The Escapists: Prison Escape in IOS

Craft & Breakout To Freedom

Walkthrough, Guilds, Tips on this special game

Our Site Score

84/100

The Escapists is a unique blend of RPG and strategy that really makes you feel like a mastermind. Living the daily routine of a prisoner—attending roll call, eating, doing chores—all while secretly digging a tunnel under your bed is incredibly tense.

The crafting system is deep and rewarding. Finding out that you can make a shiv out of a comb or a dummy for your bed out of bedsheets is a highlight. Every prison feels like a new puzzle to solve. It’s a slow-burn game that rewards patience and planning, and the 8-bit style gives it a classic, retro charm.

Reviewed on: Tue Feb 24 2026
Dinsun Avatar

Dinsun Review

The Escapists is a game of patience and observation. It doesn't tell you how to escape; it just gives you the tools and a very strict schedule and tells you to figure it out. I respect that. The crafting system is clever—turning a comb into a shiv or duct tape into something useful feels rewarding. It’s got that old-school difficulty where one mistake can reset hours of progress.

My main issue is that the 'simulation' part can be a real slog. Standing in line for roll call and eating lunch every single day for thirty minutes before you can actually do anything 'fun' is realistic, but it’s also tedious. The touch controls are okay, but managing a crowded inventory with a finger is a bit fiddly compared to a mouse. It's a solid, smart game, but you need to be in the right mindset for it. It's not a 'hop in and out' experience.

Overall Stats

Pros & Cons

  • Incredible freedom in how you choose to escape
  • Deep crafting and social systems
  • Great retro pixel art style
  • Daily routine can become very repetitive
  • Steep learning curve with little guidance
  • Fiddly inventory management on mobile

Technical Report

Performance: Occasional frame drops in busy prisons; save system is a bit slow.

Accessibility:
  • Button Remapping

Audience Fit

Buy if: You love sandbox games and solving complex puzzles through observation and crafting.

Skip if: You have little patience for repetitive tasks or lose interest without clear objectives.

Similar Games:
  • Prison Architect
  • Stardew Valley

Reviewer Context

  • Reviewer: Dinsun - 40yo Male Conservative Critical Gamer
  • Hardware: iPhone 14
  • Playtime: 18 hours
  • Status: Escaped from the first three prisons

The Game

Available on: iPhone, iPad, iPod

Version 1.12Fri Mar 13 2020

Fixed an issue where the game would crash during loading and completing a level

Minor bug fixes and optimizations


The Escapists, you’ve done the crime but can you survive and do the time? The Escapists is a unique prison escape sandbox game where you get to experience a life behind bars and barbed wire fences. You’ve had a life of crime but now you’re caught. With thrilling and immersive gameplay, you need to create an escape route in a world of other prisoners and ruled by routine.

From roll call to lights out, you’re banged up. There’s no get out of jail free card in this game, you need to break out. Are you up for the challenge or are just going to sit there in your cell? You need all your wits and skill to bust out. No walls are going to hold you, you need to escape!

While under the careful watch of the guards, you’ll need to get used to prison life while you use strategy and daring to swipe useful objects from under their noses. Make innocent looking items into useful tools like shovels for cunning escape plans or handy weapons to survive in a fight.

Escaping requires cunning, strategy, the right equipment and staying at least two steps ahead of the guards. Bribe and fight your way through the prison ranks. If your fellow prisoners like you enough, recruit them and create your own gang. You might even take over a prison! The guards are out to stop any escape attempts, so you’ll have to avoid suspicious behaviour by attending roll calls, working a prison job and hiding your stolen contraband.

Features:

● Addictive prison simulator game, steal spoons and forks, use them to dig a tunnel out of your cell.

● Over 6 themed prisons, try to escape from minimum security jails or fearsome big houses like Alcatraz

● Find, steal and trade items to create dozens of crafting combinations to aid your escape

● Use the exercise yard to increase your strength, handy for scaling walls

● Find other prisoners to trade swag with, you’ll need duct tape, a screwdriver or nail files

● Dodge contraband detectors. if you pass through one with contraband in your pocket, the heat meter rises to 99 percent

● Adapt to life behind the steel doors with prison routines and jobs and master the game's six penitentiaries, there are three extra prisons waiting to be challenged.

● Push yourself to survive and increase your strength, speed, and intellect. There are multiple ways to break out and escape, you just need to find them.

The Escapists is a thrilling sandbox strategy prison simulator that challenges you to bust out in a number of different ways. You want to break free but you're banged up and you need to escape! How you survive and do that is up to you, but when you’re out of your cell, a rigid daily schedule is designed to keep you in line. You're expected to work at one of several jobs during the day, exercise and showers are mandatory.

The Escapists is tough game, just like jail.

Can you dig a tunnel right under the walls of the prison? Or even steal a guard uniform to blend in with your captors? Addictive and tense, it’s a real challenge to escape your first prison. Commit a few inside crimes, there are dozens of items to find, steal and smuggle. Some are contraband you can sell or trade for more useful gear. Create clever makeshift weapons and tools, a bar of soap in a sock is useful in a fistfight.

Materials purchased or "borrowed" from your fellow inmates are used to craft tools and other items like wires, a bottle of bleach, a piece of timber, a bar of chocolate, a plastic comb, and much more. If you’re smart enough, you’ll figure out ways to make your escape. There are dozens of items to find and use to get out of your cell, including a pickaxe, wire cutters, zip lines and more.

