Engaging in exercise and using the library allows players to level up their character's attributes such as strength, speed, and intelligence which improves their abilities and their chance of escape.

An inmate can skip a meal, showers and exercise without much penalty, however, all roll calls are mandatory and lockdowns will occur if the player character does not attend.

There are many types of weapons that can be acquired (such as a guard's baton or plastic fork) or crafted (such as nunchucks or a whip).

[7] Feedback from the early access release allowed Davis to improve the game, such as by adjusting the difficulty.

It is James Bond themed, with the player assuming the role of a super-spy, trying to escape from an evil villain's lair.

[12] The fifth DLC package, "Santa's Sweatshop", was released for free on 8 December 2015 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

GameSpot writer Cameron Woolsey described tunnelling his way out, Official Xbox Magazine (OXM) writer Andy Kelly, described hiding his ventilation system escape by crafting a fake papier-mâché vent cover, while X-One's Dom Peppiatt straightforwardly shivved a guard and stole his keys.

[23] Kimberley Wallace, writing at Game Informer found this trial-and-error approach frustrating, finding herself "constantly punished for mistakes and losing progress" due to outcomes which were impossible to predict.

[19] Game Informer criticized the interaction with other inmates as shallow and artificial, requiring the player to perform "boring favours" to "just [raise] a meter".

[19] Richard Cobbett, writing for IGN, noted that how despite the "adorable 16-bit style graphics", he would quickly perceive fellow prison inmates without empathy as "pure puzzle game piece[s]" rather than characters.

He also stated "As a mix of sandbox, puzzle and open-world action, The Escapists offers something fresh and entertaining.

It merges the core gameplay of The Escapists with the characters, locations and theme of The Walking Dead comic books.

[26] A sequel, titled The Escapists 2, which introduces multiplayer,[27] was released for Microsoft Windows,[28] macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 22 August 2017.