Pikachu Posted November 14, 2019 Share Posted November 14, 2019 Quote On the eve of his first performance, Francis Vendetti battles with the legacy of a dead folk legend and the cosmic wanderings of his own imagination. Francis, a teenage guitar prodigy, sets out on a psychadelic, multidimendsional journey to inspire his stage persona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 The Artful Escape on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM A teenage guitar prodigy sets out on a psychedelic journey to inspire his stage persona and confront the legacy of a dead folk legend. Starring voice performances by Michael Johnston, Caroline Kinley, Lena Headey, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Strong, and Carl Weathers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 Game Information Game Title: The Artful Escape Platforms: Xbox One (Sep 9, 2021) Xbox Series X/S (Sep 9, 2021) PC (Sep 9, 2021) Developer: Beethoven & Dinosaur Publisher: Annapurna Interactive Review Aggregator: OpenCritic - 80 average - 79% recommended Critic Reviews Checkpoint Gaming - 10 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a story about legacies, finding yourself, change and transition that presents itself in such an ingenious way that all can absolutely enjoy it. Gliding across the cosmos, playing electric guitar in unknown lands, and eventually vanquishing a divine complication with intricate audio design and superb music to accompany – it’s perplexing how captivating this interstellar adventure is. Inviting players on a musical journey through cosmic realms and challenging introspection, The Artful Escape is a masterpiece. Explosion Network - 10 / 10 Quote It's a psychedelic trip through a glam-rock wonderland, an utter visual delight, like nothing out of this world; indeed, something that feels ripped straight from Ziggy Stardusts head. Stevivor - 10 / 10 Quote Ultimately, The Artful Escape is so stellar in terms of both character building and narrative Windows Central - 5 / 5 Quote The Artful Escape is a tender look at creativity and finding your voice coated in outlandish visuals, an electrifying soundtrack, and a ton of lasers. God is a Geek - 9.5 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a bold and beautiful trip through the cosmos, featuring a killer soundtrack and a thrilling space adventure. AusGamers - 9 / 10 Quote And it honestly doesn't take the game long to deliver on that hinted at promise. Gameblog - French - 9 / 10 Quote After almost 2 years without being able to attend a concert normally, those who claim to be music lovers have the opportunity with The Artful Escape to participate in what comes closest to it: a completely barred rock narrative experience. GamesRadar+ - 4.5 / 5 Quote The Artful Escape is a short but oh-so-sweet platformer that will have you bopping to its impossibly catch beats and transfixed by its beauty Gaming Nexus - 9 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape tells a heartfelt story of artistic self-discovery through a filter of color, light, sound, and joy. Combining gonzo sci-fi imagery with blaring space-rock guitar chords, The Artful Escape is a playable concept album – or at least a grand trip through that album's cover art. Never difficult but always fun, The Artful Escape is highly recommended as both a great narrative and a fun exploration into Bowie-style space rock imagery. Luis Alamilla - 9 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is but another notch in Annapurna Interactive's pedigree of beautifully crafted games that left me with an emotional and thought-provoking ending. While it does sadly suffer from the occasional performance dip, the blemish didn't take away from the impact nor disrupt the marvelous story being told. Upon finishing this game, I immediately wanted to talk to someone and just say go play this game. Being in my mid-20s, I think it's a moment in time that I and many of my friends find ourselves in, still trying to figure out what we want and Artful Escape is just that, an artful escape from it. TheGamer - 4.5 / 5 Quote Annapurna Interactive has a staggering back catalogue, but 2021 has frankly not been great for the publisher. Last Stop failed to leave any kind of impact, Maquette is a game with Bryce Dallas Howard in it and not much else, and Twelve Minutes, despite being loaded with star-power, wastes its time loop mechanic in service of a ridiculous twist ending that derails the entire game. With The Artful Escape, plus Neon White, Stray, and Solar Ash to come in the near future, it feels like Annapurna is back. WayTooManyGames - 9 / 10 Quote I would absolutely score it a “Bill & Ted air guitar riff out of ten” if I could. WellPlayed - 9 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a brash, bold and beautiful musical journey with a simplistic gameplay hook and all the interdimensional jellyfish deities you can shake a quantum-powered space guitar at. It's the next-best way to spend an afternoon indoors to dropping acid. COGconnected - 88 / 100 Quote The Artful Escape is by turns psychedelic, moving, exultant, and lovely. The central metaphor of a young performer bringing fantastic new worlds into existence through the art of music is a powerful one, and while the theme of a struggling musician finding his authentic voice while paying homage to the past might not be a new one, it’s certainly new to videogames. The Artful Escape only missteps when it tries too hard to be a game, ironic given the story’s premise of search for authenticity. Aside from that, The Artful Escape is a surprising and joyous exploration of the power of collaboration, the struggle for identity, and the mind-blowing, life-altering sound of the very loud galactic symphony. Generación Xbox - Spanish - 8.6 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a game expected by many, including myself. We are facing a different title and that is not for all audiences, but if you really like music you must try it, since I do not remember trying anything similar. It reminds me a lot of the 70s and 80s where rock groups like Pink Floyd and others dominated the music scene of the time. Above all I think we should see this title as a set of experiences, since the union of everything shows us an