Plot

Six people unwillingly find themselves locked in another series of escape rooms, slowly uncovering what they have in common to survive. Joining forces with two of the original survivors, they soon discover they've all played the game before.

After escaping death by the skin of their teeth and surviving the bloody games devised by the nefarious Minos Corporation, lucky players Zoey and Ben are now coping with trauma after the events of Escape Room (2019). But instead of finding answers and closure, Zoey and Ben are soon dragged into another set of fiendishly designed death traps. And as a handful of former escapees join in, the competitors must work together to outsmart their inhuman tormentors and give their all to solve increasingly sophisticated puzzles. This time, the unseen perils are more elaborate, and escape is futile. Who shall live and who shall die in the sadistic Tournament of Champions?—Nick Riganas

After escaping the "sole survivor" escape rooms orchestrated by the Minos Corporation, Zoey Davis (Taylor Russell) and Ben Miller (Logan Miller) decide to confront the shadowy organization after finding coordinates to its New York City-based headquarters. Zoey is encouraged by her therapist (Lucy Newman-Williams) to move on from her trauma and get over her Aerophobia (Zoey also told her about how close she got to Amanda and that Amanda had a daughter), but she opts to drive with Ben instead of flying.

The pair find the headquarters derelict and are accosted by a vagrant (Matt Esof) who steals Zoey's necklace. She and Ben give chase straight into the Q subway train. Their train car separates from the rest of the train and is redirected to a remote station, sealing Zoey, Ben, and other passengers Rachel (Holland Roden), Brianna (Indya Moore), Nathan (Thomas Cocquerel), and Theo (Carlito Olivero) inside.

As the passengers realize in horror that they are once again in Minos' deadly game, the train becomes electrified. Zoey and Ben learn that the others are the "winners" of previous escape rooms, having survived them. To escape, the group must collect subway tokens as the electrification increases. The tokens are hidden inside the subway roof handles, but pulling everyone makes the electrification worse. So, the group has to take clues from the advertising signs inside to figure out the right handles to pull. Theo is killed (he finds the 3 last missing letters but is electrocuted when he touches a pole) while the rest escape. Nathan reveals his escape room group were all priests, Brianna's were all Influencers, and Rachel's consisted of people who cannot feel physical pain.

The next room is a bank with a slowly closing vault and a deadly laser security system. The group manages to decipher the complex route to get around the lasers and escape with just seconds to spare. Nate takes a huge risk by trying to guess the clues and taking a chance to find a route through the checkered tiles that activate the lasers if you step on the wrong one. While in the room, Zoey is perplexed by frequent references to someone called Sonya (Tanya van Graan) and that the escape rooms have no apparent connection to the group unlike before.

The next room is a postcard-like beach with more references to Sonya. They discover that the beach is covered in quicksand. Nathan sacrifices himself to save Rachel and is swallowed up by the sand. Zoey finds an alternate route out just as Brianna unlocks the intended exit. An argument on which route to take breaks out; Rachel and Ben side with Zoey. Brianna escapes through the main exit while Rachel and Zoey traverse the alternate route. Ben falls into the quicksand.

Zoey and Rachel make their way out through a manhole back into the city. Overjoyed at first that they are outside, they quickly realize they are still in the game when they encounter a panicked Brianna. If they do not make it out of this room, acid rain is periodically sprayed on them. The group opens a taxi to escape into, but once Zoey enters, the taxi locks Rachel and Brianna out. Zoey falls into the next room while Rachel and Brianna succumb to the rain and die.

The next room is a child's bedroom containing a diary from Sonya, revealing the rooms are based on a fun day out she had with her mother. Zoey discovers Sonya's mother is Amanda Harper (Deborah Ann Woll), who survived her fall in her original escape room and was forced into designing escape rooms for Minos after they abducted her daughter. Amanda appears and begs Zoey to become the next puzzle-maker for Minos, warning that she has no choice. Ben is revealed to be trapped in a cage. When Zoey refuses Minos' demand, Ben's cage starts filling with water, but Zoey and Amanda work together to free him. They manage to break out, fleeing the facility. They report their findings to the police, who retrieve the bodies of Rachel, Brianna, Nathan, and Theo; the news about Minos goes public. An FBI agent (Scott Coker) assures Zoey that Minos will be tracked down.

Filled with confidence, Zoey decides to take a plane home with Ben. Onboard, she realizes her therapist was in on it and that the plane is another escape room. The distorted voice of Minos' leader mocks Zoey and Ben for falling into their latest trap as the plane begins to fall and sleeping gas fills the cabin.