Reviews// Escape Plan

When Sony began beating its hairy chest about the PlayStation Vita at E3 last year, there was one particular launch title that caught my eye. That was Fun Bits Interactive’s Escape Plan, a daringly presented (some may say ‘arty’) action-puzzler that saw players overcome rooms filled with traps. It was released alongside the Vita console in February, and I can safely say that today’s planned title update can’t arrive soon enough.

For one thing, the game as it stands right now just isn’t long enough. It’s great that levels are bite-sized and rather short - it shows an understanding of the portable gaming experience - but you can easily lead protagonists Lil and Laarg through every stage in the space of an hour or two. And, despite the interesting journeys that the two characters take when split up, there’s a fair bit of repetition going on in terms of puzzle style.

It comes down to character flexibility, in a way. You don’t directly control monochrome fugitives Lil and Laarg, but rather you use the Vita’s front touch screen to direct them whilst interacting with the environment so that they can safely reach the exit door in each room. The short and skinny Lil is nimble, can get laced up on coffee for extra bursts of speed and can be inflated to explore puzzles in the air.

Laarg, on the other hand, doesn’t have quite the same repertoire of skills. Sure, he can chuck himself through weak floors and walls and float up in bubbles, but all in all he’s not quite as agile as his partner. As a result, most of the puzzles tend to be the same sort of timing-based play throughout the whole game. It’s interesting at first, but can feel like a bit of an empty experience later on.

The Vita’s various inputs are put to the test in this game - with varying results. Using the gyro to tilt Lil left and right whilst inflated is smooth and effective, while the front touch panel is largely fine. While prodding on items yields pose no problem, it’s swiping across the characters to make them move which is a bit of a pain. You’re never certain you’ve got the gesture right until their animations start to kick in.

The rear touch panel can be an exercise in frustration, however. While a nice idea, it can be hard to determine where to tap in order to push open hidden blocks and move enemies around. It especially gets cumbersome as you reach puzzles that require quick wits, fast fingers and a combination of both front and rear touch controls.

Controlling sheep is annoying as hell too - these creatures react to your rear tapping, but only move a certain distance and can’t be prodded to stop on a dime when necessary. When you want to position them to stand on a button, you have to pray for sheer good luck.

What can’t be denied is the lovely presentation seen in Escape Plan. The setting is curiously Orwellian in style, with the black and white graphics and silent movie-style soundtrack belying a true sense of grim animated horror. Dark splats on the wall raise clues to potential dangers - you soon realise that the mark isn’t worn-out scenery, it’s a nasty blood stain. Lil and Laarg even display their death counts on their bodies.

Escape Plan was a genius concept with some promising ideas - it was why I was attracted to it in the run up to the PlayStation Vita’s launch in the first place. The only problem is, the base game doesn’t quite follow through. There’s something missing here. Today’s patch - which includes a free downloadable content episode - should hopefully put paid to the longevity issue to a small degree, but I’m not sure it will stop the game itself from feeling like an experiment. That said, it’s worth a look for curious minds.

Pros:
+ Interesting design
+ Curious use of the Vita’s many interfaces
+ Lovely presentation

Cons:
- Too short
- Some stages will cause frustration
- Feels a bit hollow at times

SPOnG Score: 6/10