It all started with a Steam Deck. December had rolled around, the tree was twinkling, snacks were stacked high, and my partner and I were on the hunt for that mythical perfect co-op game — something cosy enough for date night, challenging enough to keep our brains buzzing, and, crucially, unlikely to devolve into a controller-throwing incident. Enter: Escape Simulator.
Now, I’m a sucker for escape rooms. There’s something magical about being locked in an overly themed broom closet with your favourite person, collectively unravelling the secrets of a cypher scrawled in invisible ink. But, and it’s a big but, real-life escape rooms aren’t always as immersive as I’d like.
There’s the Game Master who starts dropping hints unprompted, as though they can hear your slow descent into madness through a hidden mic. There’s the anticlimactic ending when the timer hits zero, and instead of a triumphant escape, you’re politely escorted out while still clutching a half-solved Sudoku. And let’s not even talk about puzzles that don’t work because Dave from the 2 PM group forgot to reset them properly.
This is where Escape Simulator shines. It takes all the best parts of escape rooms – the puzzles, the teamwork, the glorious aha! moments, and carefully pours them into the cosy confines of my Steam Deck. Portable escape room chaos? Yes, please.
The puzzles in Escape Simulator also manage to hit that elusive sweet spot: they’re clever without being cruel and challenging without making you want to rage-quit and delete your save file. Even when my brain had fully blue-screened, and my partner was side-eyeing me like I was holding the team back, I was still having fun.
Escape rooms are, at their core, controlled chaos. Nothing compares to the comedy of two people staring at the same clue and arriving at wildly different conclusions, whether physical or digital. One person is deep in the trenches of hieroglyphic math while the other is—let’s be honest—destroying everything in sight, just in case they find the missing key. Spoiler: they usually don’t. (But sometimes they do, which is why everything must be destroyed.)
In co-op, Escape Simulator feels less like a game with multiplayer stapled on and more like an experience built from the ground up for two players. Some puzzles practically demand a two-brain approach—one person deciphers a code while the other fiddles with an overly elaborate mechanism. Other times, all it takes is one person leaning over and saying, “Wait, have you tried that?” to crack the case wide open.
At its core, Escape Simulator is pure, classic escape room fun. You pick a room, get a vague objective, and then… click on everything—open boxes. Rotate objects. Stare intensely at a painting until it whispers secrets to you. Every room is a self-contained ecosystem of interconnected puzzles, and there’s a deeply satisfying domino effect when one solution unlocks another.
The puzzle variety keeps things fresh, too. Classic combo locks? Check. Light-reflecting puzzles? Check. The dreaded math puzzle? Yup, that’s there as well. The real key to success? Poke, prod, and flip everything you can. If you get stuck, a hint button offers a gentle nudge without outright solving the puzzle for you, like a kind Game Master who isn’t judging your every misstep.
Graphically, Escape Simulator isn’t trying to melt your GPU; it doesn’t need to. The art style is clean, colourful, and easy on the eyes—a must-have in a game where missing one tiny visual detail could leave you hopelessly stuck. The soundtrack isn’t particularly memorable, but it’s a pleasant backdrop, like the lo-fi playlist you forgot was playing while you were hyper-focused on solving a riddle.
More importantly, the visuals and the music occasionally sneak into the puzzles themselves. A painting might hide a secret sequence, or a faint musical cue could guide you to your next revelation. It’s these little touches that make the game feel polished and thoughtful.
Escape Simulator nails exactly what it sets out to do. It’s a fun, satisfying escape room experience that feels equally rewarding whether you’re playing solo or in chaotic co-op. The puzzles are sharp, the themes are varied, and the multiplayer dynamic brings a level of comedy and camaraderie that’s hard to beat. Plus, with multiple DLCs and a thriving community pumping out player-created rooms, the puzzle party doesn’t have to stop.
Why Handheld? Escape Simulator’s puzzle format is ideal for on-the-go play. Each escape room can be completed in short bursts, making it easy to pick up and put down between other activities. It’s also the kind of game that doesn’t demand hyper-focus or intense reactions, making it perfect for casual gaming.
