A Way Out opens by introducing us to protagonists Vincent and Leo, two inmates with a shared aim: escape prison and get their revenge on a man named Harvey. The first chapter of the game, Escape, sees you and your partner working together to enact the greatest prison break in history (sorry Mr. Scofield).
Beginnings
After selecting which character you want to play, Vincent will start the game in the Prison bus, while Leo is already in the prison compound. Leo is free to explore the yard while Vincent enters the prison, strips down and gets washed. Leo can loosely follow Vincent by going inside and watching from the upper levels if he wants. Guide the butt-naked Vincent up the stairwell until the guard lets you off and you’ll be at your cell, right next to Leo’s. Leo should make his way to his cell while this is happening. Get Vincent dressed and call it a night.
The Yard
The following morning, Vincent and Leo will find themselves in separate areas of the yard. Take your time to speak to fellow inmates and do a few chin-ups - after all, it’s important to keep in shape. At some point, Leo will be accosted by a group of other prisoners and Vincent will need to interject. The fights is entirely quick-time-events, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. Punch when you can, and make sure to counterattack and dodge the attacks. Keep fighting until the guards arrive to break up the ruckus
Canteen Brawl
After a brief chat, Vincent and Leo move to the canteen where Vincent has to grab his food and sit down to start eating. Leo gets to enjoy a bit more excitement, chatting to a few inmates about the quality of his food before being attacked by Harvey’s hitman. Vincent will need to interject, helping Leo once more to deal with the knife-wielding inmate. Eventually the fight will move towards the kitchen, at which point Vincent and Leo have to walk backwards while throwing items at their pursuers and knocking over shelves. Keep falling back until the guards turn up again to interrupt the fight. You’ll be treated to a cutscene before waking up in the infirmary.
Helping Hand
Once in the infirmary, Leo will befriend Vincent and ask for his help. Vincent and Leo then need to work together to obtain the chisel. This involves Vincent lying in bed, calling over the nurse and distracting the police offer, all while Leo slinks around the ward. Vincent should begin by calling the nurse using the buzzer on the bedside table. Once the nurse reaches the bed, Leo can move out into the hall.
A guard will be blocking the way, so wait for him to finish getting a coffee before continuing down the hall. The guard will return to his station, so you’ll need Vincent to knock on the glass and cause him to spill his drink. Leo can now sneak ahead, creeping past the worker and grabbing the chisel. Leo should wait for the guard to go to the bathroom, then sneak back into the room while Vincent talks with the nurse. When Leo makes it safely back, you’ll be treated to a short cutscene where Leo throws the chisel out a window. Your next task is to retrieve the chisel and bring it back to your cell.
Work Detail
In this section, Vincent and Leo are helping tar the roof of the prison, close to the place they hid the chisel. You’ll need to work together closely to distract the guards and reach the spot where Leo placed the tool. First, send either character to the broom cupboard and pick up the broom on the right. Instead of swabbing the roof, break the broom in half. Alert the guard that the broom is broken then take it to the guard standing near the door. With the guard distracted you can lean against the crate next to his position, helping each other up to the place with the chisel.
Climb up the ladder and collect the chisel from below the window. Whoever stayed on the ground should distract the guard standing in the open so the one with the chisel can cross the walkway. Sneak across, climb up and then enter through the rooftop window. Jump down inside and approach the locked door. You’ll need the outside player will need to break open the lock. Once you’re done, deliver the chisel to Fred to end this section.
Cell Breach
Courtesy of Fred’s book delivery service, Leo is now in possession of the chisel you stole. This is where the escape really begins to take shape, as you’ll use it to detach a toilet from the wall, unscrew a panel and chisel out some concrete. Whoever has the chisel needs to disconnect the toilet from the wall and use the chisel to rotate the screws behind. The player who stays on lookout should call any time a guard comes down the hall. If one of them catches you messing with the toilet, it’s game over. Stop what you’re doing when the guard approaches and everything will go back to normal. When the guard approaches the cell, the lookout player can choose to distract them, buying a little more time for the player with the chisel.
Once the grate has been chiselled and kicked into the wall, you can go to the cell door and swap roles with your partner so whoever was on lookout now has to use the chisel on the toilet and vice versa. Once both toilets are removed you’ll need to wait until lights out before you make a break for it. Once you’re ready, climb through the toilet hole you made. You’ll need to crawl along wooden planks before climbing a ladder to reach the next area. When you make it to the upper level, stay left and walk out onto the planks. You can interact with a pipe on the wall here. Vincent and Leo will need to work together to tear the pipe off the wall and use it to stop the fan. Whichever player crawls through first must find the switch to stop the fan. Work together to bust open the door And you’ll find a large elevator drop. It’s too high to drop down from, so you’ll have to steal some sheets from the laundry room first.
Laundry Smuggle
You task here is to smuggle some laundry sheets out of the area without being caught. This is the first largely open section of the game, and your main objective is to get access to the backroom. First you’ll need to find a laundry cart and fill it with sheets. Then you can take them to the little vent for use later on. Spend a bit of time getting to know both the area as well as the inmates working there — you’ll need to them to cause a distraction later.
