The Escapists Reviews
The Escapists can be hours of fun for those who enjoy a good challenge in a unique setting, but abundant troubleshooting can make this a hard sell for a mainstream audience.
The Escapists is a "deeper than appears" puzzler that will take some getting into, but the pay-off is worth it.
Methodical and oddly compelling incarceration
The Escapists is an interesting game with very solid mechanics and enjoyable visuals. It can feel repetitive after a while and frustrating in certain moments.
The prison theme is under-represented in games, and a welcome change from the more oversaturated motifs we're often subject to (war, I'm looking at you). 'The Escapists' does have a lot of good ideas. It can't quite deliver on many of them due to a slow interface, weird AI and other design choices. It's a charming indie game that is welcome on the Xbox One but falls short overall.
. The concept behind The Escapists is strong, and the strategy is there. But I move at my own pace and care more about the atmosphere of a game than its underlying machinery, and I wish I had a shallow end to wade in for awhile instead of getting hurtled off the high dive.
The Escapists is an interesting concept and one that works well as a game. The visual style’s colourful and cute nature juxtaposed with the violent and gritty subject matter gives the game a dark comedy vibe not unlike games like Worms and Flockers.
You're enjoyment while planning the big escape in The Escapists depends on how much you enjoy building out your own fun in a sandbox prison environment. Watching a plan unfold is undoubtedly satisfying, but putting the plan in motion can be tedious. According to the developers, the game will eventually allow gamers to create and share their own prisons, given you a reason to keep the game installed long after you've escaped the included eight prisons.
Prison life isn't easy, that much I have learned from my time playing The Escapists. This game can be frustrating, make you angry, and want to quit altogether. That is, until that one thing you've been missing finally hits you and you make your escape out of a prison. It's a satisfying feeling that I haven't had from playing recent games. That feeling of accomplishment is one that a lot of mainstream games have lacked for some time. The Escapists, if you have the patience to figure it out without using walkthroughs, will leave you feeling a bit frustrated, but incredibly gratified. In a sea of ID@Xbox titles, The Escapists is one not to be missed.
The Escapists is an interesting premise for a simulation-style game that offers numerous ways to tackle situations and lots of routines to keep track of. However, the cumbersome interface may impact the enjoyment of anyone playing with an Xbox controller, and with the promise of further updates and additions on the PC side, interested players may want to consider grabbing the game off of Steam instead, if possible.
The Escapists is a game for a very niche audience, as it doesn't provide much in the way of variety to deliver enough entertainment for long periods of time.
The Escapists makes breaking out of prison as hard as nails, yet soft as taffy.
Escaping prison should be more exciting than this. Strategizing is fun, but the amount of repetition gets tiresome
[A failed attempt] will either steel you for the next attempt, or cause you to put the controller down in anger. If you're in the former group, the sheer wealth of options available to you, combined with the art style and the occasional laugh-out-loud moment, mean that The Escapists is definitely recommended.
The Escapists is a break out success for Mouldy Toof studios. A must-play for indie gaming fans with a little patience.
It may have its minor frustrations but there's nothing here that really spoils what is an otherwise delightful and endlessly surprising game. It won't be for everyone, especially those who are unwilling to meet the game halfway and learn through trial and error, but those who welcome its open-ended challenge will find that a long stretch inside proves surprisingly enjoyable.
On one hand, I ended up feeling gratified and at peace doing menial mini-game-like tasks, including exercising and laundry duties. On the other, it seems like Team 17 and Mouldy Toof Studios don't want you playing the role of a prisoner at all.
If you're going to buy The Escapists, do your research first and make sure you know what you're getting into.
"That's all it takes, really, pressure, and time. That and a big goddamn poster."
The Escapists isn't for everyone. The visual style may put some people off, and the general repetitiveness of each day could grate with others. However, The Escapists is a smart title that encourages a player to experiment with different options. There's no single right answer to escaping, though some tactics will bring freedom faster than others. I personally found myself thinking of various plans even when not playing, and working out how viable they would be. If you enjoy crafting and planning, while potentially starting a riot, then The Escapists could be the game you're looking for.