. But if you want to 100% it, you ABSOLUTELY get your money's worth.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very fun game alone but even more fun with friends, this game is so underrated from the prisons down to the actually sophisticated guard ai its a game meant for a good time and thats what youll get
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →100% completed The Escapists 2 in 41.7 hours every escape, every achievement, every prison. A genuinely well-designed game with a simple but very addictive gameplay loop. Each prison feels distinct, progression is consistently satisfying, and the balance of strategy, experimentation, and replayability keeps it enjoyable from start to finish. Even after completing everything, it never felt tedious. Highly recommended.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very nice. THings about each map. (Only the ones i like or dislike any i left out means im nuetral about them). Center perks. Nice. Just nice. 8/10 - Area 17. VERY FIRE, favourite one. 9/10 - HMP Orca.( favouite transport prison. I mean its aight. 7/10. - Fort tundra. eh. 4/10. HMS Offshore. Too big to comprehend. 10 floors? really???? 5/10. Plane one. Its good, but feels boring. 6/10. Should be minimum of 5 endeing per prison.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →29. The Escapists / The Escapists 2 reason: i used to watch this guy named paulsoaresjr play the first game all the time n i got my mom to buy ts as a lil kid 😭 second game was really fun to play with friends
positive · AI labelView post →It is an underrated co-op game that i enjoyed while playing.It is a basic and well thought game with fun mechanics.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →is hard and makes you use your brain in order to actually escape, and is really fun game to play with my girlfriend:)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PROS - Creative and rewarding escape mechanics. - Plenty of freedom to approach each prison differently. - Great co-op experience with friends. - Fun crafting and progression system. - High replayability thanks to multiple escape methods. CONS - Gameplay loop becomes somewhat repetitive over time. - Some controls and interactions feel clunky. - Trial and error can occasionally lead to unnecessary frustration. VERDICT The Escapists 2 is a highly enjoyable sandbox puzzle game that rewards…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Elite game. Soundtrack is fire, multiplayer is unrivaled, and singleplayer gives a challenge. Half my hours in this game are making my own prisons. Highly recommend for anyone.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a gigantic improvement over the original, the mechanics are cleaner, the music is catchy, the artstyle is honestly a treat for the eyes with how great and detailed it is. Combat is fluid and way better. The various escape methods in each prison are fun and interesting. The dlcs are also really well done and very fair priced. 9/10 just a super well made and fun game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very disappointing. Only way to escape is with a few pre-defined solutions instead of being a true sandbox. Playing this without a guide feels like you're just doing random stuff without even knowing why. Very missed opportunity in my opinion.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I remember getting this game after watching one video on it, got to say, now that I'm old enough to understand how to escape prison.. it's pretty good!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beat up a cop and striped him of his uniform then escape in said uniform a simple 10/10.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was a pretty big disappointment for me. I didn't really enjoy [url=store.steampowered.com/app/298630/The_Escapists/]The Escapists, but I was hoping that the sequel would be better, and initially, this proved to be true. I hopped into the game with a couple of friends and we had quite a good time initially. Unfortunately, as we played more, we encountered some serious flaws which really disrupted the experience, and in the end I found myself feeling frustrated and dissatisfied. The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played since 2017 on the PS4, got it on pc since it was 80% off with all the dlc, best 6 dollars I spent
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →dont ever do the tis but a scratch escape on dungeons and duct tape
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Planning an escape and watching it unfold is satisfying, and a successful breakout leaves you feeling jubilant ;)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →one of my favorite games, I def recommend it with friends too the creator mode is a little lack luster but I like the game none then less
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Funny game, if you have a stack of friends to play with. Otherwise, I don't think it'll be that interesting. Game is just a bunch of maze-levels, where you can escape from with many different ways. 6/10.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is very nostalgic, shout out to jacksepticeye, Pewdiepie and Markiplier
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A really good game with a lot of thing to do (and a lot of multiplayer bugs)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i really enjoyed beating up the guards constantly and setting up everyone else so that they hate me 10/10 would play again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ive been playing the game since release (started on console) and i still love the game, my only issue is the map editor, theres such a lack of items and tools, and theres no way to get more and its a massive letdown
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I LOVE this game, it's fun to play, has a simple but also awesome artstyle, and all the cutscenes are really funny, would recomend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is frankly horrible at explaining what your items do, what you need to craft things, and letting you keep track of what you have to craft things with. In my brief time with it it was frustrating and bored my entire group as a result.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →(I have played a lot more on XBOX) This game is a fun prison escape game. You can break out in multiple ways ranging from the basic dig outside to the really fun special escape challenges on each map. Its great with friends or for relaxing. I would pick up on sale if this is your thing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think my only actually-bad gaming experience was The Escapists 2. It ran like hot ass on my laptop, and i didnt realize "Wait, this isnt even my kind of game in the first place!" until way after the refund period had passed.
negative · AI labelView post →tell vic brother to let me play
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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