How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine takes you on a deep dive into asymmetric tension and tactical teamwork.
Breakfirst Games returns with How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine, a spiritual follow-up to their earlier asymmetric puzzler that challenged two players to communicate and collaborate across devices. While the original game leaned on a train-based escape scenario with grounded, time-sensitive problem-solving, this new outing dives—literally and thematically—into murkier waters.
Published by Maximum Entertainment, How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine retools the same two-screen dynamic and injects it with a more militarized context, raising the stakes and the pressure in every interaction. This is no longer just about escaping a moving train; it’s about halting a potential act of war, which instantly makes the game feel tenser and more immediate.
What makes this return feel significant isn’t just the setting shift—it’s the refinement of what made the original stand out. Rather than simply iterating on what came before, this title capitalizes on the ubiquity of mobile and PC platforms to create a unique, interdependent experience that can be played from separate rooms or side-by-side.
Unlike VR escape rooms or complex co-op puzzlers that often require cumbersome tech, niche peripherals, or expensive headsets, How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine is refreshingly simple in its delivery. You only need one copy of the game and two willing participants—one with a PC and the other with a mobile device. It’s an ingenious way to lower the barrier to entry for something that still demands a serious commitment from both players.
It’s worth acknowledging how much of a breath of fresh air this model feels in today’s market. In an era where co-op often means “drop-in drop-out” or “shared lobby multiplayer,” How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine demands something more personal—co-dependency.
It evokes a shared tension, where each participant plays a role the other cannot fulfill, creating moments of genuine teamwork. Whether sitting across the table or across the country, this kind of design leads to stronger engagement between players and deeper immersion in the shared mission.
The narrative premise of How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine amps up the urgency from the original. You find yourself aboard The Triumphant, a silent, torpedo-loaded submarine drifting perilously out of communication range. You and your co-player are elite strategists tasked with stopping a catastrophic launch that could inadvertently spark a global war.
It’s a dire scenario that gives a weighty purpose to every single puzzle solved, every piece of data relayed, and every moment of silence or misstep. Where the original game had more of a quirky, escape-room tone, How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine leans into the serious and strategic.
While the story isn’t necessarily told through lengthy cutscenes or complex character arcs, the environmental storytelling and in-game context do an effective job of creating a sense of narrative progression.
Hints of internal mutiny, moral ambiguity, and fragmented communications help form a backdrop that feels tense and unpredictable. Though you’re not likely to get invested in specific characters, you’ll absolutely feel the pressure and responsibility of the role you’re asked to perform.
The tone feels reminiscent of Cold War thrillers. It may not have the narrative polish of a full cinematic campaign, but it successfully translates the stress of military protocol into something you feel with each timer countdown and every failed code input. In a way, the sparse storytelling serves the game well—keeping the spotlight on your immediate decisions, not exposition.
At its core, How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine maintains the unique two-screen, two-role structure that made the original game stand out. One of you explores the interior of the submarine via PC. This player moves through corridors, accesses panels collects information, and interacts with the machinery necessary to keep The Triumphant afloat—and peaceful.
The other player uses a mobile device to run a companion app in the meantime. Schematics, blueprints, sonar data, encrypted codes, and procedural documentation are all sent to you via this app, which works similarly to a command center. In a sense, the mobile player takes on the role of mission control’s eyes and ears.
Because it gives both players a sense of equal necessity, this split design is intriguing. The PC player cannot succeed without precise, timely guidance, and the mobile player is only as effective as the clarity of their communication.
The game creates a loop of mutual trust, dependence, and tension that becomes increasingly rewarding the further you progress. When everything clicks, the synergy is thrilling—it’s like solving an elaborate real-time puzzle under duress.
But it also exposes the main flaw in the game: Casual gamers are not the target audience for How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine. It requires patience, intense verbal communication, and undivided attention. The entire experience may collapse if one participant loses focus, communicates poorly, or simply doesn’t have the proper attitude. It may be both thrilling and worrisome because there isn’t much space for error.
There’s no traditional combat in How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine. Instead, the tension is derived entirely from time-sensitive puzzles, environmental hazards, and mechanical malfunctions. You’re not fighting enemies, but rather complexity, pressure, and sometimes each other’s misunderstandings.
The puzzles are the real draw here, and thankfully, they’re thoughtfully constructed and thematically appropriate. You won’t be solving out-of-place riddles—each task has a logical purpose within the submarine’s ecosystem.
You’ll manage sonar interfaces, adjust ballast tanks to maintain depth, decrypt high-level military communications, and even stabilize nuclear reactors. These tasks don’t just look authentic—they feel authentic. The interface design and puzzle logic immerse you deeper into the military setting. Each success feels earned, and each failure can cause a ripple of stress through your partnership.
A major improvement over the original is how well the difficulty scales. Early puzzles ease you in, establishing communication protocols and interface familiarity. Later stages demand more layered problem-solving—multi-step sequences that require data from multiple documents and careful timing between both players. It’s a smart way to build confidence before throwing you into the deep end.
Still, not all is perfect. Puzzle logic can occasionally get hazy, and the absence of in-game hints might result in annoying trial-and-error. This type of ambiguity can disrupt immersion in high-pressure situations where clocks are running. Even if these errors are small in the big picture, anyone who prefers clarity to difficulty should be aware of them.
What makes How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine so engaging is how thoroughly it commits to shared responsibility. Unlike many co-op games where one player can coast, this title keeps both participants fully engaged. Every puzzle requires cooperation, timing, and attention. There’s rarely downtime for either role, and that intensity is both the game’s best feature and its biggest filter. You must bring your A-game every session, or you risk torpedoing the entire mission—literally and figuratively.
The absence of traditional XP or leveling systems works to the game’s advantage. There’s no grind here, no unlock trees or stat padding. Instead, your progression is purely skill-based and experiential. You get better at the game by improving your communication and analytical skills. Every chapter presents fresh challenges that ask you to remember previous strategies and use them in increasingly difficult ways.
How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine has a simple, minimalistic visual style that goes well with its theme. The interior of the submarine is metallic, dark, and operational. The level design reflects this environment, where functionality takes precedence over ostentation. It won’t impress you with its state-of-the-art graphics, but the game’s tone is wonderfully complemented by the muted color scheme, steady lighting, and practical layouts.
The app interface on mobile devices is similarly simple yet functional. The content is always readable because of the use of bold iconography, responsive controls, and easy-to-read diagrams. This is crucial in a game where seconds matter. Over-designed visuals would have hurt clarity, so this stripped-back approach is a smart choice.
However, visual variety is a bit lacking. After a while, the uniformity of the submarine interiors can feel a little repetitive. Though understandable within the narrative setting, a bit more visual contrast or set piece variety would’ve been welcome.
Though subtle, sound design is very important. You aren’t overloaded with music or effects in the game. Instead, it uses the atmosphere—a warning siren, a distant sonar ping, or the subtle hum of a power core—to create tension. Together, these components produce a feeling of urgency and isolation without coming across as invasive. This type of sound design enhances rather than detracts from the gameplay.
The lack of voice acting really drives home how much it depends on an actual spoken conversation between you and your counterpart. NPCs will not be reading outlines or yelling commands; instead, you will be doing the talking. Every conversation feels more immersive and real because of this. Even so, it would almost be nice to have a bit more variety in environmental music to cement the feeling of a location.
