A Way Out
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Rating Summary
Based on 107 critic reviews
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Score Distribution
Unscored Reviews
Top Critic
Throughout its runtime, A Way Out is fun, in the way any game with a friend is fun (and that’s definitely the correct way to play it, since playing with strangers would make its communication-based challenges a goddamned nightmare). But outside a few promising flourishes, it ultimately fails to distinguish itself from any number of more engaging co-op offerings, and its best moments hinge on caring about characters who never rise very far above the level of flat, unengaging caricature.
Top Critic
Top Critic
A Way Out is a video game that worth of its 30 Dollars price tag. If you are looking for an action-based co-op game that you can play with your friend or family member, A Way Out can be the video game you are looking for.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Top Critic
'A Way Out' presents a way forward for shared video game experiences
Top Critic
It is a game full of smart moments, perfect for bringing together dedicated gamers and curious onlookers alike.
Top Critic
Fresh presentation and admirable dedication to its big idea can't save this two-player adventure from mediocrity.
A Way Out offers a well-made game with a functional but dull story. There’s certainly fun to be had, but depending on who you’re playing the game with, you might want to stick to Fortnite instead. There’s nothing particularly profound about the game, and the story doesn’t stand up to the immense pressure the game forces on it. If you’re looking for a 5-hour detour into cinematic gameplay with a buddy, I’d say try A Way Out, but don’t expect an Oscar-winning performance.
Top Critic
Usually, in the course of gameplay, a game's character becomes an avatar for you. But A Way Out accomplishes something far more subversive and bold. Eventually, for better or for worse, you become an avatar for your character.
A Way Out is one of the best coop adventures I have ever played. With great story telling, amazing camera transitions and believable dialogue, it's definitely one of the most memorable games of the last years.
Review in German | Read full review
Scored Reviews
Top Critic
A Way Out not only holds itself alongside the best coop titles out there – it surpasses them.
Top Critic
A Way Out is a true achievement in game design. Not only does it manage to take players on a true journey of emotion, it does so in a way that is only possible through the medium of video games. It manages to do something truly special by making two players to cooperate for an extended amount of time, and the discussions that happen on the couch or over voice chat can be just as revealing as the game itself. Josef Fares and Hazelight have undoubtedly raised the bar for co-op gaming.
A Way Out delivers a remarkable co-op experience like no other did in former generations.
Review in German | Read full review
Top Critic
A game that takes what came before and redefines what is possible in co-operative storytelling, with a level of detail and polish far beyond what could be expected of a small team.
Top Critic
Hazelight Studios redefines with A Way Out what a coop game should be. Leo and Vincent's story has the players facing situations like we have never seen in a videogame before. This is undoubtedly one of this year's surprises.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I highly recommend this game if you want to have a great coop experience. It’s like watching a movie and playing a game at the same time. The thrills and chills this game gives is like no other. And I can truly say that it provided an entertainment that no other coop game can provide.
Top Critic
A Way Out provides a unique cinematic experience that redefines the way narrative-driven games can be played, thanks to its engaging story and varied gameplay that will keep both players interested throughout, though the controls can often feel clunky.
Top Critic
A Way Out is possibly the best cooperative video game ever created.
Top Critic
A Way Out is an impressive achievement that definitively proves creativity matters more than bloated budgets and big-name franchises. A technically accomplished, endlessly inventive co-op masterpiece, A Way Out will surprise and excite you from beginning to end. This one deserves to be a breakout hit.
A Way Out isn't perfect, but it comes really close. The forced Multiplayer leads to some really special gameplay ideas and gets you emotionally bonded to both characters. Stunning One-Shots and amazing panoramas show the artistic talent of the studio and the story carries some really exciting twists and turns. Only some technical diffuclties probably caused by low budget take one scorepoint from A Way Out's Score.
Review in German | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out is a shining example of couch co-op gaming done right.
Top Critic
A Way Out is pretty much the best interactive movie you'll ever play - just make sure you've got a friend to bring along for the ride.
Top Critic
A Way Out is a great experience that will keep you amazed through all the journey. It's a charming and enjoyable game that really makes a connection with the person you play it. A must have for the co-op games' fans.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Top Critic
It is a truly welcome gem in the medium that takes risks and propels the experience with new energy nearly every step of the way. The player constantly moves forward and the game gets tension done in a way seldom seen in gaming. A Way Out is an example of a triumph in new ideas, while using traditional methods of gameplay to get the point across that this is a different beast.