The Escapists is an addictive strategy prison simulator game that challenges you to break out of jail. Don’t be a prisoner, be an Escapist!

Download The Escapists today, it would be a crime not to. You can’t check out and you can never leave, unless you have an escape plan…

http://escapistgame.com/

https://www.team17.com/


Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

The Escapists, you’ve done the crime but can you survive and do the time? The Escapists is a unique prison escape sandbox game where you get to experience a life behind bars and barbed wire fences. You’ve had a life of crime but now you’re caught. With thrilling and immersive gameplay, you need to create an escape route in a world of other prisoners and ruled by routine.

From roll call to lights out, you’re banged up. There’s no get out of jail free card in this game, you need to break out. Are you up for the challenge or are just going to sit there in your cell? You need all your wits and skill to bust out. No walls are going to hold you, you need to escape!

While under the careful watch of the guards, you’ll need to get used to prison life while you use strategy and daring to swipe useful objects from under their noses. Make innocent looking items into useful tools like shovels for cunning escape plans or handy weapons to survive in a fight.

Escaping requires cunning, strategy, the right equipment and staying at least two steps ahead of the guards. Bribe and fight your way through the prison ranks. If your fellow prisoners like you enough, recruit them and create your own gang. You might even take over a prison! The guards are out to stop any escape attempts, so you’ll have to avoid suspicious behaviour by attending roll calls, working a prison job and hiding your stolen contraband.

Features:

● Addictive prison simulator game, steal spoons and forks, use them to dig a tunnel out of your cell.

● Over 6 themed prisons, try to escape from minimum security jails or fearsome big houses like Alcatraz

● Find, steal and trade items to create dozens of crafting combinations to aid your escape

● Use the exercise yard to increase your strength, handy for scaling walls

● Find other prisoners to trade swag with, you’ll need duct tape, a screwdriver or nail files

● Dodge contraband detectors. if you pass through one with contraband in your pocket, the heat meter rises to 99 percent

● Adapt to life behind the steel doors with prison routines and jobs and master the game's six penitentiaries, there are three extra prisons waiting to be challenged.

● Push yourself to survive and increase your strength, speed, and intellect. There are multiple ways to break out and escape, you just need to find them.

The Escapists is a thrilling sandbox strategy prison simulator that challenges you to bust out in a number of different ways. You want to break free but you're banged up and you need to escape! How you survive and do that is up to you, but when you’re out of your cell, a rigid daily schedule is designed to keep you in line. You're expected to work at one of several jobs during the day, exercise and showers are mandatory.

The Escapists is tough game, just like jail.

Can you dig a tunnel right under the walls of the prison? Or even steal a guard uniform to blend in with your captors? Addictive and tense, it’s a real challenge to escape your first prison. Commit a few inside crimes, there are dozens of items to find, steal and smuggle. Some are contraband you can sell or trade for more useful gear. Create clever makeshift weapons and tools, a bar of soap in a sock is useful in a fistfight.

Materials purchased or "borrowed" from your fellow inmates are used to craft tools and other items like wires, a bottle of bleach, a piece of timber, a bar of chocolate, a plastic comb, and much more. If you’re smart enough, you’ll figure out ways to make your escape. There are dozens of items to find and use to get out of your cell, including a pickaxe, wire cutters, zip lines and more.

The Escapists is an addictive strategy prison simulator game that challenges you to break out of jail. Don’t be a prisoner, be an Escapist!

Download The Escapists today, it would be a crime not to. You can’t check out and you can never leave, unless you have an escape plan…

http://escapistgame.com/

https://www.team17.com/


Ratings & Reviews

4.4 out of 5 with 3306 Counts
Age Rating 9+

Screenshots

The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 1The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 2The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 3The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 4The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 5The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 6The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 7The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 8The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 9The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 10The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 11The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 12The Escapists: Prison Escape screenshot 13

The Escapists is a light-hearted prison break simulator that offers players a sandbox environment to plot their escape. While living the daily life of an inmate, you must scour the prison for useful items, trade with other prisoners, and craft contraband tools without getting caught by the guards. You can choose to be a model prisoner by day while digging tunnels or cutting fences by night. With multiple prisons ranging from low security to high-tech fortresses, the only limit is your creativity.

Features

1

6 fully themed prisons to escape from

2

Comprehensive crafting system with dozens of combinations

3

Daily routine simulation (roll call, meals, gym, jobs)

4

Vibrant retro-pixel graphics

5

Multiple ways to escape: tunnel, fence, or even disguised

Tips

Promotion Videos

The Escapists: Launch Trailer - YouTube

Related Videos

Recommended Links

Team17 Official Site

Game info and updates.

Publisher

News on this game

The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout is officially available on the Play Store

Team 17 has officially released its latest strategy game The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout on the Play Store. Two weeks ago we learned that...

Android Police - Fri Mar 01 2019

Team17 is bringing The Escapists 2 to Android, and you can pre-register right now

Team17 has announced today that The Escapists 2 is coming to mobile under the moniker The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout. It's slated for release on January 31st.

Android Police - Fri Mar 01 2019

Gameplays

Q&A

If a guard finds illegal items during a search or on your person, they will be confiscated and you will likely be sent to solitary confinement.

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