The final Escape Academy DLC, Escape from the Past, is scheduled for release next week, but I got a chance to play it early during Summer Game Fest Play Days.

Escape from the Past takes players to the past, when the current faculty of the academy were students and a mysterious "accident" at a sporting event kicks off a murder mystery. Students Sandra Solange and Eel Barne are tasked with the challenge of investigating the Escape Academy faculty members and following the clues to figure out who wants headmaster Horatio Windsor dead.

Much like the base game and first DLC, Escape from the Past is story-driven and features multiple escape rooms to explore and conquer. You can attack them alone or in co-op with a friend.

For the demo, I found myself in the school's cafeteria. The time period was solidly established due to the diner décor. The first challenge was getting into the kitchen. Since this is an escape room challenge, this meant unlocking the door. "Cheating" by jumping over the countertop was simply not allowed (I asked).

Although I haven't played the base game, I have experienced a few real-life escape rooms, and the logic used within Escape from the Past is 100% in line with the Rube Goldberg-type thinking that you have to apply to make it out of an escape room. The puzzles were not impossible, but they do require some creative thinking.

For example, the first part of the puzzle required me to unlock a special item case. The three-part code had three corresponding icons, which I'd also seen on the jukebox, so I immediately went over and started poking around. There were plenty of selections that matched the pattern on the case lock — too many, in fact. I knew I was missing something and had to search for the connecting bit.

Exploring the world is done via an interaction button. This limits what you can interact with (you can't pick up any random thing), but at the same time, it also ensures that you don't get too sidetracked. Any red herrings are intentional. There are no "random" inferences to worry about. Like a real-life escape room, this "limitation" is actually a benefit, as it can help you iterate on a solution. In some cases, you might find the key to a puzzle before you find the puzzle itself.

In case you're worried about the puzzle difficulty being too high, the developers have included a built-in hint system. I gave it a go to see what it offered up. The first hint was something I'd already known, but the second gave me a useful clue for the lock on the special item case. I already knew about the matching pattern on the jukebox. The hint told me to look elsewhere.

Exploring the walls of the room, I found the three symbols scattered about. Each was near a picture or an image that corresponded to a song title. That was the missing link! Once I had my song titles, I used the selection numbers from the jukebox menu to craft the code to unlock the case. Boom! Puzzle solved.

Each room has multiple puzzles, so one solution wasn't enough to beat the room, but it gives you an idea of how things might play out. If you're a fan of puzzle games or real-life escape rooms, the Escape Academy: Escape from the Past DLC should probably be on your radar.

Note: For PC and Xbox players, the Escape Academy base game is on Game Pass, but the DLC is not. If you have purchased the season pass, Escape from the Past is included. Otherwise, you'll have to purchase it separately.