Are you smart and crafty enough to escape from prison? That's what you are once again tasked with doing in The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout, a sequel that brings a ton to the table and designed to play much easier on mobile compared to its predecessor.
The Escapists series are prison escape sandbox games that might take a bit to understand the full scope of things, but which there are multiple ways to go about escaping, and it becomes pretty fascinating once you learn how to play. You create your convict character and must learn the routines of the jail before you start planning your escape. You're able to interact with the guards and other convicts to barter for items required for your escape, or even resort to violence if the situation — but you'll want to keep a low profile so that you avoid heat from the guards.
Because this is a sandbox game, you really have the freedom to play each play through entirely customized almost all aspects of the prison. Before you start, you're able to go in an name all the prisoners and guards and change their appearances. In the game, you have the relative freedom to do as you please, although you're still in prison so if you don't follow along with the daily routines including roll calls, meals, and exercise times. Step out of line and the guards will become suspicious and give you a real beatdown.
If this sounds familiar to the first Escapists game, you're not wrong — the gameplay formula has proven quite popular. So what's new with the sequel? It's been designed to play even better on mobile and the biggest addition this time is local multiplayer that lets you work together with up to three other players to pull of even more elaborate escape plans.
Just like the first Escapists game, The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout is a premium title that includes no ads or in-app purchases. If you loved the first game and want a new set of breakout challenges to test your skills, this is an easy $6.99 purchase to justify.