Escape Academy's first chapter ends with an exciting test of all the player has learned so far in order to rescue one of the academy's oldest escapists. The Breakout mission is heavily timed and uses many new features at once, so using this guide will help keep players stable during their first real mission at the Escape Academy.
After the mission introduction, players will be getting radio commands from the Headmistress quickly and repeatedly. In order to stay focused and not become annoyed with the repetition, it's important to start off with getting a feel for mission control.
Make Contact And Rescue the Headmistress
The mission begins with the Headmistress in position, ready to rescue Eel, the missing escapist and prisoner. In front of the player are multiple screens where they can watch the action, along with a communication radio.
Making contact is easy enough by following the helpful guide in front of the comms radio. When the Headmistress asks if you are ready to start, press the keys 10-4 and send enter.
Follow along on the screens to track progress, or get a look around the room to get a feel for upcoming puzzle pieces and clues. Eventually, the Headmistress will report her position is blocked by a gun turret.
In order to deactivate the target, examine the multi-screens to find some visual clues for the turret's serial number. The first clue is a bone, which when the b is removed (-b) makes "one." The second clue is 6 letter Ds, which sounds like "sixty" when said out loud.
Put the clues together to get the answer "160," which needs to be transmitted via the comms radio in order to deactivate the turret.
Reconnecting and Locating Eel's Desk
After the gun turret is shut down, Quanty (the robot head) will lose track of the ship's position and need to relocate it. This is a time-dependent puzzle, so the solution varies depending on how quickly the player has solved the previous sections.
Using the current mission time and the map grid as a reference, players need to locate the new coordinates and enter them in using the computer screen on the right. Syncing up the time with three-minute intervals will reveal the puzzle coordinates.
For example, if over 3 minutes have elapsed, then the coordinates will be D3, but over 6 minutes will be E2. Once the right coordinates have been selected on the computer monitor on the right of the desk, the characters can progress further.
Once locked on, head to the fax machine, where some data sheets are given to the player. This presents another logic problem, requiring the player to work out the deck and cell number in which Eel is being held.
Looking over at the map of the ship's deck to the right of the fax machine will reveal all the decks in order. Immediately, the floors with an odd number of cells and a trash compactor can be removed from the options, leaving only Deck 5 as the only possible option.
Combining this with another clue, Eel's holding cell has to be number 503. When transmitted, this will trigger a short cutscene where the Headmistress and Eel reunite, but the latter is still trapped in his cell.
How to Unlock Eel's Cell
After the cutscene, examine the multiple screens again to see a color order. This needs to be used in tandem with the database on screens revealed to the right of the desk.
These five colors symbolize different aspects of the key code, which can be analyzed using the reference keys. Each color depicts the next shape of the key: Red = Up 2, White = Down 1, Yellow = Up 1, Blue = Down 2.
Using each key number (and starting from the middle position 3), the numerical code goes down 1, up 2, down 2, down 1, up 2. As shown in the above picture, the key number is #24213.
Turning The Breakers Back On
Once the key is forged, a power surge will occur, and the lights will go out, resulting in blackout lights filling the room. Picking up a flashlight lying around the room will reveal the next step.
Around the room are several blank signs that reveal some messages under ultraviolet light. Each clue requires some logical deduction to work out which breaker switches need to be turned on.
From the top, the levers go Left, Right, Right, Left, Right, and Right, in order to spell the word CHARGE. Once this is done, the lights will go back on, and the Escapists can escape.
How to Activate the Turrets and Save Eel
Eel and the Headmistress start to escape, but they are pinned down by turret fire once again. The player needs to hack the turrets again by decoding the serial number. The first clue is the letter S next to some even numbers, which makes the number 7 ("s+even"). The second clue has the word teen four times, hinting at the number 13 ("third teen").
Input the number 713 into the communication radio, and the turret will be hacked, allowing players to take control and move its direction. Locate the other turrets in the vicinity and open fire to destroy them, after which the mission is officially complete.
Eel congratulates the player for their skills and for saving them, marking a satisfactory end to Chapter 1 of Escape Academy. However, more puzzles lie in wait to be solved in the following chapters, promising to be even more difficult.
Escape Academy can be played on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox X|S.