Escape rooms have come a long way since their inception in the early 2000s. Originally created as online games, these immersive and interactive experiences quickly gained popularity and evolved into physical escape rooms. These real-life versions of the game require players to solve puzzles and riddles in a set time limit in order to “escape” a room or series of rooms. These physical escape rooms became a popular form of entertainment, with many people enjoying the challenge of working together and using their problem-solving skills to escape.
During the pandemic physical escape rooms have become less accessible and gave rise to an entire genus of virtual escape rooms to satisfy their desire for immersive and interactive experiences. These games usually involve live actors and take place over zoom and are great o large groups of friends or virtual team building.
Future Tech Virtual Escape Room
Nevertheless, if you are alone and looking for some escape room fun on a video game console, the Nintendo Switch is a great platform. Released by Nintendo in March 2017, the Nintendo Switch is a hybrid video game console. It can be used as a home console connected to a television, or as a portable device for on-the-go gaming. The Switch features a 6.2-inch touchscreen and two detachable Joy-Con controllers that can be used separately or attached to a grip to form a traditional controller. The system has a variety of games available, including first-party titles like “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”, and “Animal Crossing” as well as third-party titles like “It Takes Two” and “Superliminal.” The Switch has become a popular choice for both console and escape room gamers due to its versatility and strong library of games. Here are 25 of the best escape room games available on the Nintendo Switch.
It Takes Two
It Takes Two is a cooperative platform adventure game that offers players a unique and thrilling experience. Players can invite a friend to join the game for free with the Friend’s Pass and work together to complete a variety of challenges. As they progress through the game, players will master unique and connected character abilities and help each other through unexpected obstacles. The game features a heartfelt story about a fractured relationship and is filled with genre-bending gameplay that is both disruptive and entertaining. It Takes Two is developed by Hazelight, an industry leader in cooperative play, and offers a pure co-op experience that is perfect for players looking to team up and have fun together.
Oneiros
In Liam’s Tale, players wake up in a room that looks familiar, but something just doesn’t feel right. The doors are locked, the laptop is hacked, and the phone is broken. As they try to piece together what’s going on, they discover that they are in the midst of a surreal, dream-like world filled with details and interactive items to discover. With fully voiced characters, an interactive laptop with mini-games, and beautiful graphics with advanced lighting and effects, Liam’s Tale offers an immersive and story-based gameplay experience. Players will need to solve puzzles, use escape room mechanics, and craft and build items to help Liam escape and find out what’s really going on. With its psychedelic visions and many interactive, physics-based items, Liam’s Tale is a unique and engaging puzzle game that will keep players entertained.
SOTANO
In Sotano, players find themselves waking up in the basement of a large house after their car breaks down and they seek help. They soon discover that they have been locked in the room by the owner, who has left a note explaining that they were caught snooping on the property and that the room is locked for their own safety. As they explore the limited space, they must use their puzzle-solving skills to gather hidden objects and solve riddles in order to escape the house. Sotano is a first-person, 3D escape room puzzle adventure game that features immersive indoor environments, beautiful graphics, and immersive soundtrack. Players can use the inventory to collect and use objects to help them escape and can save their progress as they make their way through the many rooms of the house.
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two
In Tick Tock: A Tale for Two, players find themselves trapped in an eerie world created by the clockmaker Amalie Ravn. To escape, they must navigate a mysterious and sinister clockwork world filled with secrets and cryptic puzzles, using their communication skills to shout out instructions, discuss what they see, and listen to each other. To find the truth and escape, players must combine the information on both of their screens, using local or remote play with just a voice connection. As they work together to solve the mysteries of this eerie world, they must also be mindful of the ticking clock and race against time to escape. Tick Tock: A Tale for Two is a narrative adventure that puts players’ communication skills to the test as they work together to solve puzzles and escape.
Cape’s escape game
In this game, the main character moves into an apartment with cheap rent, but soon realizes that there is a reason for the low cost. Cape, a mischievous ghost, appears and locks the main character in the room, leading the player to try and solve the mystery and help the main character escape. The player must use their problem-solving skills to figure out how to escape the haunted apartment and overcome the challenges presented by Cape. The game involves finding clues, solving puzzles, and interacting with various objects in the room in order to escape and uncover the mystery of the haunted apartment.
Createscape Town～Nyanzou&Kumakichi: Escape Game～
In Nyanzou’s latest adventure, players are tasked with building their own town and trying to escape by solving puzzles. Nyanzou, a character known for causing chaos, is strangely quiet as he writes down all of his dreams, including “3 Meals, Nap Time, Snacks Included” and “No Homework.” As players progress through the game, they must use their problem-solving skills to build their town and escape. This escape game challenges players to think creatively and use their resourcefulness to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. Whether they are able to escape or not will depend on their ability to build a successful town and solve the puzzles that stand in their way.
