''The Escapists 2'' is a

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

developed by Mouldy Toof Studios and published by

Team17 Team17 Group plc is a British video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Wakefield, England. The venture was created in December 1990 through the merger of British publisher 17-Bit Software and Swedish developer Team 7. A ...

. It is the sequel to ''

The Escapists ''The Escapists'' is a strategy game played from a top-down perspective. The game was developed by Mouldy Toof Studios and following a Steam Early Access release in 2014, was released in 2015 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox 360, Xb ...

'' (2015) and it was released worldwide for

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PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

, and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

in August 2017.

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and mobile phones versions were released in 2018 and 2019, both iOS and Android respectively.

Gameplay

In the game, players assume control of an inmate from a

top-down perspective A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...

. The inmate must follow daily routines in the prison while completing quests for fellow inmates and seeking out opportunities to escape. Missing routines results in the prison's security level increasing; at higher security levels, more guards patrol the prison, dogs sniff out contraband items stored by inmates, and, at the highest security level, a total lockdown occurs in which all inmates must return to their cells. A lockdown can also be caused by damaging the prison or misplacing guards' keys. ''The Escapists 2'' features a crafting system which allows players to craft items like shovels,

taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...

s and dummies to confuse guards. Once the player character is caught, all contraband items in the inventory are lost and the inmate is put into

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

. Comparing to its predecessors, the game has a larger variety of prisons, including

prisoner transport vehicle A prisoner transport vehicle, informally known as a "Sweat Box" amongst British prisoners, is a specially designed or retrofitted vehicle, usually a van or bus, used to transport prisoners from one secure area, such as a prison or courthouse, to ...

s and incarceration facilities set in space. There are also more customization options for the player character. The game features an expanded combat system which allows players to lock onto targets, block and perform light and heavy attacks. The game features both

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

and online

cooperative multiplayer A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

. There are some unique escapes that require multiplayer to unlock where up to four players can assist each other when escaping prison. The competitive multiplayer pits between two and four players against each other and the player who breaks out from the confinement facility fastest wins the game.

Development

Mouldy Toof Studios created ''The Escapists 2'' in conjunction with

. The team listened to feedback from players who have played the first game and identified multiplayer as the most requested feature. Since the first game's code would have needed to be substantially rewritten to incorporate such features, the team decided to create a new game instead. The team wanted to introduce something new to players. Therefore, many systems were expanded to become more complex, and the prisons featured in the game are multi-storied. Team17 announced the game on October 3, 2016. It was released for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

and

on August 22, 2017. Team17 then released the game on

on January 16, 2018. The game was released for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and Android on January 31, 2019 as ''The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout''. Several

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...

packs were released for the game. These include "Big Top Breakout", "Dungeons and Duct Tape" and "Wicked Ward", all of which introduce a new prison map. Sold Out served as the game's distributor for the retail version of the game for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Reception

The game received generally positive reviews from critics according to

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. The Russian magazine ''

Igromania ''Igromania'' (russian: Игромания, Russian for "Game Mania") is a Russian video game website and formerly a magazine. The magazine was published in Moscow and distributed in Russia and the CIS countries. It was founded in September 199 ...

'' praised the game's humor, characters, variety of maps, and the option to play multiplayer, while somewhat criticizing the interface, specifically the

dialog boxes The dialog box (also called dialogue box (non-U.S. English), message box or simply dialog) is a graphical control element in the form of a small window that communicates information to the user and prompts them for a response. Dialog boxes are ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Escapists 2, The 2017 video games Android (operating system) games Christmas video games IOS games Linux games Indie games MacOS games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Puzzle video games Role-playing video games Strategy video games Team17 games Top-down video games Video game sequels Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in prison Windows games Xbox One games