When you’re ready, head to the back of the laundry and talk to the inmate guarding the carts. Have one player convince him by any means necessary (we found punching to be rather effective) and then jump in the cart. The other player can then quickly load it with three sheets from around the laundry. These can be found to the side of the cart room. The character in the cart will let you know if you have enough, but it should be three sheets. Once all the sheets are in, press the appropriate button to hide under them. The player out of the cart can then push it over towards the guards. They’ll look inside and then take the cart from you. The person in the cart has to wait until it comes to a stop before they can get out.
Both Vincent and Leo now need to access to the backroom. Unfortunately there’s a guard in the way once more. There are two methods to distract the guard here: cause a machine to break, or start a fight. If you prefer a punch up, talk to the inmates who aren’t getting along and rile them both up. The same player can then go to the guard to point out the argument and give you some time to gain access to the backroom.
The door near the guard is locked, so you’ll need the laundry cart player to open it from their side. Be careful here as there’s another guard patrolling in this room. Watch his path and choose your moment carefully to unlock the door. Once you’re both inside, head to the room with the laundry cart and grab the sheets there or take some off the table. You now need to boost one person up to the bars before passing the sheets up to them. When three sheets are thrown through the bars, the mission will end.
The Way Out
With the sheets collected, you’ll make your way into the sewer system, and who doesn’t like a good sewer? After you’ve descended the sheets, walk to the centre of the room and work together to lift the heavy grate in the floor. Leo will jump down into the dark, and Vincent will have to collect a flashlight from the shelf nearby. Grab the light and drop down into the drainage area. Leo then needs turn the valve, stopping the flow of water before he crawls through the opening. Turn another valve to stop the water in the next section. Vincent has to hand Leo the flashlight through the bars before running back to the locked gate. Leo should then head to the gate where he’ll back the lock off with a brick.
Just around the corner you’ll come across a locked door. You can break this open by both players slamming into it at the same time. This next section is pitch-black so you’ll have to stick together as you progress. Once you enter a brighter area with a guard walking above, pull open the metal sheet and you can start the next challenge.
Vincent and Leo will reach a vertical climb that requires them to go back-to-back in order to ascend. You need to time your button presses to hit the marker at the same time. If one player is out of sync, they’ll throw Vincent and Leo off balance, requiring the fallen player to climb back up. Make sure that the higher player doesn’t press anything while the other player regains their balance. Reach the top and both characters will pull themselves up. Freedom isn’t quite within your grasp yet, as Vincent and Leo will need to steal a Wrench before they can make it out.
Wrench Relay
Following a brief cutscene, Leo and Vincent will find themselves in the workshop. The wrench you need is right behind you, on the table beside an inmate hammering some metal. Vincent and Leo will need to work together once again to snatch the wrench unnoticed. One player can talk to the inmate while the other grabs the wrench from the table. Take it across to the small vent in the wall and have the second player exit through the metal detector. To the right of the you’ll find a supply room which connects to the vent. Move the bin and kick open the vent to pass the wrench out of the workshop. The second player can now leave the workshop through the metal detector.
As you make your way back to your cells, you’ll need to pass the wrench back and forth to avoid detection. Head onward to the checkpoint where a pat-down is occurring. Whoever’s holding the wrench should wait by the barred window at the end of the hall while the other goes through the checkpoint. They can then pass the wrench through the bars before going through the checkpoint themself. Continue through the sliding bar lock and then to the cellblock. There are two guards ahead, but you can simply have the player without the wrench talk with them to let the other sneak past. There’s a shakedown occurring as you reach your cells, so stand up against the bars and pass the wrench to the cell that’s currently free of guards. Finally, throw the wrench behind the toilet to hide it from the guards.
Prison Escape
This is where the real escape begins. Heading back to that vertical shaft, you can use the wrench at the top — don’t worry, you won’t need to do the climb again. Unfasten the nuts and pass the wrench between players, then work together to open the hatch. After you climb up, grab the trolley piled with boxes from the side room and take it to the yellow vent. Here you can climb up and squeeze along the pipes. There are two guards ahead, so make use of the boxes to sneak past. Once you reach a locked door you’ll have to bash it open again. It’s important to time your hits with the thunder outside so the noise is masked. Quite cleverly, this is as simple as waiting for the flash of lightning outside to let you know when the thunder is about to arrive. Two hits will open the door.
Out in the storm you’ll need to sneak across the rooftops, dealing with guards in your path. If you’ve played any stealth games before, this should be easy. Simply sneak up behind them and press the button prompt to take them down. You’ll soon be back on the roof where you found the chisel, so help each other up onto the crate. Open the window and climb into the warden’s office. There’s a caged bird on the balcony here that you can release for an achievement or trophy. Leave via the large double doors when you’re ready. Head down the stairs and you’ll enter the infirmary with two guards ahead of you. Crouch behind the walls so you can sneak into the ward and out the window.
Once outside again you’ll see a tower with a spotlight. Crouch by the walls and only move forward once the spotlight has passed. When you reach the tower’s base, climb up to take down the guard. There’s an electric cable here which leads to the ground outside the prison, so grab a coat hanger and get ready to zipline to freedom. Sadly there isn’t much time to enjoy the ride, as you’ll need to climb the side of the building when prompted before pegging it to freedom. As soon as you land in the building, work together to open the roller door and then run through the woods, jumping over fallen trees and sliding down slopes. Congratulations, you’ve just escaped the the prison, but now you need to run for your life. Chapter 2: Fugitives is up next.