The Artful Escape Reviews
A lurid and generous trip through the iconography of seventies rock.
An eye-popping musical adventure that will leave you with a serious case of galaxy brain.
There hasn't been a guitar-based adventure as excellent as The Artful Escape since Bill met Ted.
Annapurna Interactive has a staggering back catalogue, but 2021 has frankly not been great for the publisher. Last Stop failed to leave any kind of impact, Maquette is a game with Bryce Dallas Howard in it and not much else, and Twelve Minutes, despite being loaded with star-power, wastes its time loop mechanic in service of a ridiculous twist ending that derails the entire game. With The Artful Escape, plus Neon White, Stray, and Solar Ash to come in the near future, it feels like Annapurna is back.
The Artful Escape is a short but oh-so-sweet platformer that will have you bopping to its impossibly catch beats and transfixed by its beauty
It won't challenge your platforming skills, and the action boils down to galactic Simon Says, but The Artful Escape is a gorgeous experience that makes you feel utterly cool
Rock opera and space opera meet for some artful escapism.
The Artful Escape may not have particularly deep or challenging gameplay, but the main reason to attend this show is its incredible writing and Francis' trippy, out-of-this-world journey in discovering his new persona, one which features a lot of nifty twists in various ways, alongside truly striking sci-fi visuals and an expertly-crafted soundtrack. The Artful Escape is an astonishing rock and roll epic that the likes of Ziggy Stardust would be proud of.
One man’s musical mission is an audio visual delight, but there’s not enough room for expression or mastery.
The Artful Escape is a thrill. It's true that the most joyous bits of action are underused – in terms of both playtime and what they could give the story – and some scarce but present graphical issues on Switch are a shame. Overall, though, the strengths are major, the niggles minor, and it will strike a chord with any pipe-dreaming rock star.
The Artful Escape is a bold and beautiful trip through the cosmos, featuring a killer soundtrack and a thrilling space adventure.
At the end of The Artful Escape, all I could think of were the words he fired back at a heckler, angered by the electricity in the air: I don’t believe you.
Ultimately, The Artful Escape’s title couldn’t be more apt: it’s a masterfully crafted, beautiful experience, and one that completely removes you from the world around you.
The Artful Escape is an enigmatic coming of age story, wrapped in reverb-laden riffs and space opera shenanigans. It is quite unique, and absolutely unmissable.
The Artful Escape is a powerful and aesthetically wonderful generational hymn, which sounds great and uses gameplay as a subtle way to give rhythm to a short, but intense, experience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While The Artful Escape does a strong job with its presentation and sense of style, it still suffers the same drawbacks as most adventure games, particularly with the boring-at-best game mechanics.
The Artful Escape provides a strong narrative adventure focused on self-discovery, identity, and expression that musicians, artists, and just about anyone can find something to relate to. While the experience stumbles a bit due to some dull platforming areas, the groovy universe Beethoven & Dinosaur have crafted is one that players should take the time to fully explore.
The Artful Escape is a tender look at creativity and finding your voice coated in outlandish visuals, an electrifying soundtrack, and a ton of lasers.
A cosmic rock voyage of self-discovery that doesn't folk about, The Artful Escape is a truly unique experience and a feast for the senses.
You play a young guitarist exploring your prog-rock ambitions to the full in this richly enjoyable psychedelic journey