Doing some hard time.

I think when it comes to a typical criminal fantasy we all would like to pull off before we die, there’s nothing more iconic than a bank robbery and of course, a close second would be a harrowing escape from prison. So it’s a shame that not too many games cover the subject of a prison break, and even less do so competently.

It wasn’t too long ago that I played Prison Architect for review but that was more about maintaining a prison than it was about formulating a grand escape plan. At around this time, I became aware of The Escapist but for whatever reason, I never got around to checking it out. Now, with the sequel being released on the Switch, it seemed the perfect opportunity to see if it was worth doing the time for.

You wouldn’t believe the things I found in here. Ok, it was mostly just magazines about propane and propane accessories.

MSRP: $19.99
Platform: PS4,X1, PC, Switch
Played: 7~ hours

The premise of the Escapist 2 is exactly what one would expect from the title, and that is of course to escape from prison. While that might somehow sound both simple and intimidatingly complex at the same time, rest assured that there are many ways to reach freedom, and it’s in formulating a plan that may or may not work and carrying it out that the game shines the most.

For example, after I finished the short tutorial, I thought it would be best to keep things simple by using the same strategy of crafting up a wire cutter and a shovel to help facilitate my escape, but along the way I wasn’t able to find the right materials to make a good shovel, so instead I ended up making a dummy which I used to fool the guards during roll call before lights out so I could remain outside after it became dark, then used the wire cutters for a clean getaway while the watchtowers were empty.

There were many scenarios like these where I started with one plan in mind just to notice something else that I might want to do. Sure, it didn’t work every time and half of my attempts landed me in confinement with all of my tools confiscated, but when it worked, it led to some great moments.

Whether I decided to play as a random or my own customized avatar, I was able to choose between a number of different sandbox prisons, each with their own unique challenges that offered even more interesting ways to make my way to freedom.

However, while I understand the developer’s intent in making the game constantly autosave, I wished that I could quick save and load in situations where I just simply wanted to test things out. Even though my curiosity got the best of me at times, having to pay for it by losing a bunch of items I took days of in-game time to craft and being stuck on high alert and not being able to make any moves for a time kept me from experimenting to my heart’s content, which in turn made the game less fun to play.

There was also the element of having to constantly scavenge for items, and given how the placement and generation of items seem random for the most part, it was basically up to dumb luck to see if I would find the right materials to craft that one tool I needed to get my plan going. When I couldn’t find the one single thing I needed for days at a time, it made me want to give up, as the grating day to day activity of having to show up at certain parts of the prison really worked against my patience.

I DIDN’T EVEN DO NOTHIN’

Visually, the pixel art style works well for the game and the Switch powered through admirably in the performance department as it kept a consistent framerate whether it was being played docked or as a portable device.

There were some online components that spanned both cooperative and a versus mode but I was unable to test this functionality out personally as I wasn’t able to find any one during my playtime. I’m uncertain if I tried to access the online too early before the game had a decent install base or if it was my choice of time that I tried the test it but regardless, I don’t have any opinions on those aforementioned modes due to this fact.

Ranging from the simplistic to the absurd, the Escapist 2 offers a great variety of ways one could escape from prison. Scoping out a new prison for its vulnerabilities and formulating a plan to carry out is a great time, but getting to those thrilling moments of misadventures are often plagued with days of scavenging, looking for those one or two materials I desperately needed and as the tedium began to set in, I wasn’t looking for a way to escape from the prison but rather from this cycle of boring, repetitive gameplay.

Fun Tidbit – During my playtime, I got in the mood to rewatch one of my favorite movies of all time, The Shawshank Redemption. That movie is still amazing after all these years.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.