Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 299 sampled Steam reviews (270 positive / 29 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Multiplayer & servers5% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Multiplayer & servers17% mention it
- Grind & repetition10% mention it
- Bugs & crashes10% mention it
- Controls & UI10% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
80%
90 reviews
5-15h
94%
110 reviews
15-40h
94%
65 reviews
40-100h
100%
30 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 75 | 20 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 91% | 85 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 90% | 85 | 74 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 210 reviews sampled · 169 total reviews in window · weighted 121.2 up / 12.8 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (57)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
- 80
“The Escapists 2 is a worthy sequel to the original game. It features co-op missions, a lot of escape options and interesting puzzles. If you liked the first game, you should try this one.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“A fun mix of strategy and puzzle game which isn't really that different from it's predecessor. Multiplayer mode is a nice addition, but because of some irritating design choices it's hard to recommend The Escapists 2 to friends, although they could make the gameplay more engaging.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The Escapists 2 is an ingenious, multi-layered clockwork sandbox that offers you a wide range of routes to freedom. Its tough demands and myriad competing systems can lead to frustration, but a winning sense of humour and knock-about fun always brings you back for another jailbreak attempt.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“An interesting idea that quickly dives into repetition and not even repetition I can enjoy. Just watch Prison Break instead of playing this game, you’ll get more out of it.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“I think one of the keys to enjoying The Escapists 2 is understanding both what it is and isn’t. If you approach it like a sandbox game you’ll be able to have some fun for a while simply going through the daily prison routine, and it can be interesting for a while, but that won’t generally advance you towards escape. It all revolves around looking for anything unusual in the circumstances you find yourself in that will provide an opportunity, scanning your crafting list for anything that stands out, and then putting together your means of escape through trial and error. If the game would organically provide tips on what you’ll want or need to do through the grapevine, or as a reward for turning in favors (or even money) it may not have always been quite as aggravating. Without a doubt it is a unique title and for people who enjoy challenging themselves with something different it should deliver, you just may want to look at a strategy guide if you’re feeling lost.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“ It's a game behind the times, from the way it plays to its awkward design choices, and its weak performance and optimisation on consoles is further cause for frustration. For those willing to put themselves through an unbalanced learning curve there is some enjoyment to be had on the far side, but beyond the fleeting charm of some of the levels, the rest of the experience falls flat. ”
read full review ↗ - 70
“The Escapists 2 is a fun puzzle game with a unique premise, and while the game could use a more detailed tutorial system, once you invest the time to learn the different systems you will be rewarded with a fun mental workout.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“For an open sandbox game that relies on the user to enjoy the experience utilizing their imagination, the journey to the goal just isn't enjoyable enough. My hope going in was that I would be spending time coming up with creative ideas to fool guards and bypass security. Instead, what I found was that I would often pray that my first plan would work so that I would have to go looking for more tape and files.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Scoping out a new prison for its vulnerabilities and formulating a plan to carry out is a great time, but getting to those thrilling moments of misadventures are often plagued with days of scavenging, looking for those one or two materials I desperately needed and as the tedium began to set in, I wasn't looking for a way to escape from the prison but rather from this cycle of boring, repetitive gameplay.”
read full review ↗ - 67
“With a delightful pixel-style that fills the screen with details, it'll be hard to take your eyes off the screen as you make your way through all the different prisons on offer. Most of us might never have the, uh… joy… of breaking out of prison, but The Escapists 2 does a swell job of showing us just how entertaining it can be!”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The Escapists 2 is a solid package that expands upon the concepts of the original game in meaningful ways and it performs very well on the Nintendo Switch.”
read full review ↗
Fintendo
GameMAG
3DNews
Nintendo Life
Kinglink Reviews
Nindie Spotlight
Cubed3
Nexus Hub
NintendoWorldReport
ZTGD
Nintendojo
Gamerheadquarters…and 45 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Free "Snow Way Out" Update Available Now!Dec 12, 2018
- Manual saves, new tutorials and more added to The Escapists 2!Aug 2, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Escapists Update 1.1.5 Patch NotesMar 20, 2018
- Escapists Update 1.1.5 Patch NotesMar 20, 2018
- Big Top Breakout DLC & Prison Editor Update Available Now!Feb 21, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Big Top Breakout DLC & Prison Editor Update Available Now!Feb 21, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Santa’s Shakedown Available Now - For FREE!Dec 13, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Santa’s Shakedown Available Now - For FREE!Dec 13, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- The Escapists 2 Prison Editor Available NowDec 5, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- The Escapists 2 Prison Editor Available NowDec 5, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Update 11 Available Now!Nov 6, 2017
- Update 11 Available Now!Nov 6, 2017
- Update 10 Available Now!Oct 24, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Update 10 Available Now!Oct 24, 2017
- Update 9 Available Now!Sep 14, 2017
- Update 9 Available Now!Sep 14, 2017
- Update 8 Available Now!Sep 13, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Update 8 Available Now!Sep 13, 2017
- Update 7 Available Now!Sep 8, 2017
- Update 7 Available Now!Sep 8, 2017
- UntitledSep 1, 2017
- Update 5 Available now!Sep 1, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Update 5 Available now!Sep 1, 2017
- Update 4 Available Now!Aug 30, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Update 4 Available Now!Aug 30, 2017
- Update 3 Available Now!Aug 24, 2017
- Update 3 Available Now!Aug 24, 2017
- Update 1 Available Now! [Update 2 Now Available Too!]Aug 23, 2017significant · resets scoring window