A Way Out

Escaping prison and fighting to survive, this story focuses on two men, Leo and Vincent, as they try to get their individual lives back. Join in the co-operative story with a friend in A Way Out by Hazelight Studios and put your friendship to the test.

Gameplay

So this game was designed with a co-op experience in mind, you can play couch co-op or online but the gameplay style is the same regardless. The players experience the game at the same time but experience events within it differently; one may be in a cut scene while the other watches on or moves around nearby, one may drive a car while the other shoots from the back and so on.

Otherwise it behaves like a standard third-person action shooter. It handles well, there are a few moments of clumsiness that arise when relying on another player and sometimes when the screen is cut in half with the couch co-op, it can obscure a portion of your vision.

It brings back distinct memories of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons by the same developers, some actions can only be accomplished with teamwork and co-operation. The game provides the players with a direct need to rely on someone else, which can be hard for some, especially when playing with someone who may not be as experienced but it was an enjoyable departure from the formula we’ve seen so much.

Story

The story is a little cookie cutter with betrayal and being framed for a crime and a jailbreak and all that other cliché stuff but what really got me was the sense of comradery that grows between the man characters. As the story progresses and you are forced to rely on each other, they grow significantly closer and it’s a heart-warming tale to say the least.

The story was somewhat lacklustre but I felt more like the friends we made along the way was the real story; as cheesy as that sounds. Leo and Vincent both have their own lives that they are trying to get back to and it adds a real weight to what they are doing. It wasn’t purely revenge for revenges sake, however much it may have seemed like that at the start. There are a lot of story and gameplay choices that come at the player throughout the game but what I really liked was that the game never makes you feel like there is a right or wrong choice, no one character is the main character; they both are. No ending felt like the real one, they had equal value and that is hard to pull off as in many games with multiple endings.

Art Style

I appreciated that this game didn’t waste time making every little thing as realistic as possible, from the character designs to the world they inhabit. There was a cartoon-ey element to it all, it focused more on making the immediate seem more vibrant and I must praise the aesthetic choice on conveying the contrasting rightness that came with being free to the dark, dank settings in prison or toward the ending.

Pros

• Great characters
• Game never makes you feel like you made a wrong choice

Cons

• Too short
• Cheesy dialogue