The Escapists

The Escapists is easily one of the most original games in a long time that successfully recreates a prison environment.

A little gem that puts our planning and strategic skills (and patience) to the test to architect the perfect prison break.

The Escapists is a wonderfully deep and complex puzzle game that reels you in further and further as you make progress from one prison to the next.

Despite the fact that the tedious repetitive mechanisms are part of the game, The Escapists goes beyond that and introduces players to a new level of strategic approach that’s being followed by the proportionate rewards that similar games simply don’t have.

The Escapists is not a game for those who get frustrated easily.

You might not want to live in one of The Escapists' prisons, but you will definitely enjoy the visit.

A wonderful throwback to ’80s style British gaming, that has much to teach modern titles in terms of player freedom and open world design.

While The Escapists on the Xbox One may not be the most definitive version of the title, it’s still a soundly optimized and immensely original gaming experience that stands out from the crowd in the One’s digital library.

The Escapists doesn’t quite reach the heights of The Shawshank Redemption’s emotion, relationships between characters or interesting story to tie everything together, but it does create an engaging and noteworthy experience that should be played by all.

A mite obtuse at first and sometimes unfair in its logic, sure, but a recommended game and one sure to have people poring over pulling off their perfect Shawshank Redemption-esque escape for years to come.

The SNES-era visuals and bouncy soundtrack hide a universe of complexity, decision making and intrigue. It has a charm that will ring true with gamers of a certain age, and for anyone who is up for the challenge. Yes, The Escapists is challenging, but it is also very rewarding, and something about those little sprites kept dragging me back for more.

A game for a certain kind of player. If you love the idea of getting thrown on a desert island and figuring out how to survive for days on end, you'll probably enjoy it. If you find that prospect trivial, knowing that a lot of that time will be spent doing menial tasks, you may not enjoy it.

A great game that doesn’t bust the bank and will give your hours of enjoyment as you plot, craft and deploy your plans for your great prison break.

The Escapists is a game that demands quite a lot of the player, but when you have learned the basic mechanics it feels really awarding. Easily one of the deepest most interesting games you will play this year.

The Escapists may look almost like a casual game, but it's exactly the opposite, a deep sandbox experience that needs an 'investment' from the player to become really enjoyable.

It is not without flaw. And it can be quite frustrating. But it also is very rewarding once you get the hang of it.

The Escapists is an entertaining open-ended puzzler that delivers plenty of challenge for those possessing the patience to overcome it.

The Escapists oozes charm, but due to the inherent nature of the game, it has a tendency to be boring. It takes a lot of patience to make your escape, and you'll spend a lot of your time waiting. This may be a turn off for some, but for others it may make that final escape all the more satisfying.

It’s stringent, stripped back and sometimes a chore, but when things click for The Escapists it can be a delightful challenge to overcome.

With its truncated clock system, The Escapists balances two opposing forces against the player’s own patience with notable mechanical leverage no matter where you’re coming from. On one hand, I ended up feeling gratified and at peace doing menial mini-game-like tasks, including exercising and laundry duties. On the other, it seems like Team 17 and Mouldy Toof Studios don’t want you playing the role of a prisoner at all.

A brilliantly unique indie escape-'em-up that combines stealth, strategy, and simulation to great effect, but you'll need saint-like patience to get the most out of it.

A mean-spirited but addictively difficult game that will have you thinking about its intricacies hours after you’ve put the pad down.

An enjoyable puzzle game that features a surprising amount of depth. However, its gameplay can sometimes be as frustrating as it is rewarding.

The Escapists is a pretty good 'all in one' game, but it misses a few key things to be a really good game.

While the visuals and combat are quite simple and not blow you away, The Escapists provides a surprisingly deep game that offers plenty of room for creativity despite the illusion of a rigid framework around your inmate's daily activities.

The Escapists just doesn't make its concept work as an enjoyable game, and most gamers are simply going to find it too tedious and too frustrating to have any fun with the game.

The Escapists is an interesting premise for a simulation-style game that offers numerous ways to tackle situations and lots of routines to keep track of. However, the cumbersome interface may impact the enjoyment of anyone playing with an Xbox controller, and with the promise of further updates and additions on the PC side, interested players may want to consider grabbing the game off of Steam instead, if possible.

The Escapists implores you to dig deep for your strategy, but it doesn't offer enough excitement along the way. The concept is sound; I just wish I had more fun. I like the idea of The Escapists better than the game it actually is.

Perhaps a bigger emphasis on characters or story could even go a long way to give players the incentive to continue or get more involved. It’s very possible the game simply isn’t for me, and this will become a niche title. But in my eyes, this is one prison I will simply not be returning to.