Jailbreak! If you are looking for a fantastic way to connect with your friends virtually, look no further. ESC The Game: ESC From Cell 126 is an online escape room that you need to try with your friends.
ESC From Cell 126
In ESC From Cell 126, you find yourself locked up in a high-security prison. Today you are being moved to cell 126, where a previous inmate has successfully escaped imprisonment from just one week ago. It is up to you to solve the clues left behind to break out too.
How To Play
This game can be played with one to six players. While the game is timed, there is no time limit. You are racing against the clock merely for bragging rights at the end.
To play, each person will want a computer, and ideally a tablet or phone too. You’ll also need everyone on a voice chat program; I suggest Discord.
To complete the game ESC The Game says it should take between one and two hours.
ESC From Cell 126 (Spoiler Free)
ESC From Cell 126 gave me major Prison Break flashbacks. Except in this game, you don’t have the escape route tattooed on you.
When you purchase the game, you’ll be sent a custom URL for your group. Once you are ready to begin, everyone will need to click that link. Then, you’ll need to scan a QR code (more on that later) and create a team name. After that, once you click the start button, the timer is on, so make sure you are ready to go before you do.
The story of this escape room is very logical and easy to follow. You begin by determining the escape route and slowly move from room to room until you are out of the prison.
The game is expertly designed and doesn’t have any of the problems I’ve experienced in other similar games. There isn’t going to be tons of tabs in your browser, each with a new password to remember.
Instead, it takes place all in one url, and if a lock is solved, it opens for everyone. While this might seem small, many games don’t have this significant function, which saves so many headaches.
In this online escape room, everyone will be looking at the same thing at a time, which I strongly prefer. Instead of the team dividing up and solving different sections, you can experience the entire game. It also forces you to collaborate and not miss out on essential story moments or clues.
ESC From Cell 126 is expertly designed, and one of the best examples is their backpack function. You can opt to scan a QR code on your phone or tablet, and all the clues will show up (in addition to your monitor). That means you can flip between hints and clues, or read at your own pace without disturbing the other players.
I can’t stress enough what a big deal this had. Usually, escape rooms have me using two monitors simply because I have to have so many tabs opens plus voice chat with my team. But here, you can utilize your phone as a second monitor, with all the essential information.
Better still, when you solved something, the clues in your backpack will automatically get scratched out. This way, you don’t waste time looking at things that aren’t needed anymore.
Another outstanding part of this game is the diverse type of problems you needed to solve. It was fantastic as every team member solved different areas using their unique skill sets.
The only small snap we hit was the “hint function.” When playing, we used the hint on one of the first puzzles, and the hint told us what we already knew. Of course, as it is automated, there is no way for the game to understand what we know. But it was the only issue we bumped into. Thankfully a few minutes later, we solved it on our own.
Final Thoughts
The game took us 1 hour and 3 minutes, but mainly because we wasted 20 minutes right at the start. Just 3 minutes short of being one of the top 20 teams to solve the game.
After the first primary challenge, it was smooth sailing, and I would say the puzzles are intermediate in difficulty.
Upon completion, my team agreed that this game made it on our list of ultimate online escape rooms. It not only had diverse types of puzzles but an easy to navigate system, and a backpack feature we loved.
Without question, for just $25 per team, it is a steal.
Buy ESC The Game: ESC From Cell 126 now.