Escape Simulator vs We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip
Escape Simulator is a puzzle simulation game from Pine Studio (2021) while We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip is a puzzle game from Total Mayhem Games (2023).
What each one is
Steam files Escape Simulator under Puzzle and Simulation. In contrast, it files We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip under Puzzle.
First-person puzzler you can play solo or in an online co-op. Explore a set of highly interactive escape rooms. Move furniture, pick up and examine everything, smash pots and break locks! Play thousands of community-made rooms through the level editor.
Partner up with your friend online and set sail for an unforgettable puzzle adventure in this bite-sized standalone We Were Here experience. Work together to overcome brain-teasing challenges and make fun memories, using your best communication, teamwork and trust skills.
At a glance
| Escape Simulator | We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.0/10 | 7.8/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (94%, 19,336) | Very Positive (90%, 24,073) |
| Critic aggregate | 82/100 | 82/100 |
| Price | $19.99 | $1.99 |
| Install size | 18 GB | 10 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | verified |
| Released | 2021 | 2023 |
| Developer | Pine Studio | Total Mayhem Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Escape Simulator vs We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Escape SimulatorPuzzle simulation gameWe Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShipPuzzle gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Escape SimulatorPuzzle, Co-op, Escape RoomWe Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShipCo-op, Puzzle, Online Co-OpThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Escape Simulator ✓Score 8.0 · 94% on Steam · 82 criticWe Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShipScore 7.8 · 90% on Steam · 82 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Escape Simulator19,336 reviews · 11 add-ons · 18 GBWe Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip24,073 reviews · 1 add-on · 10 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Escape Simulator$19.99We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip ✓$1.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Escape SimulatorVerifiedWe Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShipVerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueEscape Simulator and We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Escape Simulator (GamingPickz Score 8.0)
- The cheaper right now: We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip ($1.99)
- Lighter on storage: We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip (10 GB)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
PuzzleCo-opMultiplayerFirst-PersonAdventureOnline Co-OpMysteryController
Where they differ
Escape RoomSingleplayerFamily FriendlySimulationVRInvestigation
EmotionalAtmosphericCute3DTeam-BasedMultiple Endings
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Escape Simulator is relaxed, easy to pick up. We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip is relaxed, easy to pick up.
System requirements, side by side
| Escape Simulator | We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | DX10-capable GPU | — |
| Minimum CPU | X64 architecture with SSE2 instruction set support | — |
| Minimum RAM | 4 GB | — |
| Install size | 18 GB | 10 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Escape Simulator · We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Escape Simulator and 3 for We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Escape Simulator and We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip in scope?
Escape Simulator has drawn 19,336 Steam reviews, ships 11 add-ons and installs in 18 GB. We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip has drawn 24,073 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 10 GB.
Is Escape Simulator or We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Escape Simulator rates higher (8.0 to 7.8). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Escape Simulator or We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip?
We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip is cheaper right now at $1.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.