"Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."
Shawshank Redemption, Escape From Alcatraz and The Great Escape all have one thing on common, prison breaks. And if they have taught us all one thing about escaping prison its that its bloody painstaking and The Escapist is no slouch in this department either. Don’t be fooled by its simple premise and looks, this game is hard and a real brain teaser but is it fun?
The Escapist starts with a very simple and very brief tutorial and I do mean brief. This led to a bit of confusion when I first started playing but thankfully there are various help menus you can turn to. Routine is the order of the day here and don't you forget it. Wake up and fall in line for roll call. Miss it and the guards won't think twice about giving you a good beating. Then it's off for breakfast and your first opportunity to steal some tools to help you dig your escape tunnel. Plastics knives, spoons and forks have never meant so much to me. Then it's time for the gym. Get your guns pumped and your legs running as you hit the weights and treadmill. Now this might seem like a pointless exercise (nudge, nudge) but nothing you do in The Escapist is without a purpose. Weightlifting improves your strength and running improves your speed. Need something a bit more intellectual to do? Hit the library or computer room to beef up your intelligence. After exercise it's time to hit the showers. After all cleanliness is next to Godliness. But much more importantly there is always something dodgy going on in the showers and no I don't mean that. The steam from the hot water will blind the guards vision so if you have been paid by another prisoner to beat someone up this is your best opportunity. Or if someone else gets beaten up jump in there and steal their stuff before one of the guards spots you and if they do spot you its a beating and I night in the infirmary.
Mess up at work and you will lose your job and the disposable income that comes with it which you can use to buy tools, pay other prisoners to do your dirty work and . But more importantly you might be lucky enough to get a job next to an empty room which you can use to hide your tools of the trade or more importantly use it for an easier escape route. This may come across as limiting what fun you can have but you are in prison and that's the life you must lead. So when you get free time you must make the most of it or you're never going to escape.
Your free time is where you will explore every nook and cranny so you can start to plan your escape. During your free time you can meet the other inmates, take on revenge attacks, arrange for attacks to be carried out on your behalf and enter the other inmates cells and steal all their hidden goodies. This tactic of stealing comes with its own risk reward system though. Don't get spotted and you will be back in your own cell within seconds hiding away all your stolen homes. Get caught and it's a bloody good beating off the guards or other inmates, a night in the infirmary and if you're really unlucky your cell getting searched. This is where you have to keep an eye on your heat metre. If the suspicion level reaches 90 or over its another night in the infirmary. If you do get caught it's back to the drawing board.
I was not prepared for how taxing and punishing this game is. You really do have to keep 2 steps ahead of the guards. Got yourself a nice new tool? Then make sure you hide it well otherwise a random search night uncover it. Take a hit out on another prisoner and he will be looking for revenge. Want the prisoners on your side? Giving out cash gifts or presents will make your reputation soar and prisoners will be eager to join your ranks. Recruit enough and you will have your own prison gang that you can use to harass/intimidate other prisoners.
What's the one thing you need to escape, tools. Inmates with flashing yellow icons above their heads have items you can purchase. And this is also where the crafting section comes in. It's an easy enough system to get to grips with and all you do is select the items you want to use, you have three empty shout to use. Place them into the empty crafting sections, press craft and hey presto you have a tool, weapon or maybe even a disguise. My current favourite is a bar of soap in a sock. Shades of Full Metal Jacket spring to mind when using this weapon against other prisoners.
The open ended gameplay on offer here allows you to tackle your escape using any means you see fit. If you want to tunnel out you can, do you want to make a disguise and try to sneak out dressed as a guard well you can, fashion a grappling hook and scale a wall, well you can do that as well. I love the wealth of escape options that are available to you and this makes The Escapist a must buy. Sure it can be frustrating at times and if you're the kind of gamer who requires instant gratification stay well clear. But if you're after something that requires using your brain cells you will be right at home here.
Review copy supplied by XCN.
Game: The Escapist
Genre: Simulation.
Developer: Mouldy Toof Studios.
Publisher:Team17 Digital Ltd, Microsoft Studios .
Platform(s): Xbox One, PC.