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise
In Agent A, players take on the role of a secret agent tasked with exploring a labyrinth of perplexing puzzles and overcoming tricky challenges. Set in a retro-futuristic world full of hidden gizmos and gadgets, players must use their observation skills and problem-solving abilities to collect objects and use them cleverly in order to progress through the game. With 35 unique environments to explore and over 100 inventory-based puzzles to solve, Agent A offers hours of challenging gameplay that will test players’ logic and reasoning skills. Along the way, players will encounter Ruby La Rouge, a formidable opponent who is not to be taken lightly, and must use their cunning and intelligence to outsmart her and reach their target. With stylish 1960’s inspired art and 50 puzzle screens to unlock, Agent A is a thrilling escape game that will keep players on the edge of their seats.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass is an add-on for the popular Nintendo Switch game that grants players access to additional content, including three new treasure chests, The Master Trials DLC Pack 1, and The Champions Ballad DLC Pack 2. The Master Trials DLC Pack 1 includes a new challenge called the Cave of Trials, a new Master mode, and a new feature called Hero’s Path mode. The Champions Ballad DLC Pack 2 adds a new dungeon, new story elements, and additional challenges and shrines. The Expansion Pass also includes a variety of gear and armor items based on previous Legend of Zelda series games. With hours of gameplay packed into a vast world of discovery, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild game provides a solid foundation for even more adventures. If you’re a fan of the series and enjoy the thrill of discovery, the Expansion Pass is a must-have.
Superliminal
In Superliminal, players find themselves participating in an experimental dream therapy program called Somnasculpt. As they progress through the game, they are faced with a series of puzzles that challenge their perspective and require them to think outside the box in order to progress. Based on forced perspective and optical illusions, Superliminal is a first-person puzzle game that offers players a sense of the unexpected as they try to wake up from the dream. Whether they are able to escape the dream or not will depend on their ability to change their perspective and solve the puzzles that stand in their way. With mind-bending challenges and a unique premise, Superliminal is an immersive puzzle game that will keep players engaged and entertained.
The House of Da Vinci
In Leonardo’s Apprentice, players take on the role of Da Vinci’s most promising apprentice, searching for the truth behind Leonardo’s disappearance. As they explore his workshop, they will encounter a variety of puzzles, inventions, escape mechanisms, and hidden objects scattered throughout beautifully decorated rooms. To solve the mystery, players must use their brainpower and special abilities to explore the 16th-century world around them, peeking into Leonardo’s mechanisms and devices, and eventually control time itself to uncover the secrets hidden in the past. With many challenging puzzles inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s real inventions and ideas, and mysterious locations based on original artworks and the beautiful city of Florence, Italy, Leonardo’s Apprentice is an immersive puzzle game that will keep players engaged and entertained.
Escape F1rst
Psycho Circus is an escape room game where players are trapped in a clown’s quarters and must find a key to escape before the clown returns. The Red Button is another escape room game where players are trapped in a room with a bloodied knife and must figure out what happened and escape, while avoiding pressing a red button. Lost in Time is an escape room game that involves time travel, where players must navigate through past, present, and future to escape and return to their own reality. In all three games, players must solve puzzles and use their problem-solving skills to escape the room.
The Room
In The Room, players must solve intricate and unique puzzles using only their wits in order to unravel the secrets and deception that surround them. The game features stunningly realistic visuals and an immersive story that encourages players to lose themselves in its ornate, fantastical world. Optimized for the Nintendo Switch, players can use either the touch screen or motion controls to interact with the game’s mechanical puzzles and unlock the mysteries of The Room. Players must decipher codes, unlock sophisticated mechanisms, and uncover hidden messages in order to progress through the game and uncover the truth behind the cryptic letters that led them there.
Tested on Humans: Escape Room
In Tested on Humans, players are placed in the role of a test subject who must navigate a research center filled with puzzles, secret codes, and hidden objects in order to uncover the truth about the experiments being conducted there and escape. The game features a dark and atmospheric setting and requires players to use their logic and problem-solving skills to uncover clues and progress through the various rooms of the research center. Along the way, players will discover more about the experiments and their own past as they attempt to escape and uncover the truth about their situation.
The Experiment: Escape Room
While visiting a well-respected doctor, you notice something strange going on at his office. Before you can investigate further, you are drugged and fall asleep. When you wake up, you find yourself locked in the back room of the office, unable to escape. As you try to figure out what is happening, you realize that the doctor is running illegal experiments on animals and people, and you are the next subject. With no way out, you must use your wit and resourcefulness to uncover the truth and find a way to escape before it’s too late. Can you solve the mystery and get out of the doctor’s office before it’s too late?
Escape Game Fort Boyard
In Escape Fort Boyard, players will need to use their problem-solving skills and physical agility to escape an old fort lost in the sea. Players can work in teams or play solo to gather clues and keys to solve the final riddle and escape before the time runs out. The game features customizable characters and teams, reflection trials like the Maze or the Mummy, and skill mini-games like Rodeo Dino and Car Wars that require dexterity. Players will also need to overcome strength trials like Excalibur and the Punching Ball. The game offers split-screen options for an enhanced multiplayer experience.
