The Artful Escape Critic Reviews

This one’s a no-brainer; The Artful Escape is on Xbox Game Pass and you absolutely, positively have no reason to miss it if you’re a subscriber. If you’re not and you enjoy warm fuzzies, either get on board or buy it outright as you won’t be disappointed.

The Artful Escape is beautiful, sad, compelling and mind-blowing in equal measure. It’s more of a concept album than it is a game and that’s fine, because with so many set-pieces, such well-realised vignettes, and such awe-inspiring talent behind it, you’re more than happy to sit down and take in the journey as your fingers dance on the pad from time to time to keep the game moving forward. You’ve heard of prog rock music before, but this might be the first prog-rock game.

The Artful Escape is a bold and beautiful trip through the cosmos, featuring a killer soundtrack and a thrilling space adventure.

The Artful Escape is a beautiful and imaginative trip along the life and aspirations of a young guitarist. Close your eyes for a moment and relax, it will be a special one.

This is a moving postcard to the 70s and 80s as far as influence goes -- as if David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Genesis found each other on a moving platform designed by Terry Gilliam rapidly coasting through the far reaches of space, powered entirely by solar sails and positive thought, and decided to jam.

The Artful Escape is well worth the wait. An exciting, well-acted feast for the senses, it does not disappoint. There are a couple of technical issues that need to be sorted, but on the whole, games this imaginative and enthralling don't come along very often.

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.

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.

When Francis played his final set and the credits started rolling, I was quite glad to have played The Artful Escape. It is very clearly Its Own Thing, and not only is that thing pretty awesome, it’s just one more example that videogames are able to deliver a huge array of experiences that are all worthwhile in their own way. I love that Beethoven & Dinosaur brought their vision to my screen, and if nothing else, maybe this rock-fueled journey through the stars will get developers off of movies and on to music videos for a while.

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.

The Artful Escape (previously known as The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti) is an upcoming platform video game being developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur.

Like its protagonist, The Artful Escape leans into its unique identity and comes out the better for it. The game is breathtakingly beautiful, rich in music, and makes you feel like an intergalactic rock star while examining some thoughtful, relatable fears.

The Artful Escape, aided by its ultra-accessible mechanics, is more of a visual journey. As an escape into Francis’ preoccupation, it does make sense for there to be no real challenge. He’s intentionally a Gary Stu in the story he’s weaving for himself and, because of the simplicity, The Artful Escape disarms the player with incomparable visuals, a terrific soundtrack, and a focus on themes like public image and the overlap of fantasy and reality. It’s not interactively demanding and variety is scarce, but at around four hours, it’s an afternoon well spent to vitalise the body and soul.

A must 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 the Stupefacosm, the protagonist and the player learn together to follow only the rhythm of their electric guitar, among extraordinarily inspired landscapes. Even in the face of a playful sector that does not represent the fulcrum of the work, the only regret remains a rhythm game soul that could have dared more. But in the face of the power of the proposed experience, we consider it a slight observation that we hope will be heard in a desirable second journey into the Stupefacosm.

The Artful Escape is a game with a brave narrative, an original and unique artistic view, and excellent choice of voice casting and soundtrack. Even with some flaws, it's a must-have game.

The Artful Escape is a hard to define game. Light platform and rhythm’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.

Though it's a relatively short and easy game, The Artful Escape is also a charming, witty spectacle from start to finish in its six or so hours of playtime. I loved Francis' story and the far-away lands he visits on his quest to believe in himself and write his own future. I can foresee some players scoffing at the entire project for its particular brand of humor, but expect it will be adored by drama kids, garage rockers, and general outcasts all over. The Artful Escape plays like a psychedelic jam band session and tells a story like someone spiked Wes Anderson's Darjeeling tea.

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. Those looking for a challenge or who are deathly allergic to guitars will probably want to look elsewhere for their next game. But given what an unusual and aesthetically captivating experience it is — and the fact that it's right there on Game Pass — it couldn't be easier for me to recommend. It'll likely prove a little too strange for some people's tastes, but if you don't enjoy it, it's still a quick (and hopefully at least interesting) 1,000G boost in five hours or so from a game you likely won't remember playing this time next year. But if you do end up enjoying it, and I think a lot of folks will, there's a very real chance it could end up being five hours you'll never forget.

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.

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.