incredible and unforgettable experience where we will live a musical made video game. 3DNews - Russian - 8.5 / 10 Quote Putting the gamepad down, I want to turn on Van Halen, grab an air guitar and dash for the stars. Everyeye.it - Italian - 8.5 / 10 Quote Unmissable for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, and absolutely recommended for everyone else, The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti tells with irony and intelligence the path of artistic and inner growth of a talented teenage musician. Through the celestial bodies of Stupefacosmo, the protagonist and the player learn together to follow only the rhythm of their electric guitar, among extraordinarily inspired landscapes. Game Informer - 8.5 / 10 Quote It won't challenge your platforming skills, and the action boils down to galactic Simon Says, but The Artful Escape is a gorgeous experience that makes you feel utterly cool KeenGamer - 8.5 / 10 Quote Are you ready to shred on your guitar and discover how groovy the universe really is? In The Artful Escape, you will become Francis Vendetti, a young musical prodigy trying to find his place in this world. After spending most of his life in the shadow of a famous relative, it's time for Francis to look to the stars and discover his true potential. Press Start - 8.5 / 10 Quote As a guitar-shredding odyssey throughout a stunning cosmos, The Artful Escape delivers on its name tenfold. It is a short tale and I'm in no hurry to book a return trip to the Cosmic Extraordinary, but it remains an unforgettable journey thanks to superb art direction, an uplifting story, and stirring guitar solos by cliffside. Prima Games - 8.5 / 10 Quote Overall, The Artful Escape isn't a long journey, nor is it a short one. It’s the “just right” sort of journey that you really want to see with a game like this, and I very much enjoyed my time with it. SomosXbox - Spanish - 8.4 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a narratively daring game, original and unique in its artistic section, and with a sound treatment both in the soundtrack and in the casting of stellar voices. Although it has flaws that may detract from its attractiveness for many users, it is a highly recommended title and that, in one way or another, will be recorded on your retina. The Games Machine - Italian - 8.3 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a hard to define game. Light platform and rhytm'n'game elements are diluted inside a narrative driven gameplay that tasks the player with life and artistic choices. While the gameplay is bent to the main thematic of the game, visual and music take the mind of the player through an epic, psychedelic journey in a rock, sci-fi, over the top space opera. IGN Italy - Italian - 8.2 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a powerful and aesthetically wonderful generational hymn, which sounds great and uses gameplay as a subtle way to give rhythm to a short, but intense, experience. Atomix - Spanish - 80 / 100 Quote The Artful Escape is a wonderful audiovisual experience with a lot of great moments and a intense story. If you like this types of games, you should try it. Attack of the Fanboy - 4 / 5 Quote The Artful Escape provides a strong narrative adventure focused on self-discovery, identity, and expression that musicians, artists, and just about anyone can find something to relate to. While the experience stumbles a bit due to some dull platforming areas, the groovy universe Beethoven & Dinosaur have crafted is one that players should take the time to fully explore. GameSkinny - 8 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a kaleidoscopic coming-of-age story that is a joy to move through, even if the actual gameplay is sometimes hardly there. GameSpew - 8 / 10 Quote A tour de force of light and sound, The Artful Escape is unlike anything else you’ve played. With no easy genre label to stick on the game, the only way you’ll know if you’re going to enjoy it is to try it. It’s a trip alright, one that will have your foot tapping and your head rocking from start to finish. GameSpot - 8 / 10 Quote Rock opera and space opera meet for some artful escapism. GamingBolt - 8 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is an incredible odyssey of self discovery, and its few shortcomings don't hold it back from being an excursion patently worth making. Guardian - 4 / 5 Quote You play a young guitarist exploring your prog-rock ambitions to the full in this richly enjoyable psychedelic journey Hardcore Gamer - 4 / 5 Quote The Artful Escape may not have particularly deep or challenging gameplay, but the main reason to attend this show is its incredible writing and Francis' trippy, out-of-this-world journey in discovering his new persona, one which features a lot of nifty twists in various ways, alongside truly striking sci-fi visuals and an expertly-crafted soundtrack. The Artful Escape is an astonishing rock and roll epic that the likes of Ziggy Stardust would be proud of. Hey Poor Player - 4 / 5 Quote The Artful Escape is an unforgettable psychedelic journey. Its short length helps its simple mechanics stay fresh so you can focus on Francis’ journey and its stunning visuals. Perhaps fully embracing the medium could have made this something even more special, but it’s an experience all its own, and that’s okay. Much like the game tries to teach Francis, sometimes you can just have to be what you are. IGN - 8 / 10 Quote There hasn't been a guitar-based adventure as excellent as The Artful Escape since Bill met Ted. INVEN - Korean - 8 / 10 Quote It is a space opera full of beautiful visuals that you can't take your eyes off. If you don't mind action and enjoy it as if watching SF movie, it will totally satisfy you so much. Oyungezer Online - Turkish - 8 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is more an experience than an actual game in which you go up on glittering (game) stages and make your guitar do the talking. Pure Xbox - 8 / 10 Quote It's also worth mentioning there are some substantial performance issues. The frame rate dropped considerably fairly often, pulling us out of its gorgeous world. There were also a few occasions where dialogue on the screen was not voiced, which felt very odd. However, these issues aside, The