Andy Naylor reviews The Escapists: The Walking Dead…
By now everyone knows what The Escapists is about, (in case you don’t know) it’s a cutesy retro puzzle game with an addiction level that borders on worrying. The latest incarnation of it has team-ed (sorry) the game with the mammoth The Walking Dead TV franchise, so it is obviously called The Escapists: The Walking Dead.
If you’ve bought the original and liked it this is very much the same format, just with all the familiar characters you love and hate. I’m not going to review the gameplay mechanics, those of you reading this are likely fans of the original and are familiar with how it works. The graphics, well, are 8 bit, if you’re a lover of pretty real life looking environments that you find in COD and Battlefield then I suggest you move along rather swiftly.
How does The Escapists work when melded with The Walking Dead? Truthfully, in my opinion, not all that well. The problem I have is that the narrative from the TV show/comics has been applied to the game it feels like it’s not suitable to how The Escapists works. If you’re not up to speed with the plot then you can easily get lost by what’s happening. One minute you are waking up as Rick in the hospital (Episode 1, Season 1 of the show in case you are curious) and the very next level you are wandering around Hershel’s farm (Episode 2, Season 2). A lot happens in that time that a few paragraphs of summary can’t adequately explain. It just feels a little rushed and it gives the impression that ‘The Walking Dead’ bit has been crow-barred in there and both franchises deserve better than that opinion to be made of them.
I realise most of this article sounds negative, I’m simply trying to explain that by use The Walking Dead, Team 17 are appealing to fans of the show to get on board with their very good and addictive retro-styled game. The problem of rushing through the plot in such a manner is likely to put off the people that they are targeting the game at. If you are a fan of The Escapists and that alone, great. You’ve got more of the same, in a different setting and you’re made up with that, as you should be, but as a fan of The Walking Dead I’m a little disappointed with how the license has been applied. That being said, it was a tingly delight to see places for the series digitised into the wonderful 8-bit world that Team 17 have created. Perhaps I am simply a gamer that craves a narrative and a plot and because of that I’m left just a little disappointed.
This was reviewed on PS4.
Rating: 6/10
Andy Naylor
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Originally published February 21, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
