The Artful Escape is a visual and audio masterpiece that creates a sincere narrative that gives hope to any struggling would-be artist that they will find their own voice at the end of a tough journey. As good as that message might be, the gameplay mechanics don’t nearly live up to the hype the rest of the game creates.
It’s a night of narratives, I tell ya! NARRATIVES! And I’m more than overjoyed by the concept of story-first gaming, as it does make for a memorable experience. Does it make for a good game, though? That debatable point leads us to the end of a long day staring into the barrel of another Annapurna Interactive published title that is developed by Beethoven and Dinosaur.
Welcome to The Artful Escape.
It is incredibly artful
The most prominent part of The Artful Escape is the amount of effort that went into the visuals. This isn’t a simple matter of ray tracing, proper shading, good textures, and awkward character movements. This is more than that, dear readers. This is developing a style that is hip and unique and that matches the narrative the game is trying to emit. From the moment the game begins until the climactic crescendo that you reach when your main character finally achieves the dream they didn’t know they wanted, you’re in art and the game doesn’t waste an ounce of my 3060 card showing just that. The style is cool, almost a daydream of a mature Space Channel 5. It’s unsure, yet certain of what it wants out of your reaction. It’s looking to piss you off, but at the same time impress you without trying. Basically, it’s the 90s.
Artsy explanation aside, the visuals really do coalesce into this high-sensation value that you simply cannot afford. Moving alien backgrounds mixed with out-of-this-world lighting that come together to lift the narrative upon a proud pedestal repeatedly. The visuals seem to one-up each other as you progress through the game. You certainly won’t be short of ‘wows’. The Artful Escape does its best work through this lens and coordinates with its narrative to do what the hell it wants to do.
As the narrative goes, you play Francis Vendetti the nephew of folk singer legend Johnson Vendetti. Francis is celebrating the music that made his uncle a God by putting on his first performance in front of ravenous, yet polite fans. The only issue? Francis still hasn’t found his persona and voice yet, as he has no interest in following in the footsteps of his uncle. The problem with this rebellion? He doesn’t want to disappoint his uncle’s fans nor their expectations pressed upon him. The solution? Space! Aliens abduct him and he is mentored by a man named Lightman who just wants Francis to find himself and be the best version of himself that he can be. The journey is difficult, it’s foreign, and there is a strong possibility that Francis won’t make it back in time to show the world that he isn’t Johnson Vendetti.
Take that story, add it with the visuals and jamming audio, and quite frankly the world is your oyster with the results.
With all the glitz, where’s the glam?
Visually, I think this game is in a category of its own. It looks cool, it feels cool, and you really do control art in a sense. Knowing that you’re building your main character’s future as you play is absolutely gratifying, especially as the narrative unfolds. Gameplay-wise? It falls short.
Most of the gameplay is divided into two pieces – branching narrative choices and Simon Says. The branching narrative choices make you feel like you’re shaping the character. When the story asks you questions, you can answer with what you feel is appropriate to grow Francis within the choice limits. While some of those choices are secretly laid out in a linear fashion, meaning they’re so similar they don’t have much barring on the end results, they still feel meaningful and personal. I think the intentions for most of the dialogue choices were to feel like you’re adding to this kid’s life. It’s brilliant, it’s gratifying, and it works. I do like this aspect of the game, even though it probably doesn’t truly lead to something wholly other.
The Simon Says portion of the action is empty. Essentially, the gamepad is used to control this portion of the game. Your LB/RB/X/Y/B buttons progress boss scenarios to push the narrative. The boss lights up Y, you press Y. The boss lights up Y/LB, you press those corresponding buttons. While I will give the game some props for making some of the multi-button combos difficult at times, the game also forgives your failures by allowing you to repeat until you get it right. In a way, the game was asked to have interactivity, and this was the best solution given. It’s a safe bet that adds some fun to the narrative but doesn’t really add a challenge to the game. Had this been approached as a visual novel, it would be all that and a bag of chips. As it stands, this mechanic is simply a way to move the story that doesn’t really have consequences. This is the crux of the platformer gameplay. I wish it was a bit more.
As for the rest of the gameplay design, it is a platformer. You do a lot of jumping, running, and guitar solo-ing to get to where you need to go, which is to the right. The visuals act as a gorgeous distraction to this otherwise tedious process as you progress through this platformer, which helps shade the lack of gameplay mechanics. Again, I think this is all about the sincerity of the story, the magnification of the art, and the connection between the player and Francis, rather than extraordinary interactive gameplay.
Accept the art and enjoy the story
I’m a huge fan of Annapurna Interactive games. Having watched my wife play through Donut County, having gone through multiple runs of Saynora Wildhearts, and being forced to wait for the upcoming Stray, I trust Annapurna Interactive and their eye for art. They seem to have a firm grasp on what games connect with players and The Artful Escape is no exception.
The Artful Escape has all the visual and audio trimmings for an epic art-driven masterpiece. You will never be disappointed with this aspect of the game and how well it relates to the story. Those categories are just the perfect dance together.
Just don’t go into the game expecting more than that and you will be happy.
Conclusion
The Artful Escape is a visual and audio masterpiece that creates a sincere narrative that gives hope to any struggling would-be artist that they will find their own voice at the end of a tough journey. As good as that message might be, the gameplay mechanics don’t nearly live up to the hype the rest of the game creates.