Top Critic
If you're not a fan of linear games, you should probably play A Way Out anyway. The game's presentation of a truly co-operative story is sublime, and it makes full use of the video game medium as a method to punctuate the dramatic moments and develop its characters. Like Brothers, A Way Out presents a unique twist to the cinematic story formula, and it sticks the landing.
Top Critic
A Way Out elevates co-op gaming in a way nothing has before, bringing players together to create one beautifully told story that everyone needs to experience.
Top Critic
With never before seen gameplay mechanics and a solid story, A Way Out is perfect for you and a friend to enjoy.
Top Critic
Following the lead of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, the game builds toward an incredibly sobering conclusion.
Top Critic
A Way Out is nothing short of an awesome experience. The story is fantastic, the characters are very believable, and the game moves at a good pace. While it doesn't concentrate on a particular game style, it's easily accessible to all. The mandatory co-op may turn off those who can't easily find others to play with, but this game is well worth the effort of finding someone who's willing to go through the journey with you. A Way Out is certainly a game that's worth playing as soon as possible.
Break out of prison with a friend in this amazing, heart-wrenching, cinematic masterpiece
Top Critic
A Way Out takes some of the very best ideas from action adventure gaming and mixes them with the story telling of a great film.
Top Critic
All in all, A Way Out is an innovative game and one that is recommended for people with a close friend or family member to play with. You can either bond together doing the co-op activities, or troll one another for some cheap laughs. Either way, it’s one of the best co-op experiences I’ve ever had in many years. Sure the game is short, but the unique gameplay and excellent story made me hooked until the very end. Even though it’s only March, A Way Out is my favorite game of the year thus far.
Top Critic
A wonderful story mixed in with entertaining and truly original co-op experience. It was such thrilling time to be playing a game that required teamwork. The main story is good, but then a major twist that pushes the story even deeper makes the game even better. Leo and Vincent's polar opposite personalities come together and offer for fun dialogue. A Way Out's beautiful design and thrilling gameplay bring back the fun times of binge playing a game on the couch with your best friend.
Top Critic
Despite a few technical issues, A Way Out is one of the greatest story-driven co-op games.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Top Critic
After the heartwarming Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons, Josef Fares extended the scope of his unique co-operative gameplay, addressing a much wider spectrum of players. There are a lot of gameplay opportunities that, together with a top-notch narrative, create a really engaging and original experience. The execution may not be perfect, but it's a deep and bold work.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out is more than just the sum of its parts; when all the game’s elements are working together, the end result is almost surprisingly good. A very simple storyline steadily develops into a great thriller, and the gameplay is unceasingly, relentlessly gripping. The co-op backbone is what really makes this game a fantastic choice.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Top Critic
An excellent coop game that manages to entertain despite its not so great tempo due to its profound variety on almost every scene.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out is a story worth sharing with a friend. There's plenty to do, with moments of intensity and emotion, and the ending is one of the best conclusions in video games.
A Way Out is a very special game that currently doesn't have a real competitor on the market. Although it's a small title, its production values are able to compete with AAA games. It's a pity that the developers didn't focus more on replayability, but even so, this game from Hazelight Studios can only be recommended.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Top Critic
A unique experience that changes in every scene and tells a story about the collaboration between two strangers, that will soon turn into friends. Josef Fares managed to create a simple but fascinating gameplay that forces the two players to keep cooperating in different ways along the whole experience, in a sort of interactive movie that you can live from Leo and Vincent's point of view.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Top Critic
A co-op experience like no other, Hazelight's A Way Out goes all in on its defining concept to deliver a remarkable game. It may be a touch lacking in character development and storytelling, but that seems insignificant given what the game itself can give you.
Top Critic
Even with some sloppy writing and a hackneyed story, A Way Out's gameplay is so infectious and its heart so since that it's almost impossible to resist. Long live couch co-op.
Top Critic
A Way Out is a game that everyone should take the time to play with their best friend. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it succeeds at being highly entertaining despite its flaws. It's a unique experience, unlike anything else I've ever played, and a worthy follow-up by the developers who gave us the titular “Brothers.”
Top Critic
For a game that I pretty much had to drag a reluctant cousin into, A Way Out surprisingly found a way in into our hearts. It’s certainly not perfect and it has its share of hiccups from both a narrative and mechanical standpoint. A fun co-op experience (koala-hugging above the skies of Mexico!) combined with an interesting story that features a surprise twist at the end, however, made us root hard for both Leo and Vincent as their journey headed toward its shocking climax. For the best experience, I recommend playing it with someone right next to you.
