Ape Out

Ape Out is an absolutely fantastic action game with an incredible sense of style.  While the levels are randomized, the near-constant introduction of new elements gives each area its own personality, forcing the player to regularly update their play style to avoid or take advantage of the latest changes.  Each album can be played in standard progression with infinite chances to complete each track from the start or in Arcade mode, attempting to clear the whole album on a single life while racking up the best score possible, making for excellent replayability.  The four albums' worth of content...

Whilst the concept is there in the title, the intricacies of Ape Out’s are revealed the more you play. Every aspect creates a dazzling jazz mixtape that reverberates from eyes, to ears, to thumbs.  And you’re an ape. Which is great.

A marvelous example of what can be done when talented individuals think outside of the box. Ape Out features challenging – occasionally annoying – but wholly addictive gameplay, quirky and attractive visuals awash with colour, all backed with a breathless score. This odd release is proof positive that creativity in gaming remains alive and well. Go Ape.

Short yet sweet, Ape Out combines a highly stylish aesthetic with enjoyable gameplay to make for an exciting experience.

A striking abstract visual style soundtracked by a jazz freakout as improvisational as its gameplay, Ape Out glories in its primal rage for a wild ride. Give into its rhythm and bloodlust, and just go ape!

An Ape on the run looking for a way out is fierce to face, and fun to play as. Guide your ape to freedom, smashing any gun-wielding captors who get in your way!

Ape Out isn’t for the faint-hearted, but if you enjoy Hotline Miami-style gameplay, I urge you to give it a go. Be prepared to die and die some more, but this is a game that’ll get into your psyche, and beg you to carry on. As you progress, your heart will likely be beating as fast as the music, but the adrenaline pumping around your system will only spur you on further. Each death is a tragedy, but each one only makes that eventual success ultimately more rewarding.

Well and truly going ape.

Ape Out is a beautiful and bloody game that's given surprising depth by a tremendous soundtrack.

Despite the repetition, after many deaths, it does not feel repetitive, because other variation is added. Some of the levels take place in darkness, and you must avoid the swinging torch beams of the guards. Others have explosive barrels of oil, or bombs falling from the sky, a last ditch effort to subdue your primal rage. One extremely cathartic smash and grab takes place in a zoo. And there are smaller details to admire, too: the music for the stage set in a military base sounds like marching snare drums. Bloodsoaked carpet makes a squishy noise when you walk over it. Trees that are set on f...

A sensational audiovisual experience that starts to drag around halfway in.

Whether or not I make it to the end of the level is almost immaterial; I feel powerful and free from the moment the game begins.