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There just ''has'' to be a way out, right? Well, yes. Because if there wasn't, the section would be [[Unwinnable]]. [[Plot Armor|And we can't have that now, can we]]?
This trope basically relates to the necessity in video games (and other media) for an escape route to exist, no matter how [[This Is Reality|improbable that might be in real life]]. When the building around you is exploding, collapsing, on fire, in the process of being destroyed or ''has already been'' destroyed, there will invariably be ''[[Railroading|one]]'' surviving path you can use to make good your escape. If the building's on fire, there will be ''one'' [[Zero Punctuation
'''Note''' - this shouldn't be due to the game [[Ghost Butler|locking the door behind you or in front of you]]. It applies specifically to (apparently) random destruction of the environment. Almost as if the 'right' way to go is made out of the same material as the [[Empathy Doll Shot|Empathy Doll]], the escape route will in most cases never actually catch fire or disintegrate itself, allowing you to [[Take Your Time]].
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* ''[[Star Wars]]: [[The Empire Strikes Back]]'':
{{quote| '''Han Solo:''' Better take off - I can't get to you, I'll get her out in the Falcon.}}
* [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0119.html This] episode of ''[[The Order of the Stick
* ''[[
* ''[[Halo]]'' - Oh wait, you just set off a chain reaction that will obliterate the ring. And you need to reach the ''Pillar of Autumn'' 's Longsword hangar, while the station's blowing up all around you? Oh, how convenient that no matter how much shit blows up you will always have a clear and workable route. Not to mention the Warthog [[No One Could Have Survived That|conveniently not having been destroyed by oh, I don't know, a hundred thousand tons of starship crash-landing and being utterly gutted by fire, plasma and destruction]].
** Similar, but not so implausible - the first level aboard the ''Autumn''. You follow a guy down a corridor. He gets a bad case of dead when a doorway explodes in his face, but oh look - a passageway between the pipeways is there for you, so you can still reach [[The Bridge]].
** Also happens in the ending of the third game {{spoiler|the ring is blowing the fuck up, ''again'',}} and the ground breaks under your feet. This one is slightly more plausible, in that if you screw around too long, the ground ''will'' fall out from under your feet, sending you to your death. There is still a clear path to the extraction point though.
* ''[[Half Life]]'' has this happen a number of times - things will collapse or stuff will fall apart, but you'll always be able to find the (only) way around.
** Arguably justified in ''[[
* ''[[Singularity]]'' plays the trope straight. Walls will collapse during the fire but you'll find the exit.
* ''[[Unreal]]'' does this, particularly in the single-player story-driven games. You walk down a corridor, *BOOM*, something blows up and gets in the way. Hmm, what about the [[Air Vent Passageway]] up there?
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** Also, the Grout mansion.
* ''[[Modern Warfare]]'' 1 subverts this when escaping from a sinking ship. While there is a route back to the waiting escape chopper, the boat's not going to stop sinking to let you take your merry time. The path WILL collapse at certain places leaving you to drown.
* ''[[Modern Warfare]]'' 2 does this two times: first in the Brazilian favelas, where a conveniently placed series of corridors through the huts allows you to reach the helicopter and escape from the onslaught of a gazillion angry militiamen. The second time it's in the Russian prison, where after the exit is blocked out by debris Captain [[Mac Tavish]] says "Don't worry, we'll find another way out!" ( which could be considered [[Lampshade Hanging]], or being [[Genre Savvy]] to the point of [[Leaning
* The first level of ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'' 2 sees the gang fleeing out of a burning building, down the conveniently fireproof escape route.
* ''[[Max Payne (
* In ''[[Heavy Rain]]'', escaping the fire in the Killer's Place requires you to find the one usable route through the apartment, though in their defense, it sometimes involved walking over furniture, or moving furniture out of the way - or even jumping across burning areas.
* ''[[Persona 2]]'' dumps the heroes inside an aerospace museum with a bunch of visiting schoolchildren...plus a [[Time Bomb]]. Not only do you have to weave between the nonsensically-placed stairwells and get to the roof, but you have to rescue the kids stranded in various rooms. And then you get to do it all over again in the sequel!
* There are also at least two sequences in the ''[[The Godfather (
* ''[[Silent Hill]]: [[Silent Hill Origins
* ''[[
* [[Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga
* ''[[Metroid]] Fusion'' has several of the collapsing door/inaccessible wall variety, and the convenient exits largely involve Samus breaching security and angering her Federation clients.
** The ''[[Metroid]]'' series may be king {{spoiler|(er, queen)}} of this trope. There are few if no games where Samus ends up calmly walking back to her ship; there's always a [[Earthshattering Kaboom|time bomb]] that goes off [[Load-Bearing Boss|once the last boss has been thrashed]] and the exit path is always clear to navigate despite the common falling debris.
* In the MMO ''[[City of Heroes]]'', the last mission of the "Hess Task Force" is set inside a volcano with a [[Load-Bearing Boss]]. There is an emergency exit that leads out, and 30 seconds to take it after the boss goes down. This is generally more than enough, unless a player gets lost or stuck.
* ''[[Guild Wars]]'' has a couple in ''Prophecies'', both also [[Get
* In the original ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' (and the ''Tomb Raider Anniversary'' remake), after Lara destroys the Scion, the Atlantean pyramid starts to collapse all around her. A conveniently-intact exit allows Lara to flee to safety {{spoiler|and confront [[True Final Boss|antagonist Natla]].}}
** In ''Underworld'', Lara has to escape the burning Croft Manor.
* [[Wasteland (
* The last sector of ''[[Jumper (
* An escape route becomes available in ''[[Paper Mario (
* In ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', the final boss of the new Heroic Deadmines, Vanessa VanCleef, begins to set off demolition charges aboard her (landbound) pirate ship when she senses her impending defeat. A conveniently placed set of ropes enables players to swing away from the explosion before landing back on the ship, shortly after which she detonates ''another'' set of charges. The players, once again, simply jump off the ship with the ropes and swing back. Rather than try this a third time (as she did in the initial release), after her hit points are depleted she instead pulls a [[Taking You
* At one point in ''[[Postal]] 2'', you find yourself in a library that's just been set on fire. Predictably enough, there's only one safe route out.
* There's a hotel in ''[[Saints Row]] 2'' that consists of a bunch of rooms located around a central shaft. In the climax of one Ronin mission you end up [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|parachuting down this shaft while the hotel explodes around you.]]
* ''[[
* [[Enter the Matrix]]. The post office explodes but there's a way through. Of course, this being the Matrix reality is a bit funky.
* ''[[Descent]]'' is possibly the ur-example from 1995. On each level you have to destroy a reactor, then escape through an emergency exit before being caught in the explosion. No matter how much time is left on the clock, the escape sequences always have the fire chasing right behind you through the escape.
* Unfortunately for those of us in [[Real Life]], this trope is [[wikipedia:Category:Fire disasters involving barricaded escape routes|frequently not]] [[Truth in Television]].
* [[Star Fox 64]]: After you defeat [[True Final Boss|Andross]], you must fly through the maze you entered to reach him in reverse order. You must constantly boost throughout this or you will be consumed by the fire chasing you.
* In the final level of ''[[
* In the last level of ''[[Medal of Honor]]: Allied Assault'', you have to escape from the [[Collapsing Lair|exploding and collapsing]] Fort Schmerzen, with the fireball chasing you all the way.
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