Artful Escape is absolutely an adventure worth taking. It contains some magical moments, an engaging narrative and the best soundtrack in a game all year. It doesn't always hit the mark, but when it does, it smashes it out of the park. TheSixthAxis - 8 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is an enigmatic coming of age story, wrapped in reverb-laden riffs and space opera shenanigans. It is quite unique, and absolutely unmissable. TrueAchievements - 8 / 10 Quote A cosmic rock voyage of self-discovery that doesn't folk about, The Artful Escape is a truly unique experience and a feast for the senses. TrueGaming - Arabic - 8 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a unique experience of exotic and out-of-the-ordinary experiences, although the gameplay experience is weak, the interesting story and the visual and audio fun that is presented make it one of those experiences that deserves to be experienced for lovers of different experiences. XboxEra - 8 / 10 Quote I know I sound like a broken record here, but I can’t say enough how refreshing The Artful Escape is. In a sea of third-person open-world collect-a-thons, first-person shooters, and free-to-play action games, it’s nice to be able to just rock out and chill to something that doesn’t require lightning reflexes or demand intense attention from you. Digital Chumps - 7.5 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a visual and audio masterpiece that creates a sincere narrative that gives hope to any struggling would-be artist that they will find their own voice at the end of a tough journey. As good as that message might be, the gameplay mechanics don't nearly live up to the hype the rest of the game creates. GameGrin - 7.5 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a great visual-novel and a rock and roll dream. It is one of the best looking games I've played with an equally interesting narrative. However, the severe lack of interactiveness really drags down the game. PC Gamer - 75 / 100 Quote An eye-popping musical adventure that will leave you with a serious case of galaxy brain. TechRaptor - 7.5 / 10 Quote Beethoven & Dinosaur's musical odyssey across the universe isn't as adventurous with its gameplay as its venues, but that doesn't stop The Artful Escape from being a fun ride. New Game Network - 74 / 100 Quote The Artful Escape is a joyous intergalactic trip with an electric guitar and vibrant visuals. Like a good solo, if you get swept up in the experience, you'll forget all about its flaws. BaziCenter - Persian - 7 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape feels like a novel written by a musician, and takes the music and electric guitar fans to a beautiful but not so perfect journey. CGMagazine - 7 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape has a stellar narrative with actual good humour enhanced by the voice acting talent and beautiful landscapes, but the gameplay is stale and those who dislike electric guitar are in for a long haul. GameMAG - Russian - 7 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a wonderful four-hour musical performance with some epic guitar solos and an incredible visuals. GamingTrend - 70 / 100 Quote The Artful Escape perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being transported away by a David Bowie track to a far-out world filled with colorful characters and wildlife and great music, but its gameplay falls flat, offering little depth past its first tutorial. While the game is short enough for its systems to never feel too egregious, it never reaches its full potential through its story or its mechanics. Fans of zen games, nice visuals, and quippy dialogue may want to pick this up, but do not expect a deep experience in playing The Artful Escape. Kakuchopurei - 70 / 100 Quote I love the messaging and narrative of The Artful Escape. But as a game, it’s just a few steps above being a vapid walking simulator. Still, you shouldn’t miss out on this gem of a tale featuring space trips and sick riffs. MonsterVine - 3.5 / 5 Quote The Artful Escape is a visual and auditory feast for the senses, but the final result almost makes you wonder if this would have worked better as a short film than a game. Wccftech - 7 / 10 Quote The Artful Escape is a rockin' Space Opera but it doesn't have much going for it besides its pretty visuals and incredible music. The platforming is basic and the plot is serviceable, but it's nothing that audiences haven't seen before. I'd recommend this game only if you're a fan of rock music from the '70s and '80s. Noisy Pixel - 6.5 / 10 Quote I wanted to come away from The Artful Escape feeling inspired and changed, with a story to really mull over. I came into this four-to-five-hour experience with expectations set by early gameplay, and while some of them were met, I don’t know that it does enough to really justify its choice of medium. It has got more than enough in terms of eye candy and audio bliss, but I can’t confidently say that any of the other pieces manage to come together in this space oddity. Shacknews - 6 / 10 Quote While The Artful Escape does a strong job with its presentation and sense of style, it still suffers the same drawbacks as most adventure games, particularly with the boring-at-best game mechanics. VideoGamer - 5 / 10 Quote At the end of The Artful Escape, all I could think of were the words he fired back at a heckler, angered by the electricity in the air: I don’t believe you. Screen Rant - 2 / 5 Quote For such a visually boisterous experience, The Artful Escape feels more like a chilly museum after closing hours. Eurogamer - Recommended Quote A lurid and generous trip through the iconography of seventies rock. Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Unscored Quote One man’s musical mission is an audio visual delight, but there’s not enough room for expression or mastery. The Escapist - Unscored Quote Video Review - Quote not available Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Coming to Game Pass tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted December 14, 2021 Share Posted December 14, 2021 Updated the OpenCritic reviews post because why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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