The Artful Escape

About

The Artful Escape is a single player role playing game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Beethoven and Dinosaur and was released on September 9, 2021. It received neutral reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

"The Artful Escape" is a musical adventure game where players guide Francis Vendetti, a young musician, on a psychedelic journey to find his stage persona and overcome family expectations. Through rhythm-based guitar playing and narrative exploration, players will encounter fantastical creatures and environments, all while unlocking new abilities and instruments. The game combines elements of story-rich adventures with rhythm games, resulting in a unique and visually striking experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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92%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,334 reviews

music322 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

Stunning visuals and art direction that create a mesmerizing experience.
Engaging story about self-discovery and overcoming expectations, resonating with many players.
Fantastic soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere and emotional impact of the game.

Gameplay is simplistic and repetitive, primarily consisting of basic platforming and 'Simon Says' mechanics.
Short playtime of around 4-5 hours, which may leave some players wanting more content.
Limited impact of dialogue choices, leading to a feeling of linearity and lack of replayability.

music
828 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
58%
3%
The music in "The Artful Escape" is widely praised for its stunning integration with the game's visuals and narrative, creating an immersive experience that resonates deeply with players. While the soundtrack features a variety of genres and is described as phenomenal, some players feel it becomes repetitive and lacks depth in gameplay mechanics related to music creation. Overall, the game is celebrated as a vibrant, psychedelic musical journey that captivates with its artistic expression, despite some critiques regarding the simplicity of its musical interactions.
- “The soundtrack of this game is phenomenal, with a range of genres on display, and the story was well-written and well-told.”
- “The music evolves as Francis' journey unfolds, embracing everything from folk and rock to synth-infused psychedelia.”
- “Music isn't just an accompaniment in 'The Artful Escape'; it's the very soul of the game.”
- “If your game is going to be completely devoid of gameplay to have a music-focused experience, then you better be sure the music is good.”
- “The story tries its hardest to drive the point of 'making the music you wanna make' into your brain, only to then go on to limit musical expression to 'hold x to shred guitar' and 'play simon says', while also omitting any rhythmic element from the music it forces you to play.”
- “For being a music game, I didn’t find the music to be anything special.”
story
548 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
52%
3%
The story of "The Artful Escape" is a vibrant, psychedelic journey centered on self-discovery and artistic expression, exploring themes of identity and societal expectations. While some players found the narrative engaging and relatable, others noted its predictability and simplicity, with minimal gameplay mechanics that serve primarily to enhance the storytelling experience. Overall, the game is praised for its stunning visuals and music, which complement the heartfelt narrative, making it a unique interactive experience rather than a traditional game.
- “Once again, simple gameplay mechanics are used to tell a rich and surprising story—nothing like what I expected after watching the trailers, and I was pleasantly surprised by the twists in the narrative!”
- “The artful escape’s story, fundamentally, is about self-discovery and becoming who we believe we are meant to be.”
- “A beautiful story of discovering one's true self, with all the challenges and wonder along the way.”
- “The story is also not interesting enough (at least wasn't for me).”
- “The story wasn't going anywhere and the setting, despite being a fantastical outer space, was highly underutilized.”
- “The story tries its hardest to drive the point of 'making the music you wanna make' into your brain, only to then go on, to limit musical expression to 'hold x to shred guitar' and 'play simon says', while also omitting any rhythmic element from the music it forces you to play.”
gameplay
442 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
66%
14%
The gameplay in "The Artful Escape" is largely simplistic, characterized by basic platforming and rhythm-based "simon says" mechanics, which many players found repetitive and lacking in challenge. While the mechanics are minimal and often feel secondary to the game's stunning visuals and engaging narrative, the overall experience is still enjoyable for those who appreciate a strong story and artistic presentation over traditional gameplay depth. Players seeking a more interactive or challenging experience may be disappointed, as the game prioritizes an immersive audiovisual journey over complex mechanics.
- “Once again, simple gameplay mechanics are used to tell a rich and surprising story—nothing like what I expected after watching the trailers, and I was pleasantly surprised by the twists in the narrative!”
- “While the gameplay never really exceeds basic platforming and rhythm action, the story, characters, music, and visuals take these simple mechanics and turn the whole thing into a spectacle of cosmic proportions.”
- “The gameplay is simple, but by no means is that a bad thing.”
- “The gameplay is flat: platforming to the extent of holding buttons and performing basic combos; basic simon-says pattern copying.”
- “The gameplay is by and large nonexistent: the sections with platforming have zero challenge or interactivity (outside of pointless 'free-styling' with a guitar), and the simon says boss mini-games are boring.”
- “Unfortunately the actual gameplay is very very repetitive and boring.”
graphics
360 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
36%
1%
The graphics of the game have been universally praised for their stunning, vibrant, and psychedelic art style, often described as breathtaking and reminiscent of a moving rock album cover. Players appreciate the unique visual aesthetics, which enhance the overall experience, despite some critiques regarding the gameplay's depth. The combination of beautiful visuals and an engaging soundtrack creates a captivating atmosphere that many reviewers found memorable and enjoyable.
- “The game's visuals are a mesmerizing fusion of hand-painted landscapes, neon-infused sci-fi realms, and surreal cosmic vistas.”
- “With its kaleidoscopic visuals, mind-bending narrative, and ethereal musical score, it crafts an experience that feels more like a surreal dream than a traditional game.”
- “The visuals are absolutely stunning and the soundtrack and gameplay make it even more entrancing.”
- “Other than the unique psychedelic art style, it's hopelessly mediocre.”
