I really wanted to like this game. I backed it on Kickstarter years ago, and was bummed when the drive failed. I was really excited to see it come back all these years later. All of this just increased my disappointment with it.

The opening of the game makes a good first impression, a young artist struggling to stand out under the shadow of his famous uncle. I thought it would be a Night in the Woods-esque experience, but the gameplay ends up just being hold forward, press X. Occasionally play a Simon Says mini-game. It ended up being was more of an interactive movie than an adventure game.

Which would be fine if the plot was interesting at least. I didn’t feel like any of the themes it sets up were explored in any meaningful way, and by the big climactic final set piece I was bored and waiting for the credits to roll.

Lo de jugar ya tal.

Pros:
- A nivel de lucecitas, brilli brilli y colorines, todo bien.
- Consigue que hagas lo que hagas, lo que toques suene bien.
- El universo que crea, así como los personajes que lo componen, son muy originales, al punto de no haber visto nada parecido en ninguna parte.

Contras:
- El gameplay consiste en un "Simón dice" realmente basiquito y un "plataformeo" que resulta incluso complicado llamarlo así.
- No existe ni una mínima dificultad. No se penaliza el error, aunque ya de por sí sea difícil cometerlos ante la simpleza de su gameplay.
- Pese a ser un juego centrado por completo en la música, la variedad de temas es realmente limitada.

Ttiene momentos preciosos conjuntados por un montón de tiempo perdido en intrascendencia. Son cuatro horas de terrible sopor y tirar para adelante por veinte minutos de las secuencias de saltos y vertienes que salen en los trailers y que son los que realmente interesan.

Hay un momento a un tercio del juego en el que uno ya sabe qué va a pasar y está ahí para ver el cómo, el in crescendo y cenit, pero nunca sucede, nunca va a más, por mucho que la trama, que nunca pesa, intente convencerte de que sí.

Las dos primeras veces que pasas las secuencia de plataformeo y guitarrazos ya has experimentado lo mejor que puede ofrecer el juego y sus intermedios logran hacerse tan pesados y largos, que cada siguiente secuencia tiene menos impacto.

Durando cuatro o cinco horas que dura, es impresionante lo capaz que es de sentirse como morralla. Realmente tendría más peso y belleza siendo más sucinto.

The Artful Escape is an extravagant showcase of game design that despite some truly excellent high points, fails to live up to the legendary aspirations of its main character.

What I can say for certain is the presentation excels in every level you'd expect it to. The visuals are stunning, pairing beautiful 2D art with simple but very well executed 3D environments that were a feast for the eyes in basically every level. The character designs especially are remarkably memorable, adding visual flair to the charismatic voice work done by the cast.

The music too was very good, though for a game centering on the birth of a supposedly innovative and revolutionary musician, it came across as overly simplistic. This didn't stop me from bopping to some of this game's jams during the levels, but aside from some interesting harmonic movements during some of the rhythm sections, the main character's coked-up 80's glam rock star style riffing seemed strikingly derivative compared to the praise he'd receive from other characters. Not a deal breaker, but it did cause some bizarre narrative dissonance at points.

The story, however, was truly top notch. The thematic work done here to push us through not just Francis' journey, but the tangential tales of Violetta and Lightman as well, was exquisite. There were so many emotional moments that were so relatable and engaging, especially to a fellow musician, and by the end I was cheering on Francis. Easily one of the best this year out of what I've played so far.

For all this praise I'm giving to the presentation, you're probably wondering why I'm rating it so low. That's because the gameplay side of things unfortunately don't hold up. Despite some cool sci-fi/fantasy visuals as you stroll through each level, the actual moment to gameplay comes across as decidedly tedious. There is NO challenge to be had in this game, as you just waltz through each level, strumming your guitar to cause the environment to light up. This would be fine if these sections were shorter, but some stretch on for quite awhile. Even with some fun visual reactions to your playing, by the time your a couple minutes into a section, you become desensitized to it. The platforming in particular can feel like you're slogging through it to get to the next interesting story bit.

The rhythm section too is painfully undercooked. Using a Simon Says style really limited the devs, and the resulting musical sections using it come off as very uninspired. Anytime you get to the end of these for a simple, single button, strum along section, it completely halts the momentum in its tracks as your character never seems to hit the chords on rhythm despite the player's best efforts. This is the main mode of fighting "bosses" in the game too, and I found most to be incredibly boring.

Aside from a couple special event moments and a few hub areas to explore, that's about it for the gameplay. I liked customizing the hero myself (though there's a glitch that makes your face paint disappear if you close and reload the game) as it added a nice personal touch to an already engaging story. That being said, despite how much I enjoyed this story, I felt more like I had to slog through the gameplay to get to the interesting bits than I was actually engaging with one cohesive game experience. The devs here show a lot of promise, and they clearly have presentation values down pat. However, if they're looking to create more memorable experiences, better choices will need to be made in terms of how to mix the great visuals, story, and music with the gameplay.

A fabulous, ponderous story of identity and figuring out who you are, versus who you were told to be. The multicoloured visuals are genuinely spectacular, and the audio is befitting the epic tale. Although to my surprise, I wouldn't say the soundtrack was particularly memorable - just good, and fitting.

While it's not really the point of the game, Artful Escape's minute to minute platforming is incredibly basic, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tiny bit bored by the time the end-credits hit. Again; not really the point of the game, I know. But a bit more flavour in that department would have gone a long way.

Baixei despretensiosamente com o objetivo de limpar o palato após ter jogado horas de Assassins Creed e meu amigo, que experiencia.

Esse tipo de jogo não costuma me impactar pois fico entediado fácil, mas dessa vez foi diferente.
Uma jornada cósmica somada a trilha sonora épica e a constante aflição em aceitar quem você realmente é. Sinto que foi escrito exclusivamente para mim.

Enfim, simplesmente maravilhoso.