The Escapists

The Escapists is not a game for those who get frustrated easily. You can spend all day adhering to the prison's rules – attending roll call, doing your work, managing your inventory so that you aren't keeping prohibited items in your cell in case there's a shakedown – and spend many more in-game days planning your escape, only to find that you've forgotten one minor thing and your chance is lost. ...

I’m pretty sure this won’t appeal to a lot of people. It can be bone-crushingly hard at times and difficult to get into. But by giving you the tools to craft your own escape and leaving you alone to sort it out, The Escapists is one of those classic hands-off games that encourages you to create your own story and incredible moments.

As a mix of sandbox, puzzle and open-world action, The Escapists offers something fresh and entertaining. The nature of what it’s simulating leads to some annoyances and careful handwaves to keep things light, but with both enough space between those moments to feel like I was actually producing my own plan and enough tools that I didn’t just feel like I was looking for a conveniently pre-packaged...

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.

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Sometimes you're a rat in a cage. Sometimes you're a lion. But when all your planning, patience, and possibly plain old good luck finally pays off, The Escapists rewards in a rare way. Because in The Escapists, whether you catch a break or catch a beatdown, you'll know you've earned it.

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 certainly isn't for everyone, but it's easy to understand the appeal. You need a great deal of patience and a capacity for dealing with mundane tasks along with time management. Players require a certain kind of grit to take on the numerous setbacks, but finally escaping can be an exhilarating experience. Although I lack that kind of perseverance when it comes to games, I won't hold ...

Outsmarting the guards and making a great escape is every prisoner's dream, but as The Escapists demonstrates, it isn't easy. You meticulously plan, craft tools, wait for openings, and hope your plan goes off without a hitch. While the premise is interesting, the gameplay relies too much on repetition, never capturing the adrenaline rush of a daring escape.

What looks like a bright and breezy game turns out to be an incredibly stiff challenge that can occasionally be hugely rewarding. More often than not, however, The Escapists is about as pleasurable as a swift kick in the bollocks.

There are some great ideas behind The Escapists, but the game falls just short on about every end. This entry in the seemingly neverending stream of games based around crafting, while it does have several quirks that make it stand out, fails to captivate and never feels fun.

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 plan...