Top Critic
A Way Out is a solid interactive adventure that never overstays its welcome. It is a little short on replay value and lacks content but if we consider the launch price, there is not much to complain here. If you enjoy co-op games, there is no better recommendation than A Way Out.
Top Critic
The results of a bold idea, which stays with us until the end and offers a very clever foundation for the gameplay. It's a little too short and, sometimes, the gameplay is too basic in order for the story to advance, but A Way Out is one of those gaming experiences you NEED to try at least once.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
There’s not a tonne more that I can say as it is a short game, but it’s an awesome short game. All I’ll say is find a good mate, set aside a day and do it one sitting with a few beers. You’ll not have as much co-op fun this year as you will here.
A Way Out is one of the best co-op experiences out there. A great storyline and various possibilities make for a great and intriguing experience.
Top Critic
You may feel split between the lack of complete agency and the recognition that you are being told a story.
There is nothing like A Way Out on the market. Both its design premise of using gameplay as the main storytelling vessel and its concept of how co-op is implemented are unique in this medium, and more importantly, they worked very well. The story beats the game touches are slightly generic but it uses the interactivity of video games to deliver extremely memorable sequences. This adventure starring Leo and Vincent is fun, thrilling and emotional and I absolutely recommend the experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Top Critic
If you go into A Way Out thinking its mandatory two-player co-op is a gimmick, you'll likely come out of it realizing that it couldn't have been done any other way. Vincent and Leo's journey will have you and a friend performing tasks together both mundane and dramatic, and the result is a memorable, variety-packed cinematic adventure that feels like what Telltale's games might've evolved into if they'd leaned into game mechanics instead of phasing them out.
Top Critic
From beginning to end A Way Out will have you on the edge of your seat
Top Critic
If we remove from the game all armed combat and the conclusion of the story that seems to have been created only to raise the dramatic charge at its end, A Way Out is an excellent escape and cooperation game, made to those who love a friendly gameplay session.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
A Way Out may not be a perfect game, yet it is an enjoyable experience able to make good memories. In his career as a game designer, Josef Fares has always been trying to introduce new ideas and he started doing so by presenting “Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons”. “Brothers” was and still is a unique title which is hard to find alike on the market. Luckily, A Way Out is lovable, informative, romantic and entertaining as much; and just like Josef Fares’ previous game, it can be a rare experience.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out follows the story of Vincent and Leo from when they meet in prison through their ensuing escape and the consequences of the choices they jointly make. It’s an interesting and engaging journey which occasionally falls a bit flat in certain aspects.
Top Critic
A Way Out is nothing near to a perfect game. Dialogues are cheesy and voice actings make the conversations even more shallow. Missions are quite easy and they hardly give you a hard time. But the innovative and diverse gameplay of the game makes up for all these problems and is a must experience if you have a close friend.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out utilizes co-op as a unique gameplay tool for building a relationship between players and characters.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out hearkens back to the days of couch co-op, placing players in the shoes of two criminals who must solve puzzles and support one another to escape. The game's emotional drama runs alongside its silly undertone, making for a game that's both moving and, at times, unintentionally hilarious.
Top Critic
A Way Out has a lot of highs and lows but the combination of cooperative elements and cinematic adventure provides enough excitement that you'll stick around until the end.
Top Critic
On the heels of Brothers, Josef Fares has given us A Way Out, a rich and thoughtful independent darling that delivers on a story that respects its characters and remains grounded, hardly ever resorting to nonsense action just for the sake of it. Though we predicted the game's ending before it happened, the conclusion hit us like a truck. With its extremely reasonable pricing and share play, A Way Out is a must play from one of the industry's most talented small teams.
Top Critic
A Way Out is a great game that creates an amazing experience for two players to enjoy together. With varied gameplay and fun scenarios, players will find themselves easily immersed in the story. Driving themselves (and their buddy) into finishing the game much faster than expected. With strong gameplay and interesting moments, this game will go down as one of the most creative cooperative experiences this generation.
Top Critic
Timing button prompts, ruining emotional cutscenes, coordinating madness, and endless mini-game distractions. A Way Out is a co-op game like no other that you shouldn't miss out on experiencing.
Top Critic
A risky title with a obligatory multiplayer but with satisfactory results in a story that will make us empathize a lot with the characters.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out is a unique game, a huge success in the narrative genre, that deals more than well with its urge to make us play cooperatively. The concept, that involves an almost permanent split-screen, not only works great, but the story, its characters and the way we deal with some really simple but really engaging gameplay makes us feel like we are actually the two lovely protagonists of this interactive, full of action and emotion buddy movie.
