## 1 Introduction  
For decades, traditional education has adhered to a teacher-centred framework characterised by conventional classrooms, treating learners as passive recipients and focusing on standardised testing. However, as learners' needs continuously evolve, educators are reassessing teaching practices to boost their motivation, engagement and participation while ensuring that the intended learning goals are achieved. This shift has led to the emergence of advanced interactive tools and innovative teaching approaches in the educational processes, such as the incorporation of technological and game-like elements, to create more dynamic and inclusive learning environments. For instance, immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have gained considerable attention by educators for offering highly interactive, engaging environments that deepen understanding and improve academic achievement by motivating learners to actively participate in the learning process [1, 2, 3]. Especially, learning approaches based on VR can have a number of positive effects, including fostering learners' engagement and motivation and broadening learning opportunities beyond face-to-face instruction [4]. VR can also improve learning quality, having a significantly positive impact on students' learning outcomes [5; 6; 7], and potentially foster collaborative learning experiences by enabling shared simulated spaces that support remote collaboration, enhance communication and facilitate the co-construction of knowledge among learners [8]. VR typically refers to a computer-generated environment that replicates the real world, providing a sense of immersion by creating the illusion of physical presence [9]. Based on the user's level of immersion, three different types of VR can be identified: fully immersive, semi-immersive and non-immersive [10]. In educational settings, the choice largely depends on the needs, competencies and availability of resources within the given educational context. For instance, in non-immersive VR, users interact with the virtual environment via a computer, controlling a character's actions through input devices like a keyboard or mouse [10]. The social 3D virtual environment in which users' avatars interact and collaborate is the so-called Metaverse [11]. The Metaverse is an evolving network of interoperable virtual worlds and multiuser social VR and AR spaces that is mature for flexible, online, distance, embodied communication and cooperation [12]. The incorporation of game-like approaches in the educational process is also becoming more and more popular. Escape room (ER) games, in particular, have sparked the interest of educators who aim to create active and engaging learning environments. Escape rooms have been defined as \"live-action team-based games where players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal (usually escaping from the room) in a limited amount of time\" [13] (p. 1). When games are designed with objectives other than pure entertainment, they are characterised as serious; thus, in education, serious escape room games are those that combine learning with gameplay [14]. In this context, they also have the potential to foster meaningful communication and collaboration [15]. Nonetheless, in the educational context, there are also cases of learners playing ERs individually [16]. Higher education is the most prominent level of escape room application, while ERs seem to be particularly popular in the medical field, followed by STEM and, in general, natural sciences [16; 17; 18; 19]. A lot of the available literature focuses on their positive effects on learners' motivation and engagement, as well as on improved learning outcomes; however, the wide majority relies on students' perceptions of learning gains rather than actual test data [16; 17; 19].