The Escapists 2

I feel that The Escapists 2 and the Nintendo Switch go together like prison and beatings in the shower. Being able to take this micro (actually its pretty huge) adventure on the go with you is great! Do you have what it takes to survive prison and plan the ultimate prison break?

Welcome To Super Max

The scale of the prisons in The Escapists 2 is much larger than that of the first game. These things are huge! The prisons have multiple floors to them as well as underground tunnels, roofs, vents and of course about a million different buildings. Taking the time to learn a prisons layout can make all the difference between escaping and getting caught. There are 10 different prisons for you to escape from and each one has its own challenges.

Prison Life

While escaping from prison is the goal in The Escapists 2. They have done a great job in making sure that you live the life of a prisoner. This means that you are going to have to be there when they do a roll call, you are going to have to get a prison job and actually do it and you are going to have to be a role model prisoner if you want to stay under the radar as much as you can.

Working The Prison

I am not talking about your prison job here, but the way that you will make your escape. The prison has some pretty useful stuff laying around and it is up to you to find it and put it to good use. For example, if you need to dig through walls a fork from the kitchen can come in real handy. Use magazines and posters to cover the holes you are digging! There are so many ways that you can escape from the prison that it really does make you think outside of the box.

I Will Meet You On The Yard With A Shiv!

The combat in the first Escapists game was as basic as you got. The Escapists 2 adds much more depth to the combat. You now have to worry about blocking at the right time and unleashing some brutal combos on the guy who stepped to you in the yard. You can boost your fighting stats by hitting the gym which is something I highly recommend as some of the guys you fight are pretty brutal.

Prison Buddies

The Nintendo Switch version lets you play two players local co-op with just the two Joy-Cons. This is a lot of fun as you guys can work together to come up with your escape plan. One of you can do one thing while the other does something else. It really is a great game if you like to actually work with a friend. You can also jump online and play with three other prisoners. To be honest I find the Nintendo online service rather lacking, especially as this is a game that requires communication. You can also play against each other where you see who can escape the prison the quickest. This is actually pretty fun and having to try and escape as quickly as you can makes thing all the more nerve-wracking.

I think that The Escapists 2 on the Nintendo Switch is a really fun game. I was surprised at how much more content they added to this. They have not reinvented the wheel, but they have certainly improved on every aspect of it. From the size of the prisons, the RPG mechanics, the combat and the daily prison life you have to lead. The co-op is also a lot of fun, especially playing with a buddy next to you. This is well worth picking up and putting some serious time into.

8.5/10

Pros:

• The retro style graphics are still awesome
• The prisons are huge
• Lots of ways for you to plan your escape
• You live the life of a prisoner
• Local co-op is a lot of fun

Cons:

• Using Nintendo’s online service
• Fights can be tough until you level up