Escape the Playground

Escape the Playground is a co-op horror game for 1 to 4 players that can also be played alone. Recess begins on a sunny playground, but after about a minute the sky disappears and walls rise around a maze filled with monsters. You find keys, open the gate and reach the exit before it closes; then recess starts again.

The monsters

Each monster follows different rules and has a counter. The tall one hears you run, so you need to break line of sight. The pale one moves only when nobody is looking at it, so you keep your eyes on it and back away. More than a dozen monsters appear, with more added to the nights as you play.

Getting caught puts you in a cage. You can escape with a timing check, or a friend can reach the cage and open it. If you remain captured, you become a poltergeist and can still flicker lamps and shove rides.

Co-op and voice chat

Proximity voice chat lets nearby players hear you, and monsters can hear you too. One monster listens to voice chat, so shouting can alert a friend or draw the monster to you. The gate closes 30 seconds after the first player gets through, making you decide whether to wait for others.

Maps and nights

The playground has ten nights, and Night School adds a second map with its own five. Each night has its own look, such as snow, Halloween or crayon. Night School is a huge indoor playground in a dark school, where toxic waste rises throughout the night. You shut down four stations to reverse the rising waste and power the freight elevator; some stations require two players.

Night School also has its own monsters. Mother Longlegs lives in the rafters, and her legs reach down before her body appears. Sludgers rise from the waste, while Mrs. Lupa expects everyone to stand in line when the lunch bell rings.

Items and collectibles

Lunchbox items are scattered around the maze, and each can have an unwanted effect. A water balloon pins a monster in place but splashes you too; a kazoo draws everything nearby over to investigate. You also carry a disposable camera, and your photos go into your yearbook at the end of the night.

There are four difficulty settings, from Easy to Impossible, along with more than 100 baseball cards, hats and 24 achievements to collect.