- “If you look to the side or up and down, you'll see the entire off-stage production, which will have many graphical oddities.”
- “Graphically, I cannot look closely at it; everything is 2D stuck into 3D space, and I can hardly appreciate it.”
emotional
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its heartfelt storytelling, stunning visuals, and immersive musical experience, often leaving players in tears and evoking a strong sense of nostalgia and personal connection. Many reviewers describe it as a beautiful journey that resonates deeply, making them feel like they have found their voice or relived their youth, despite some criticism regarding the simplicity of gameplay. Overall, it is celebrated as a touching and memorable experience that combines art and emotion effectively.
- “In the vast and diverse realm of video games, it's a rare gem that manages to seamlessly blend visual artistry, musical prowess, and heartfelt storytelling.”
- “And I can forgive the lack of strong gameplay in exchange for a story that really spoke to me, to the point where I had tears in my eyes at the end of this emotional journey.”
- “The Artful Escape is a visual and sonic treat with an engaging, humorous, and heartfelt story.”
humor
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its clever and quirky humor, featuring well-written dialogues and funny characters that enhance the overall experience. While some dialogue choices lack impact on gameplay, the vibrant art style and engaging soundtrack complement the humor, creating a visually and emotionally captivating journey. Overall, players find the humor to be a standout aspect, contributing to a heartfelt and entertaining narrative.
- “First of all - it's impossible not to mention the great humor this game provides.”
- “The writing is clever and hilarious.”
- “The artful escape is a visual and sonic treat with an engaging, humorous, and heartfelt story.”
optimization
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
62%
13%
The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users suggesting it could be improved. While the narrative adventure features strong writing, excellent voice acting, and a captivating art style, players noted that the gameplay mechanics can feel repetitive and lack creative freedom, which may detract from the overall experience. Despite these concerns, the game maintains a straightforward approach, allowing players to engage with its rhythm-based performances without significant challenge.
- “The feeling of performance is somehow distilled into a few button presses, and any recovering rock band addict will feel right at home.”
- “There are no enemies to fight; instead, there are intergalactic VIPs you have to impress with your performance by following a series of inputs using the musical key, conveniently displayed on the head or face of every being you come across but always in a clever way.”
- “Putting aside its stunning, wondrous art style - which is sustained from start to finish, an impeccable voice acting and an outstanding soundtrack, we got a 2D platformer/exploration with some respective stage 'bosses', played as stage performances that can be summarized in a musical Simon-says game.”
- “Maybe a bit better optimization as well.”
- “The artful escape is mostly a walking simulator through some interesting locations with the ability to do guitar wails and a very basic rhythm game mechanic at performances.”
- “Putting aside its stunning, wondrous art style - which is sustained from start to finish, an impeccable voice acting, and an outstanding soundtrack, we got a 2D platformer/exploration with some respective stage 'bosses', played as stage performances that can be summarized in a musical Simon Says game.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be overwhelmingly tedious and repetitive, with many describing the gameplay as boring and lacking depth. The exploration, while initially enjoyable, quickly becomes monotonous due to simplistic mechanics and a lack of engaging content. Overall, the grinding experience detracts significantly from the game's enjoyment.
- “Boring and tedious.”
- “That's how tedious this crap is, that ranting about it is more fun than playing it.”
- “4 hours of tedious 'simon says' gameplay.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
37%
38%
Overall, the game has low replayability due to a lack of engaging story elements and the absence of difficulty settings, which limits players' motivation to revisit it. While it may offer a unique psychedelic experience, it does not provide substantial content for those seeking repeated playthroughs.
- “The story falls flat; the game does not have much replayability value.”
- “There is no difficulty setting, which is a shame because this drops its replayability to pretty much zero.”
- “I feel like there really isn't much left for replay value either.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive quality, featuring stunning environments and a captivating soundtrack that enhances the experience. While the gameplay is straightforward and linear, the environmental storytelling and artistic presentation create a rich, engaging atmosphere that encourages replayability. Overall, it evokes comparisons to higher production versions of games like Limbo and Inside, emphasizing its strong focus on atmosphere over complexity.
- “This is an immersive experience that is focused on interacting with its beautiful environments while enjoying a stellar and atmospheric soundtrack.”
- “It's short, simple, and linear, but it's very atmospheric and you could spend a lot of time going back and replaying each level trying to get (and perhaps record) a graceful, fun-to-watch perfect run.”
- “Reminded me of a higher production, musical version of Limbo or Inside; where the gameplay is simple but the atmosphere and environmental storytelling is incredible.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features engaging character development complemented by stunning art direction and design, which enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the compelling story and interesting environments, making the characters feel memorable and well-integrated into the game's world.
- “Beautiful design, killer soundtrack, and engaging character development.”
- “An amazing soundtrack, interesting environments and character design, and a compelling story make this game a very enjoyable and memorable experience.”
- “Stunning art direction and character design.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent freezing and crashing that disrupts gameplay. While the graphics and overall aesthetic are praised, the presence of glitches detracts from the experience, leaving players frustrated.
- “Kinda seems really cool, but sadly it freezes every single time I play it. I get a tiny bit further and then it freezes, and I have to relaunch it. I'm majorly bummed about this and wish I could get it to run without freezing and crashing.”
- “The game offers some nice graphics and environments, although there are some ugly glitches here and there. It is pleasant all the same and has a really great aesthetic, along with some amazing music and compositions that complement the fantastic visuals.”