The Escapists

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.