Palindrome Syndrome: Escape Room
In Palindrome Syndrome, you find yourself waking up on a spaceship with no memories of how you got there or who you are. The game challenges you to use your problem-solving skills to decode secret codes, find hidden objects, and explore the different rooms of the spaceship in order to uncover the events that led you there and ultimately escape. Along the way, you’ll need to use logic to solve puzzles and pay attention to clues in order to piece together the mystery of your past and the story of the game. The game’s sci-fi setting adds to the atmosphere of mystery and intrigue, making for an immersive and engaging escape room experience.
Regular Factory: Escape Room
In Regular Factory, you are a worker in a mysterious factory that is hiding a dark secret. As you go about your daily tasks, you begin to notice strange occurrences and realize that something is amiss. You decide to investigate and discover that the factory is not what it seems, and that you are in danger. You must use your problem-solving skills and attention to detail to navigate the factory and escape before it’s too late. Along the way, you will encounter a variety of puzzles and hidden objects that will help you uncover the truth about the factory and your role in it. With immersive gameplay and a thrilling atmosphere, Regular Factory is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat as you try to escape and reveal the secrets of the factory.
Japanese Escape Games The Forbidden Garden
In The Forbidden Garden, players must navigate a mysterious and seemingly abandoned garden, solving puzzles and uncovering clues in order to escape. The game is played by using a cursor to interact with the environment and solve riddles, and the story centers around a protagonist who finds themselves in a strange, mythical place known as “The place of judgement,” where they must find a way to escape in order to survive. Players will need to use their wits and observe their surroundings carefully in order to unravel the secrets of The Forbidden Garden and make their way out.
ALUMNI – Escape Room Adventure
In Alumni, you play as a scientist who has been transported back in time to your memories of college after accidentally consuming a time-shifting serum. Your goal is to escape the nightmare reality you have created for yourself and return to the present. To do this, you must explore the immersive 3D college environment and solve puzzles by collecting and using objects found throughout the game. The game features beautiful original graphics and environments, as well as an immersive soundtrack and effects to enhance the escape adventure experience. As you make your way through college, you’ll need to use all of your puzzle-solving skills to find a way back to the present. The game has a full save system with load slots and allows you to customize controls and sound levels to your preference.
VEREDA – Escape Room Adventure
In Vereda – Escape Room Adventure, players take on the role of an undercover secret agent tasked with finding and recovering a top-secret dossier that was stolen from a mysterious town. To complete their mission, players must use their puzzle-solving skills to navigate the town and track down the missing dossier. The game features immersive 3D graphics, an indoor and outdoor environment to explore, and an inventory system that allows players to collect and use items to help them escape. Players can also customize the controls and sound levels to their preference and save their progress with the full save system. As they progress through the game, players must use logic to solve puzzles and unravel the mystery of Vereda.
Mad Experiments: Escape Room
In this immersive experience, players are “invited” by Professor Cheshire and his assistant Hildegarde to participate in their experiments, which are designed to test people’s minds. Players can choose to play alone or in a team of up to six people as they try to escape from the Professor’s laboratory within a 60-minute time limit. Alternatively, players can choose to play in Relax mode, which gives them unlimited time to explore the rooms and find clues and secrets. To progress through the game, players must interact with and examine a variety of objects in order to uncover the mysteries of the rooms and escape before time runs out. Whether playing alone or with friends, this thrilling escape room game will challenge players to use their critical thinking skills to solve puzzles and escape.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Danganronpa is an iconic and beloved series that has been around since 2010, and still going strong into 2021 with its the latest release. This popular visual novel and detective game follows the story of a group of students who are forced to murder one another in order to survive. You play as one of the students trying to escape the school, though you must find clues after each murder to solve each class trial and save everyone.
Monokuma, (the evil bear keeping you and your class captive) will introduce new rules for each trial and you’ll explore many different crime scenes found in the different rooms all over campus. All three main-story games are available on the switch along with some other titles that take place in the same universe.
The games have become renowned for their unique art style and gripping narrative, as well as the memorable characters who inhabit them. With its unique blend of mystery and horror, this series will provide plenty of difficult cases to crack and different schools to escape.
Between Time: Escape Room
In Between Time, players are challenged to travel through time and steal priceless treasures while trying to make it back alive. This escape room game features a series of puzzles, secret codes, and hidden objects that must be decrypted and found in order to progress. Set in five different rooms at different times in human history, players must rely on logic and problem-solving skills to solve the mystery and escape. Along the way, they will also learn more about A.I.T.M.A., the artificial intelligence time machine assistant that guides them through their journey. Whether they are able to escape or not will depend on their ability to think critically and solve the challenges that lie ahead.