The Meta Quest 3 is the perfect console for Escape Room games. The freedom of being untethered really helps you feel invested in your potential escape. I’ve played a few of them in virtual reality, and they always offer a great time.

As such, I knew I was going to like Escape Simulator – but I didn’t realise just how much I was going to love it.

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LOCKED IN AND LOVING IT
Escape Simulator is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin: there’s no real story or anything tying the themes together (although the rooms within a theme tend to hint at some kind of narrative connection), but you won’t mind so much when you have twenty fantastic escape rooms set over four different themes in the main mode – plus a variety of bonus rooms, community maps, and DLC rooms on top of all that. As such, there’s plenty here to keep you busy for a while, and the plenty of ‘coming soon’ tags seem to promise far more coming in the near future.

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Those familiar with escape rooms should be familiar with the setup: you’re given a time limit in which to solve a series of puzzles and exit the room you’re in. You’ll start out in a relatively confined space full of stuff, and you need to sort out the wheat from the chaff in order to start making progress. There’ll be puzzles everywhere, with some being possible from the start, but there will also be plenty of locks that are impossible with your present knowledge and items. Only by working through the puzzles you can solve will everything eventually fall into place.

It all works really well, especially as important items can be stored in your inventory for ease of access. Personally, I didn’t bother using the system as I preferred to lay items around the room (which is far more useful when playing co-operative, as you don’t share an inventory), but I certainly appreciate it’s inclusion. I also liked ow items can be grabbed and activated from a reasonable distance too, ensuring that your time is spent solving the puzzles rather than messing around trying to pick something up.

The real beauty though is with the actual puzzle design. Each different theme has puzzles designed specifically for them, meaning that the Egyptian level will have you solving hieroglyphic puzzles and opening sarcophagi, whereas the mansion will be more themed around book entries, forgotten toys, and the like. Regardless of theme though, the puzzles are all delightful and I didn’t encounter a single dud – heck, even the tutorial is a delight and has some really clever puzzles for you to solve.

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As aforementioned, in addition to the many rooms in the main game, you can also buy more in the form of DLC. Currently there are two available, with one being free and themed around The Talos Principle, and the other being paid but offers various cosmetics and a series of rooms with a Steampunk theme.

The Talos Principle DLC is a nice little treat for fans of the classic puzzle title, and they did a great job at making the more realistic futuristic world fit naturally within Escape Simulator’s colourful aesthetic. What’s more, I liked how they took some of the puzzle themes of lasers and pressure pads, but put a whole new spin on them; they look and feel like a part of the Talos world, but are in fact completely unique to this game. It’s a shame that there’s only one room, but at least it’s a belter.

The Steampunk themed rooms though are on a whole new level. The Talos Principle DLC wowed me, but I wasn’t prepared for just how intricate and lengthy this DLC ended up being. Even after playing only the first room, you can see how it justifies being paid extra content. Sure, I may be slightly biased as I’m a big fan of the steampunk art style, but it’s hard not to be impressed at the layered puzzles that are both challenging and satisfying. Heck, even with the generous time limit, I still failed to get out on time – although thankfully, you can still continue until you’re done.

It’s hard to really talk about the puzzles and how much I loved both the main game and its DLC, and that’s mainly because giving any examples of the puzzles would spoil some of the fun. The game offers a perfect balance of difficulty that tests your puzzle solving abilities without ever feeling obtuse, and the hint system offers a nice degree of hints to help nudge you towards what you need to do without actually telling you the answer. Add to that the charming visuals, and the well implemented co-operative mode, and you have what is undoubtedly the best escape room game I’ve played on any system. If you have a Quest and love escape rooms, you owe it to yourself to buy this game.

VERDICT
If you only buy one escape room game for VR, then make sure it’s this one. With a range of wonderful escape rooms that are fun regardless of playing alone or with a friend, you’ll find hours of entertainment here to keep you busy. And with a roadmap ahead for both free and paid content, you’ll want keep this one installed on your headset for a very long time indeed.