Escape The Mad Empire is a rogue-like dungeon-crawling game where you control a party of heroes facing near-impossible odds in a series of procedurally generated, apocalyptic dungeons, filled to the brim with foes, traps, and deadly boss fights.

Leverage the tactical pause system to execute complex strategies in the blink of an eye and clutch victory from the jaws of defeat. As you overcome the threats of the apocalypse, manage your heroes’ instability, grow your base, and fight to survive until you Escape the Mad Empire or fall to its horrors.

Overcome the challenges as a band of heroes, and preserve their lives and sanity by managing resources and growing your base.

Can you Escape The Mad Empire?

Publisher Paradox Interactive and developer XperimentalZ Games announced that Escape the Mad Empire will release through Steam Early Access on April 22, 2025 at $17.99/£14.99/€17.49 and will remain so for about one year.

The Early Access release of Escape the Mad Empire brings a lot of content for players to explore. Choose from 13 unique hero classes, each armed with a wild array of skills and abilities, and outfit them with powerful gear, including (but not limited to) swords, shields, armor, and legendary pieces like the Heavy Helmet of Mindf*ckery!

Overview of Early Access features:

• 13 hero classes with a wide range of over-the-top skills and abilities
• Hundreds of insane items and equipment
• Real-time gameplay with instant-attack on pause combat system
• A plethora of challenging foes
• An upgradable home base where to recruit, train and equip heroes
• A procedural map made of nine biomes through which to make your escape
• Plenty of quests, bosses, mini-bosses and story events
• A ‘points’ based difficulty system which trades difficulty for more rewards
• A vast array of tactical elements, like surface effects, cover, flanking, status effects, etc.

The 1.0 version of Escape the Mad Empire will include more complexity, depth, and content.

Eager fans can try the game by playing the demo, including a mini-campaign and a challenging boss fight!

Key Features:

• Master the full potential of a varied party of heroes, composed of multiple classes and talents. Apply a multitude of skills and learn how to combine them to edge out an advantage against overwhelming odds and elevate your strategy with every conquered challenge.
• Leverage the Real-Time Pause system to coordinate, combine, and maximize your party’s potential to unleash tactical devastation on your enemies. Counter seemingly unwinnable life-and-death scenarios by using your wits to execute complex strategies in a heartbeat.
• The floor is lava …and ice, and oil, and fire, and poison. But no hazard can’t be used to your advantage. Utilize your party’s skills, items, and spells to turn the environment into a weapon against your enemies. Destroy explosive barrels, freeze, poison and burn your foes with cunning precision.
• In its madness, the Empire used crystals to create absurd and cursed items. These artifacts imbue your party with additional strength and prowess while increasing the wielder’s Instability. Don’t let it fester and grow, or you could lose that character forever.
• Risk and reward are a core part of success when you try to Escape the Mad Empire. The choices you make as you explore, battle, and manage your adventuring party can be the difference between victory and defeat. Will you risk life and limb for the smallest of victories?
• The definition of insanity … is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Face every threat, taste victory and defeat, and learn from your mistakes. Attempt new strategies, builds, and synergies. Improve and experiment until you overcome every challenge in your way and answer the ultimate question: Can You Escape The Mad Empire?

Escape The Mad Empire is coming to PC (Steam) in 2026.