Are Remote Educational Escape Rooms Designed During the Pandemic Useful in a Postpandemic Face-to-Face Setting?

Numerous initiatives were conducted online during the COVID-19 pandemic, and today it is necessary to analyze whether it is better to continue conducting these initiatives online, or should they be done face-to-face and even readapted to this format. This article compares an educational escape room for learning software engineering conducted online during the confinement caused by the pandemic and later face to face. The research involves 241 students and employs instruments to explore the knowledge acquisition attained by the students and their perceptions toward the activity. The results provide insights to consider use of this technique in the future. The digital elements used in a remote escape room are suitable for a face-to-face escape room since the educational efficacy of the activity was similar when conducted online and face to face. However, some students' perceptions related to enjoyment were worse in the face-to-face escape room, which could be improved by incorporating physical elements.