Review in French | Read full review
Top Critic
Ropey dialogue may keep this from being a must-play experience, but if you’re looking to embark on a compelling and surprising co-op adventure with a friend, A Way Out is more than worth the price of entry.
Top Critic
A Way Out is a phenomenal co-operational interactive movie that can be enjoyed both on the couch with a friend or spouse, or online. What makes the online aspect even better is that the partner doesn't even need a copy of the game, as they can join in easily. Vince and Leo have two contrasting personalities that see the calm meet the storm, as they both must put their differences aside to escape the prison they are confined to. With attention to detail within every nook and cranny, watching how their two stories diverge and converge at integral moments of the game is a fascinating experience that needs to be played through twice. Playing as both Leo and Vince will offer two unique story paths, as they both have different roles in solving puzzles, while narrative-forks provide a "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" element to the story.
Top Critic
There's a constant mood about A Way Out that makes it seem like it's more inventive than it really is. Disregard that and you're left with a decent-enough story with some genuinely enjoyable video game moments. It's campy fun and that's perfectly fine. Just don't expect too much more.
Top Critic
After Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, I came into A Way Out with expectations of a fraught and trying prison escape drama. That's just the beginning though, and it soon transforms into a fun revenge flick. It doesn't have the emotional impact of Brothers, and there's some rough edges from the breadth of ideas that Hazelight include, but most importantly we just had a lot of fun.
Top Critic
A Way Out truly excels at being a really unique video game experience. It tells a familiar cinematic story in a way no other medium can thanks to its brilliant execution. Some may find elements of the game lacking due to it being a bit simple but it can also be seen as a positive due to the fact that it allows more people to play the game. It could alienate some hardcore gamers but if you're looking for a good co-op experience, A Way Out is one of the best of its kind.
Top Critic
A Way Out is a solid co-op game that tells a simple story about two men that find themselves to be partners in crime. The first half is way too simple, guided and slow; the second half is funny, with a dramatic turn of events.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out might not be the perfect experience, it has some issues. But the unique idea and the good execution of it made it unforgettable experience, and it is one of the best cooperative games in the recent years.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Top Critic
Entertaining co-op adventure with great ideas that sacrifices playful claims in favor of an exciting story.
Review in German | Read full review
A Way Out is a well made Co-Op fun for a great evening on the couch or online with friends that oftens tries to put too much into the game and misses to actually deliver on the gameplay and story telling part. If you can live with tons of flaws in every department you'll still have lots of fun with the game.
Review in German | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out understands that co-op can be fun and spontaneous in addition to providing another tense moment requiring coordination.
A Way Out revives a dying breed of co-op gaming. While on the shorter side (3.5 hours total story length), it keeps things moving with new styles of gameplay at every corner. The ending is particularly good and makes it worth the trip.
While the controls aren't the most polished and character animations are laughable, the story takes players on a wonderful ride. Hazelight Studios has done a top-notch job breaking the traditional norms of splitscreen gaming and co-op play in general. A Way Out might not be discussed to much come the end of the year, but it is still worth finding six hours of your life to give to the game.
Top Critic
A Way Out is a fun ride that shows off a great cooperative experience, an interesting story, and some of the coolest camera work to ever grace a video game. It's an extremely smooth experience with very few rough edges. That said, it lacks some of the content we've come to expect from interactive stories, which makes it a fun ride, but not something that you'll likely return to again and again.
Top Critic
A Way Out has many faults, but a lack of heart isn't one of them. Seeing that heart translated into a cooperative play experience makes the journey worthwhile.
Top Critic
A Way Out pretty much succeeds in spite of itself. The storytelling is amateurish and a weak third act threatens to sour the whole experience. However, the hours before that are the dreams co-op games are made of.
Top Critic
The premise, and occasionally its execution, has its moments, but A Way Out feels like a vision not fully realized
Top Critic
A great, interactive action movie with co-op. However, each playthrough after the first one only highlights gameplay shortcomings and the fact that our choices don't matter.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out is a successful experiment in co-operative play with some excellent presentation and varied gameplay. The story may be predictable, but you'll be surprised how attached you become to Leo and Vincent, and you'll be compelled to see their journey through to the end regardless.
A Way Out is a game that is well worth the six-hour runtime and well worth playing.
