There is little else that gets the blood pumping when playing games than a great escape sequence. Whether it's fleeing from a crumbling castle as it collapses around the character, or searching for an exit whilst being hunted through narrow corridors, these adrenaline-fuelled moments can provide some of the tensest moments within a game.
Escape sequences are usually timed, heavily scripted, or even linear in their design, but that never makes them any less satisfying to play, and ultimately conquer. Whilst many are a "one and done" type of situation that only features once in a game, some titles have adopted the thrilling escape scenes into multiple portions of a game, even basing several levels around them, or even their sequels.
10 Crash Bandicoot - Boulder Dash
Starting out with a classic, the original Crash Bandicoot for the PlayStation had numerous escape sequences, as did many of the franchise's subsequent games. Whilst later titles had players running towards the screen in an attempt to escape a marauding polar bear or raging triceratops, nothing beats the levels from Crash’s debut, by having him run, Indiana Jones style, from a rather persistent boulder.
So iconic are these levels, that Naughty Dog even gave one a cameo in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, to the sheer delight of long-time fans of the developer's work.
9 Dead Space 2 - The Hospital Escape
The beginning of Dead Space 2 sees protagonist Isaac Clarke in a bit of a difficult situation. After the traumatic events of the first game, our hero has been confined to the safety of a hospital.
Things very quickly escalate when it’s clear that the hospital has been ravaged by the monstrous Necromorphs and Isaac narrowly avoids a close-up meeting with one. Cue an escape, whilst being confined to a straitjacket, with no weapons and no hope of defending himself. It’s a tense sprint to safety, whilst avoiding a countless number of grotesque mutant corpses.
8 Tomb Raider - The Solarii Fortress
The rebooted Tomb Raider trilogy had some fantastic set pieces, but the escape from the fortress of the first game's main antagonists, The Solarii Brotherhood, is perhaps one of the best.
With no time to stop and think, Lara is constantly moving forward whilst evading enemies, scrambling over collapsing obstacles, and making death-defying leaps that constantly have gamers on the edge of their seats. All this whilst the entire place burns down around her, whilst the sequence may only last for a few minutes, it doesn’t let up on the intensity for a single second.
7 Final Fantasy VII - Mako Reactor Escape
It doesn’t take Final Fantasy VII long to kick off an arduous sequence, coming right after defeating the game’s first boss. Having navigated his way through a volatile reactor to plant a bomb, Cloud now has just 10 minutes to get back the way he came before it’s game over. Random battles certainly don’t help, as the timer continues throughout them, so gamers will be hoping for a quick getaway from those relentless enemies.
The game’s remake expanded on the original escape, with a few details, such as Jessie needing to be rescued, left in as a homage.
6 Metroid Prime - Abandoned Space Station
The opening of Metroid Prime kicks off with a frantic escape from a space station set to explode. Right after defeating the game's first boss: the Parasite Queen. Samus has a short amount of time in which to flee the soon-to-be floating hunk of space debris.
Utilizing each of Samus’ abilities as she makes her escape, before quickly having them ripped away from her. Shockwaves pulsing through the station damage Samus’ Power Suit, which sets up the rest of the game nicely as players restore the suit's power and re-earn their lost abilities.
5 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Sink Or Swim
Uncharted protagonist Nathan Drake has had many narrow escapes throughout his adventures, but perhaps none more thrilling than escaping a sinking ship. In Uncharted 3, Drake must fend off wave after wave of pirates out for his blood as the hulking tanker begins to go down faster than the Titanic, all thanks to a misplaced grenade.
Aside from the pirates, Drake will be trying to navigate his way through a maze of corridors and cargo holds that are very quickly filling with water. Add in the fact that the ship is capsizing, and gamers have got themselves a great escape sequence.
4 Resident Evil 2 Remake - Escape The Lab
Starting out relatively tame, with a few straggling enemies to dispatch and a countdown timer that makes players feel like they have time to spare. That is until Mr. X drops in. Suddenly this slow, hulking behemoth is blocking the only means of escape, and players must once again run as far away from this brute as possible.
After boarding the elevator that should lead them to safety, Mr. X will be back, with nowhere for Leon/Claire to run this time. After finally escaping on the train out of the facility, he unveils his true form for one final showdown.
3 Beyond Good & Evil - Rooftop Chase
This criminally underrated gem has a superb chance sequence, with protagonist Jade ruining across rooftops in order to escape from an ambush from the fiendish Alpha Section forces. Players will dodge a torrent of laser fire, leap over the cities hovering traffic, and narrowly avoid an aircraft raining down missiles on them.
All of this is accompanied by an epic soundtrack and some great slow-motion camera shots. It lasts little over a minute, but it’s certain to leave a lasting impression on players in a game that’s already full of nail-biting tension.
2 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time: Ganon's Castle
After defeating Ganondorf once and for all and rescuing Princess Zelda, it would appear that Link’s adventure is finally over. But no, with his last ounce of strength, Ganon decides to bring down his entire castle to crush Link and Zelda. With flaming debris raining around the duo, they’ll need to work together to escape the castle.
Thanks to Zelda’s affinity for magic, she is able to unlock doors that would have otherwise made it impossible for Link to escape in time, as he defends her from the last remaining monsters still lurking inside.
1 Halo: Combat Evolved - The Maw
The finale of Master Chief’s first adventure sees him looking effortlessly cool as he escapes from guaranteed annihilation. Tasked with reaching an extraction point before the giant crashed starship, the Pillar of Autumn, the Chief set to detonate in order to contain the parasitic force of The Flood explodes, this is as tense as an escape sequence can get.
The majority of the section sees gamers behind the wheel of a Warthog ground vehicle, navigating tight spaces as the ship quickly becomes engulfed in explosive chain reactions, all whilst the Covenant forces flee in terror.