Devloper: Mouldy Toof Studios
Publisher: Team17 Digital LTD
Release date: February 13, 2015
Available on: Steam, Xbox One (reviewed on)
I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed my first 30 minutes with The Escapists. I spent several prison days running around looking for a screwdriver, thinking that it was my ticket to salvation. I collected tons of random junk trying every which way to McGuiver my escape from Center Perks, a minimum security prison where the guards fluff your pillows each morning, but all I got was several beat-downs and a few nights in solitary (which resets all escape oriented progress you’ve made up to that point). This game will not hold your hand. Hell, it won’t even smile nicely at you from across the room. The tutorial introduces only the most basic mechanics and then leaves the rest up to you. For someone like me, this was incredibly frustrating – I love the concept of designing my own elaborate escape plan but not if that came at the cost hours and hours of trial and error.
My biggest stumbling point early on was the first of the game’s two major mechanics: the aforementioned item/crafting system. Without any sort of guide it is your job to collect items and basically try to mash them together to create something useful in order to help you escape. After a couple hours of seeing if my seven tubes of toothpaste would combine with anything (it does by the way) I became frustrated and turned to the community for answers. I was hesitant at first, I didn’t want to feel like I had given up – but I came to the conclusion that if I didn’t I would end up quitting the game altogether. Armed with a new litany of escape-minded recipes I went about my strictly regimented prison day (the second major system) with renewed purpose. Using a crafted flimsy pickaxe I dug out a hole in the wall for me to store all my contraband and combined a magazine with some duct tape in order to cover up the evidence of my nightly digging. I snuck into my fellow inmate’scells looking for components that would help in my ultimate escape plan, and you know what? I started having a lot of fun.
Don’t get me wrong, the game was still hard, but instead of punishing my ignorance the game would punish my sloppiness,my mistakes, and my impatience. Even the very first prison requires a “Shawshank” level of restraint. Small moves each day is the key. Unfortunately this methodical approach often leads to a lot of downtime, moments where you are just going through the motions of prison life – but you do feel like you are constantly making progress towards your ultimate goal of escape. Finally knowing what I was doing also allowed me to appreciate many of the games other positive qualities, for example the game is filled with pop culture references and funny bits of dialog. And while I didn’t particularly like the art style a lot of the animations are pretty cool (special shout out to the one for push-ups).
Ultimately what sets this little puzzle game apart for me is the variety of ways in which you can accomplish your goal. The best way to describe the joy of this improvisational feel is with an anecdote. I was about 15 days into my master plan for escaping the second prison. Within my cell there was a huge tunnel dug from my bed all the way out to the edge of the prison and all that stood in my way was an electrified fence. In order to finally put my plan into action I needed to beat up a guard and take his key in order to make a copy of it and shut off the power to the fence. Armed with a hammer I jump a guard right after breakfast and knock him out, but before I can make the copy another guard rounds the corner – no worries Maxwell’s Silver Hammer comes down on his head too. But then a guard in the tower notices me and starts taking shots at me with his rifle. Pandemonium breaks out. I fight of a series of guards and after putting them all down I get a message telling me that the prison has essentially entered a riot state and that for a few moments the front gate will be open. Fifteen seconds later, I’m free from the prison and heading for the hills, my tunnel and 15 days of hard work just a distant memory.
My Nerd-ict
The Escapists is a fun, exciting, sandbox puzzle game that is filled with variety and challenge. Without the right information it can be frustrating, and feel overwhelmingly punishing. And at times, even with said info, the game requires the player to have not only patience but also an appreciation for downtime and monotony (at least in-so-far as they aid the great good of your escape plan). Ultimately the fun of planning and executing an escape (even if it all goes to hell) outweighs the game’s obtuse nature and lack of any real tutorial or decent hint system. (There is a hint system, but the hints are pretty garbage and cost a lot of in-game currency). All said and done, The Escapists is definitely worth your time if for no other reason than to channel your inner Andy Defrene.
[Editor’s note: a code for the game was supplied by the publisher for review purposes]
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