Stupid-smart puzzles. Genius, dumb fun. Clever all around.
Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School
Developer: Coin Crew Games
Release Date: To be announced
Class is (back) in session with Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School! Get a first look at next year’s curriculum with this new playable demo. Escape from a death-defying introductory puzzle course, kick it with new and familiar faces on campus, and enjoy a sneak peek at our brand new quest system!
There is something to be said for frantically zooming around a scene, on the clock, clicking on every little thing to help find your puzzle solutions and at least 50% of the time being provided with a pun instead. Whether the jokes land or not doesn’t matter, it is a delightful experience and surprisingly enough, the majority of them do.
Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School is the upcoming sequel of Escape Academy, where you are student at Escape Academy, learning to… well, escape. The pressure is high and the consequences for failure can be deadly, but that is just another day at the prestigious school. The entire premise and the writing alongside it are the dumbest of fun and I couldn’t have more affection for it. The sequel feels like an expansion of the formula of the first game in the most exciting way.
The writing is fun, the vibes are peak, and the gameplay is equally strong. There are themed escape rooms galore and the demo gave a wonderful and substantial taste of the variety ahead. Between main puzzles there are optional side puzzles, an abundance of your peers to chat to with the best – and worst – names, and an ever expanding environment to explore as you prove your capability by not dying in class.
I am usually allergic to rushing, in games and in real life, but in the case of Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School, I do recommend choosing the timed option, providing you are at least a semi seasoned escape roomist. The urgency adds a lot to the atmosphere of the game and so far I had enough time for every puzzle while also thoroughly exploring every nook and cranny of the room. You will never know whether a one liner will be worth the 10 seconds of your precious time until after you have read it, and that was a gamble that was always entertaining to take. If you prefer though, you can turn the clock off and take the game at your own pace.
Everything feels so serious and yet so light-hearted simultaneously. You will solve a puzzle so intelligently to be greeted by the dumbest joke. The puzzle itself may be a dumb joke. That is what sets this game above so many other puzzle games for me, and why I recommend it so highly. Despite the silliness, I even had to pull out a note book a couple of times! There are local and online co-op options available too.
Demo Length – 1-2 hours At a glance + Engaging puzzles + Abundant jokes and amusing writing + An improvement of an already great game in the way that great sequels are + New open world providing more opportunities for laughs and brain scratchers + Substantial demo really shows what you are getting into + Snappy pacing + Difficulty options
The Dark Pictures Anthology offer a rare and unique experience. I find the series as a whole to be underrated, not for their narrative or quality, but because they created Shared Story Mode.
Shared Story is a game mode that I don’t see talked about very often but feels revolutionary in the realm of narrative co-op gaming. Admittedly this is potentially a niche that couldn’t actually quantify a realm, but is the audience really that small? or do they just not realise the super interesting and fun play experience that this unique mode can provide.
So, Shared Story Mode is the ability to play these game via online co-op. This differs to the couch co-op option, because rather than passing the controller, you will each be playing different characters at the same time. Sometimes you will be in the same scene, exploring together and talking to characters – sometimes on either side of the same conversation, picking up clues and discussing the story. Other times, you will split up, taking charge of different characters in their own scenes, sometimes completely separate and sometimes affecting each others experience.
There is no right or wrong way to play this, but I believe the best way is to play with a friend that has similar values to you (e.g. explores a similar amount, investment in story, same intentions for characters etc) in a voice chat. When you’re characters are exploring together, you are free to chat away, but as soon as you are alone then you both mute yourselves, in a pact not to talk again until your characters have reunited (if they are so lucky). At that point, you can tell each other about what you did, what you found and what you learned.
Now, I am not saying Shared Story is THE definitive way to play. There are pros and cons. For example, in Shared Story you accept from the start that you aren’t personally going to get to play/see every scene. This is probably the biggest factor against playing this way. This also means that you may miss out on some context as you won’t get to see all of the clues that your parner saw, and therefore can’t make your own complete theories. Depending on your situation you may be rushing, unsure what your partner is doing and whether they are waiting for you. However, the game does a really good job of accounting for that.
