Don't Escape by Scriptwelder

Harjot Grewal

2024-04-14

I was a serial Flash gamer in my tween years with commitment issues. Puzzle games and choose-your-adventure stories were my favourites, but I often never completed them or moved on to the next game once I got stuck. 

I remember completing the Don’t Escape series and getting all the endings because they demanded my full attention and curiosity. The nudges to explore and experiment helped me stick to them even when I struggled. They were one of the first where I began to appreciate narratives in games.

The Don’t Escape series are point-and-click puzzle games developed by Scriptwelder and published online from 2013 to 2015. They share the thematic goal of ‘anti-escaping’ with horror elements. The premise is simple but novel, and the item-use puzzles encourage experimentation to find different solutions, which is my favourite aspect, allowing some replayability to see the result of different actions. Some items have multiple uses, and each ending has a nudge to try something different. I’ve spent an afternoon replaying the games recently as a refresher, confirming they still hold up.

The first game, Don’t Escape, is the simplest and the most literal. You wake up as a self-conscious werewolf who wants to prevent themselves from terrorizing the nearby hamlet during the full moon. To do so, they must meticulously set up enough obstacles to stop their wolf form from escaping…

There are multiple bad endings and a single ‘perfect’ ending that requires finding all the items and using them in a specific way. After some trial and error, I completed it within 4 attempts. Don’t Escape 2: The Outbreak occurs in another setting with a different scenario. You and your friend Bill were escaping zombies, but Bill was bitten and will turn into a zombie soon, and now there is a huge wave of zombies approaching in 8 hours. The goal is to prepare defences for your base to survive the night…  

The time mechanic makes its debut here. Certain actions will consume time, but there are ways to reduce the cost of some actions to save time for more actions.   There are two major types of endings again, but more good endings that depend on which defences you choose. I’ve noticed a stronger emphasis on morality in this game, which thematically fits but isn’t too deep or substantial.

Despite the time constraint, I found it the easiest game in the series. There are multiple solutions for some problems and not all defences are needed to survive. I appreciated more freedom to explore and experiment and learn from mistakes. 

The final game in the Flash series was Don’t Escape 3, the most unorthodox of the series. Unlike the previous two games, there is more focus on narrative and horror-mystery elements. The protagonist awakes in the airlock room of a spaceship, about to be ejected into the empty void of space…

Of the three, this one is the most difficult. The puzzles are more linear, and the time limit is more constraining. Important actions consume time and can severely limit your options if you accidentally waste time on the wrong things. I struggled in my first few attempts before learning the right order.

Though the mechanics are annoying, the overall story is great and memorable. The setting brings to mind old sci-fi horror movies like Alien, with a particular focus on isolation and paranoia. The tension is felt as you investigate the ship to uncover the true nature of the ‘possible intruder’ and solve the mystery. There are 6 potential endings, and they’re more distinct and varied, unlike the binary endings in the previous games. I suggest exploring the ship inside and out if you are stuck on a puzzle or particular ending.

As mentioned before, there are some dark elements in the series. All three games have bloodshed, especially in the second and third games having bloody death scenes. The third game ramps up the spookiness with jumpscares, mild body horror, graphic murders, and suicide. There is also some alcohol use.

I highly recommend the series if you like short puzzles or mystery games with spooky vibes and don’t mind some repetition. All three are still available on Newgrounds as browser games (as well as many other games by Scriptwelder), or you can purchase all three together on Steam to support the developer.