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Escape Academypresents several unorthodox puzzles that are far more than just escape rooms. Some experiences given toEscape Academyplayers are a result of sudden risky developments, and the Under Pressure challenge is no exception. Jeb’s caretaking of the Thresher has gone awry, and players will be rushing through five stages with a countdown timer looming over them in the process.
This guide will assist with each puzzle solution, allowing plenty of time to spare for anyone having trouble staying above the rising water. Each floor presentsa different series of logic problemsfor the player, but to progress, a special word needs to be entered. This is the same for all floors, but each codeword will be used to escape the final door, so players are advised to make notes if needed.
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Escaping the First Floor + Codeword Location
Despite the initial words and title card, the only way to progress is by interacting with the environment. This causes water to start flooding in from all sides and forces the escape room section. The first floor is the easiest by comparison, so the short time frame shouldn’t dissuade escapists.
After finding the key on the shelf, they should use it to unlock the fusebox on the adjoining wall and turn the lights off. This will reveal some glow-in-the-dark paint around the room and following the glowing spots will reveal a hidden stash of tools.
Players will want to pick them all up and then move over to the wall with “WE ALL ____ WATER” written on it, where a screwdriver can be used to reveal the word beneath the board. The word FEAR is revealed in glowing paint, which is the first codeword that needs to be typed in on the door’s keypad.
Once it’s been typed in, the door will open. Players should make a note of this codeword for later, before climbing the ladder up to the second puzzle room.
Escaping the Second Floor + Codeword Location
The water level will rise up after the player has climbed the ladder, preventing them from going back down. Inside the second room, a door is sealed by three pipes.
Using the clippers from the previous room’s tool stash, players should cut down the blue valve hanging up from the cable. This needs to be put on the door, allowing for the next pipe puzzle to be solved.
Several signs around the room point to a logic problem. Each pipe needs to be a single-digit number, but the connection between all three can be worked out.
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Each clue points to the following truths: yellow is an odd number (not 5) that makes a single digit number when doubled, meaning yellow is either 1 or 3. Since blue is between the yellow and red numbers, it cannot be 1, so yellow has to be 3 and, in turn, red must be 6.
That means blue is either 4 or 5, but one clue says that no number is 5, making blue the number 4. When each number is correctly put in, the door will open.
Activating the reel will bring up the hook with a rusty key on it. This key needs to be used for the handicam chained up in the room. Players will have to pick this up and put it on the hook.
Next, they’ll want to lower the handicam to reveal the live feed of the camera on the screen beside the pipe door. Just like before, the word WILL needs to be put into the gated door to escape.
Escaping the Third Floor + Codeword Location
The first clue for the third floor can be found inside one of the toilets in the corner of the room by some symbols on the wall. Opening the lid reveals a manual used for unlocking the safe in the corner of the room.
The safe is labeled “Mk. 5,” which is the next in the sequence. Using the safe manual as a clue, players will have to move the sequence ahead one more step to work out the correct order of using square and circle buttons and the wheel.
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Next, they should interact with the safe buttons in the following order: Circle, Circle, Square, Wheel, Square. Inside the safe are some acrylic sheets which can be put on the wall.
It is best to take the first acrylic off the wall to arrange them easier. Putting the symbols in the following order reveals the number 510, which can be used to unlock the numerical code padlock for the fusebox. Once this is unlocked, players can cut the power and turn off the lights in the room.
An additional glow-in-the-dark pattern will be revealed, presenting the word SLOW as the third floor’s codeword. As before, players should enter this word into the keypad and the door will open, guiding the player up to the next floor.
Escaping the Fourth Floor + Codeword Location
The fourth floor is somewhat quick to solve once the cipher has been worked out, but against the clock, some people might feel the stress getting to them. To solve it quickly, they should first grab the cipher sheet as well as the two strange devices located around the room.
Using the cipher sheet will enable players to decode the two written messages on the wall, which translate to “under pressure” and “over weight” respectively. Around the room are various pipes and icons with different words. Players will need to find the phrases ‘Water Pressure’ and ‘Water Weight’ and open the boxes beneath them.
Plugging in the ‘strange device’ in the “Over” position for Weight and the “Under” position for pressure will reveal two halves of the codeword: YOUR. Entering this into the codeword section will allow players to progress to the fifth and final floor.
Escaping the Fifth Floor
After locating the crate inside the room and breaking it open with the tools provided, players will get their hands on a map that they will need to decode. Each part of the map corresponds to a specific word, but they have yet to be revealed.
Using the directional connectors in the yellow pipes on the wall, players need to guide the flow towards all four icons that contain a yellow square and match it up with the position on the map. Not all four words will be visible simultaneously, so it is recommended to do this one at a time. The four letters and their relevant positions spell out the word MIND, which is used to unlock the fifth-floor door. However, one final door lies in the way.
How to Unlock the Final Door
The final door requires a combination of four-letter words to unlock. After the five previous rooms, there are no immediate clues in the environment to guide the player. However, the answer is deceptively simple.
Recalling the final words of each stage solution will reveal the right answer, enough to spell a meaningful sentence in the process: “FEAR WILL SLOW YOUR MIND.” This is the final puzzle solution, after which it is possible to escape and complete the tense mission. After this, Jeb will provide the player with a grade based on their progress. If players haven’t done so already, theHall of Escapists puzzle room is also availablewith a less urgent and more colorful environment.
Escape Academyis now available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