While some of the edits can be a little janky, I am always impressed with how they manage to seamlessly tie the two playthroughs together. You never end up stuck waiting around, not knowing what to do. Also, in our experience, the gameplay is divided well, ensuring that both parties each get to play some key scenes. There are even some moments that you wouldn’t see in single player mode as you can only ever have one point of view. It is always fun to have the potential unpredictability that a friend can bring to a simple conversation between two characters, and it is always funny when it goes wrong.
Without further ado, here is my ranked list of Season 1 of The Dark Pictures Anthology, based on my Shared Story experiences.
4. House of Ashes [2021]
At the close of the Iraq War, Special Forces hunting for weapons of mass destruction unearth something far deadlier – a buried Sumerian temple containing a nest of unearthly creatures. To survive the night below, they must forge a brotherhood with their enemies from the world above.
House of Ashes seems to be quite widely regarded as the best of the bunch but for whatever reason, that was not my experience. The issue? I cannot remember most of what happened in this game. The intro was strong, and I remember something happening at the end. Other than that? I have no idea. I cannot decide which is more damning, a bad impression, or no impression at all.
3. Little Hope [2020]
Trapped and isolated in the abandoned town of Little Hope, 4 college students and their teacher must escape the nightmarish apparitions that relentlessly pursue them through an impenetrable fog.
Little Hope is one of the games that I have the most conflicted opinion on in my entire games catalogue. It should be number one on this list, easily. The time spent playing this game, getting to know the characters, making connections, having the wildest theories and being excited by the potential, all washes away because of one thing that I cannot specify without spoiling the game.
I was so into what this game was doing. The non-linear storytelling is surprisingly fun to experience as a duo and the intrigue surpassed the horror, urging us to discover every clue that we could possibly find. The entire experience was such a thrill and delight, and while my buddy Hajda did not have the same turning point as I did, I was so disappointed that 20 minutes of the game managed to colour the rest of my entire experience.
2. The Devil in Me [2022]
A group of documentary film makers receive a mysterious call inviting them to a modern-day replica of serial killer H.H. Holmes ‘Murder Castle’. But on arrival they soon discover they’re being watched, and even manipulated, and suddenly there is much more at stake than just their ratings…
The Devil in Me is the one out of all of the games that has the premise that interests me the most. The trailer gave very saw-esque vibes and that is the flavour of horror that I grew up with. I was disappointed to see upon release that the general reception was ‘meh’ at best. However this did lower my expectations enough to be thoroughly impressed with the time that I had.
I loved (and hated) walking around this claustrophobic, dingy, vintage environment, not knowing what was going to be around every corner. I loved that we were a documentary film crew, a classic but perfect reason to go to opt into traveling to a murder island. I loved the mysteries and isolation. This is the game that suffered the most from not being able to view all of the clues, as there were a lot of names and dates that got lost in communication. However, the experience of the story within the moment was a fun one, and I don’t think I could have handled this hotel alone.
1. Man of Medan [2019]
The Dark Pictures Anthology is a series of stand-alone, branching cinematic horror games that can also be played online with a friend. In Man of Medan, five friends set sail on a holiday diving trip that soon changes into something much more sinister.
Man of Medan – the first of the bunch – remains my favourite, not because I didn’t enjoy the others, but because the premise of the game lent itself so perfectly to the shared experience. Once again, it is difficult to express the particulars for spoiler reasons, but trust me when I say that if you are still blind on the series and are interested in Shared Story mode, try it out for this one at least.
The truth is, even the bottom of my list offered a super fun time with my friend where we got to discover a story in a way that no other game offers. Shared Story Mode – despite its flaws – is a gem of an experience and I really hope that Supermassive manage to succeed in their Season 2 goals. The only other studios that I can think of that play within in this space are Hazelight (A Way Out/It Takes Two), using the narrative but using a lot of split screen, and Total Mayhem Games (We Were Here) which is much further into the puzzle genre.
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