Escape the Catacombs is an isometric escape game set in the dark tunnels under an old city. Your character drops through a manhole and has to climb back out, one floor at a time. Every floor hides a key and a padlock, and only an unlocked padlock lowers the rope to the next level. The tunnels are lit by a small circle of light around you, and the undead roam in the dark. The game was made by Santi Herranz for js13k 2022 under the name Escape from Death Hole.
How to Play Escape the Catacombs
Press Enter on the title screen and watch your character fall into the first chamber. The counter at the top shows your floor, starting at level 0. Explore the floor until you spot the golden key, then walk over it to pick it up.
Next, find the padlock and touch it while you carry the key. It opens and a rope drops onto the exit tile. Stand under the rope and your character climbs to the next floor on their own.
Undead attack in waves, and a banner tells you when a new wave starts. Each bite takes a chunk out of the red health bar. Pink hearts on the floor refill it. When the bar runs out, you join the undead and must press Enter to restart the floor. Swords let you fight back, while other trapped people wander the halls and can be turned by bites too.
Climb out of the floor marked 9 and you reach the surface. The escape screen then shows your total time, the diamonds you collected, how many people survived and how many undead you defeated.
Escape the Catacombs Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse |
|---|---|---|
| Move | Arrow keys or W A S D | — |
| Jump, or swing a sword you are carrying | Space | Click |
| Start the game or retry after being caught | Enter | — |
Tips and Strategies
- Grab a sword early. Without one, Space only makes you jump. With one, it becomes a swing that can take down an attacker in a hit.
- Watch the blade length. A shrinking sword is about to break, so plan your next pickup before it is gone.
- Bump armed people to borrow a blade. Running into another person who carries a sword knocks it loose, and you can pick it up.
- Use the night-vision goggles. From level 3 on, goggles widen your circle of light for about a minute. A compass pickup on the same floors marks the direction of nearby undead.
- Collect diamonds as you go. They do not open anything, but the final screen counts every one you picked up.
- Save hearts for later. A heart only works when you are hurt, so leave it on the floor until you need it.
Features
- Ten underground floors where the key and padlock keep their spots but diamonds land in new places each time.
- Waves of undead that grow in number, with tougher giants and faster attackers on the deeper floors.
- Light radius effect that keeps most of each chamber in shadow.
- Speedrun timer that runs through the whole escape and appears on the final screen.
Tested and updated:
