The Escapists: Complete Edition Review

Sure The Escapists 2 is already out on the Switch,, but who says that’s enough breakin’ out of prisons.

You’re in prison. Who knows why, but now you’re there and you want out. The goal of The Escapists is to break out of prison by any means necessary. This can mean tunnelling underground or through walls by plastic cutlery, crafting wire cutters, decoy pillow prisoners, or even making plastic copies of keys. You start in Center Perks prison, a very easy starter prison where you even have relatively nice prison guards. Your cell rarely gets searched, and you’re in a plum prison job for gaining breakout materials. Naturally, the prisons following it aren’t a walk in the park, hell, if you’re walking in a park it means you’ve already broken out. Prisons following on include security cameras, electric fences, meaner guards, metal detectors, less privacy and all-around more breakout proof.

Most escapes will take several days at least. As the days went on I got used to the patterns, building up a routine as I tried to sneak in some exploring and raiding others cells. When days are productive it feels good, but when things don’t go to plan the game can feel a bit slow as you have to wait to go through the cycle to get back to where you need to. Nothing like having to wait another whole day in the game to wash that dirty prison uniform you stole.

The more obstacles each prison adds means even more time poking and prodding the system before you can get down to busting out. When it all starts to fall in place is when the game is at its best. You’ve worked out the holes in security, worked out how to move your contraband around and built up the tools to bust out.

At its core, The Escapists is a puzzle game and the reward is your freedom and the uneasy feeling that you’ve just let a convicted criminal out into the world and you’re the only one who knows they’re on the loose. Your enjoyment of the puzzle elements combined with the prison ‘sandbox’ will also depend on if you’re willing to put up with all the rules and restrictions that come with prison living. Initially, you’re plonked into a new prison with just enough instructions to scrape by. This leads to lots of guesswork and accidental breaking of rules that aren’t properly explained. Some will take it as part of the game, but the game would’ve benefitted from a much better tutorial system or even a light narrative in my opinion.

The most frustrating issue I had with this game was when I had everything on the verge of being ready. Whether it was finally getting my hands on enough contraband items to craft what I needed to clear the last wall or an item that will keep my escape hidden for longer, it could all come crashing down when an inmate with an issue with you tries to beat the crap out of you every time the group has time together. This can wind up either being knocked out or worse you accidentally get involved and the guards knock you both out. You wake in the infirmary with all your hard-earned contraband gone, having to try again. I also found out the hard way that having the action button also being the ‘punch someone in the face option’ made for way too many accidental knuckle sandwiches at meal times. The crafting system could do with a shiv to the side, as there is no real assistance given to what you need to make and what with. Even when you have all the right bits you may not have enough intelligence stats to make it. This leads to having to avoid losing your stash for a few days while you spend your time reading or ‘LOLing at cats’.

The customisation is limited to appearance, although it hardly matters when you’re little pixel people. But it is a nice touch to be able to name guards and fellow prisoners after your loved ones/enemies/cats who have wronged you, and either team up and break out of prison together or rough them up and steal their nudie magazines.

The added content

Along with the original Escapists content, the complete edition includes all the DLC. Most have different themes than you’d find in the core game. There’s escaping Santa’s workshop/prison, Alcatraz and a James Bond/secret agent underground lair prison amongst others. Each prison has a little intro setting the scene, and then you’re given your elf/secret agent/escapist and let loose on the prison. The goal in these isn’t usually just to break out, but to also accomplish a task. It was great to have some variety and even the change in scenery helps. You can even try and knock out Santa as he goes about keeping you in prison and sweeping up reindeer poop (turns out you cannot). Unlike the main game, you don’t need to complete a prison to unlock the next one. This was nice for when I needed a change of pace as I worked through the main game.

Overall the added content shares the same pros and cons as the rest of the game, but with the added satisfaction of seeing an Austin Powers analogue getting the crap beat out of him by a bunch of James Bondesque prisoners. If like me you had your ‘I give up moments’ but still want to keep playing the game, you can get a good feel of the tougher parts of the game by giving these prisons a go. Also included with this edition is Fhurst Peak, the first time this prison has appeared in a console version. All up there are many hours of prison breaking ahead of you.

While it may seem like a strange decision releasing the original Escapists game after the sequel, there is still plenty of fun to be had here. Some elements such as the crafting made being in virtual prison pretty punishing, but piecing together how you’re going to break out and what you need to do can be enjoyable as you make your way to freedom.

Rating: 3.5/5