Top Critic
Even with a cliched story at its center, A Way Out's persistent co-op elevates it to new heights for the newly married co-op adventure genre. The split-screen ebbs and flows according to what's happening with each character, enriching what would usually be a more-typical, stagnant co-op experience. While the middle of the game drags in some sections and finds itself littered with lousy, inessential combat, its first few hours and superb finale sequence are strong enough to make the whole journey worth seeing through.
Top Critic
A Way Out may not be the perfect local multiplayer game, and though Hazelight made the excellent decision to allow two online players to play the game using only one copy, it lacked the replayability required to inspire me to complete it with another friend after I'd finished my first playthrough.
Top Critic
A Way Out has some ambitious, fantastic ideas at its core, but it's unfortunately surrounded by tiresome gameplay mechanics and a story that is just a bit too straightforward. While I think that the co-op focused nature of A Way Out could have better been executed upon, I endlessly credit Hazelight for trying something that I've never really seen done in this manner. Despite my issues, I really love the experimentation seen in A Way Out and hope to see more unique ideas like it in the future.
Top Critic
A Way Out is full of ups and downs. It has a stroke aometimes and it can't recreate its own success. Sometimes it tries to be creative but there's no creativity from the developer making this the game's biggest flaw and it makes for an hour of intense and fun experience while the prologue and epilogue lack the panache of the rest of the game.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Top Critic
Hazelight Studios deserves praise for the high ambitions of their first title, with A Way Out attempting to emulate a wide variety of genres, themes and gameplay mechanics.
Top Critic
A Way Out features interesting co-оp mechanics, several beautiful chases with a great camera work, properly placed checkpoints, stunning (by the indie studios standards) graphics, and, at the same time, an absurd script and stupid characters.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out intended to renew the forgotten split screen cooperative experience, but fell short in its execution. The result is not as overwhelming as you think; A Way Out is fun and it's better to play with a partner on the couch. However, if you wanted to find the holy grail of the cooperative gaming, maybe you should look elsewhere.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Top Critic
A Way Out mightn't be all I wanted it to be, but it is competent and different.
Top Critic
A Way Out has some fantastic ideas that deliver a very unique co-op experience. It's certainly worthy of your time, should you and a friend have it spare to commit to the game's eight or so hours.
With its interesting main characters and unique approach to co-op play, A Way Out will certainly be one of the year's most intriguing titles. However, the slightly by-the-numbers story and largely mediocre visuals leave in just shy of greatness.
Despite all its flaws, A Way Out lives on as one of the most amusing games I’ve experienced till date. Playing with a buddy helps minimize boredom and while you are at it you can just joke around with the absurdities that the game puts before you or just chat casually like old friends do.
Top Critic
A Way Out is full of heart and soul: you'll grow to love the characters, and you'll become invested in Leo's charm and curious about Vincent's problems, but it's light and it could leave you unsatisfied.
...this game actually does a fantastic job making a multiplayer game feel as involved and engaging as an 8-hour 70’s buddy movie.
Top Critic
A Way Out is an ambitious co-op only, split-screen only adventure game with a compelling story, interactive environments and fun ideas that's a little messy in execution but fun with a friend.
A Way Out is a mildly interesting take on the action-adventure genre with its forced co-op and exciting quick-time events.
Top Critic
Ultimately I would say this game would've done better with its tongue in its cheek rather than its heart on its sleeve.
Top Critic
Messy, varied and inadvertently hilarious: A Way Out is an unusual but uneven tandem ride.
Top Critic
Though it's fun with a friend, A Way Out struggles with clunky set-pieces and story clichés.
Top Critic
A Way Out falls short of what it could - and should - be, but there are flickers of brilliance. And with the best part of ten hours of gameplay for two people, for half the price of an average game, it's definitely worth giving it a go over the weekend - just lower your expectations a little.
Top Critic
A Way Out is a unique, enjoyable adventure that has a number of problems.
Top Critic
It's highly inconsistent, but this is still one of the most daring co-op games of recent years and shows how well playing together can work for story-based games.
Top Critic
There are better narrative-driven games, and there are better co-op games, but I find myself hard pressed to think of one that does both as gracefully as A Way Out. While let down by its writing, it's worth your time if you're looking for an adventure that can only be shared with someone else.
Top Critic
If you don't mind silly and over-the-top action scenes that make most people roll their eyes, A Way Out will provide some decent mindless entertainment to you and a co-op buddy for a few hours. Otherwise, this is one to avoid.
