Choose The Escapists
Choose The Escapists if you want an Action and Adventure experience. On Steam, it's currently about 82% cheaper on the Steam Store. 9,331 Steam reviews back the pick.
The Escapists vs The Escapists 2
The Escapists and The Escapists 2 both land in Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam. The Escapists (2015) is 2 years older than The Escapists 2 (2017). The Escapists 2 scores higher on Steam reviews (91% positive) than The Escapists (89.9% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose The Escapists 2
Choose The Escapists 2 if you want the Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Online PvP side of the pairing. On Steam, it has co-op, so you can bring a friend. 11,196 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both The Escapists and The Escapists 2 sit in Strategy, Indie, and Simulation on Steam and both list Steam Leaderboards, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (89.9% vs 91% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Escapists |  The Escapists 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2015 | 2017 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Indie, Adventure, Simulation | Strategy, Indie, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | 3.59 USD | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 89.9% positive (9,331 reviews) | 91% positive (11,196 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op |
| Developers | Mouldy Toof Studios | Team17, Mouldy Toof Studios |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam.
- The Escapists (2015) is 2 years older than The Escapists 2 (2017).
- The Escapists 2 scores higher on Steam reviews (91% positive) than The Escapists (89.9% positive).
- The Escapists is currently ~82% cheaper on Steam than The Escapists 2 (3.59 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- The Escapists 2 has co-op; The Escapists does not.
- Both are Deck Playable.
The Escapists vs The Escapists 2 — FAQ
- Which is better, The Escapists or The Escapists 2?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: The Escapists sits at 89.9% positive (9,331 reviews), The Escapists 2 at 91% (11,196). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play The Escapists or The Escapists 2 first?
- If you want chronology, The Escapists (2015) came out before The Escapists 2 (2017). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The Escapists and The Escapists 2 similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Does The Escapists have multiplayer like The Escapists 2?
- No. The Escapists 2 supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op), while The Escapists is listed as single-player only.