First details emerge for How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Standalone sequel to 2023 asymmetrical co-op puzzle adventure coming this year to PC and consoles 

After figuring out "how 2 escape" one life-threatening situation in 2023, you wouldn't expect to be rushing headlong into another so soon after. But with the fate of the world itself at stake, that's precisely what players will have the opportunity to do later this year in BreakFirst Games' standalone asymmetrical co-op sequel How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine. 

After a key allied military base is overrun by enemy forces, the government orders the launch of a torpedo to reclaim it, ignoring the danger to many allied lives if it hits its target. Fortunately, cooler heads prevail following "further internal discussions and negotiations with the enemy," and the government rescinds the order to strike. The problem is that the Triumphant, the submarine ordered to fire the torpedo, is now "out of communication range and no one can confirm if the cancellation orders" reached it. In order to avert a potential global war, it's up to "two strategic masterminds of the submarine fleet" named Haurée and Leroy to locate the sub and convey the new information before it's too late. What the agents weren't expecting, however, is that the order to launch in the first place ignited a "moral dilemma among the sailors" onboard that threatens to upend any plans to restore peace. 

Other than the change of protagonists and location from a speeding train to an underwater submarine, the premise of the sequel is very similar to that of the original How 2 Escape. It's a cooperative "escape room-like" asymmetrical adventure for two players, one running the game itself and the other a free companion app on another device, each in control of one of the two operatives. In order to avert an international crisis, the first will "investigate and explore the inside of the submarine, uncovering clues and interacting with the environment," while the other will need to "gather vital information and provide crucial assistance in solving puzzles." Presented via first-person perspectives, either facing various computer displays or freely wandering 3D environments, the game ensures that each player has a "crucial role to play that requires logic, coordination, observation and, above all, communication."

How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine is due to arrive sometime later this year on Steam for Windows PC, along with console versions for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. The free companion app will be available then as well for PC on Steam, as well as the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android devices.