The Artful Escape

[b]My score: 7/10 ⭐ TL;DR:[/b] A gorgeous, music-filled interactive story with almost no gameplay. Whether you connect with the protagonist’s journey will make or break the experience. [h2]Overview[/h2] Since this is a story-driven game, let me get this out of the way first: I didn't like the plot. The game presents itself as the story of a talented teenage boy trying to find his own identity and step out of his famous uncle's shadow. What I personally got from it, however, was "local nepo baby dreams of becoming a musician just like his famous uncle, but keeps complaining about living in the man's shadow instead of appreciating the fact that he had a music career practically guaranteed since birth; then he leaves Hipsterville via spaceship, only to continue whining, yapping, and self-commiserating in space." I'm sorry, but I just don't buy "privilege sorrow". If you're anything like me, you've been warned: chances are you're not going to find this story particularly touching. With that out of the way, the presentation is fantastic. The music is (unsurprisingly) excellent, the voice acting is top-notch, and the overall production value is through the roof. Gameplay, on the other hand, is extremely barebones. You walk, you jump, you press X to play the guitar, and occasionally participate in brief Simon Says-style minigames. There are no enemies, no punishment for mistakes, no fatal falls, no game overs... it's barely a videogame. And yet, thanks to the phenomenal presentation and some expertly deployed nostalgia bait, I enjoyed it from start to finish. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3736600817 [h2]One Thing I Liked / One Thing I Didn’t[/h2] ✔️ [b]Liked:[/b] [spoiler]God[/spoiler] has the voice of Cersei Lannister. ✖️ [b]Didn't:[/b] It's one of those "not-really-a-game" games. I would have appreciated more engaging gameplay, some challenge, anything really. [h2]Key Points[/h2] [*][h3]DIFFICULTY:[/h3] None. It's a (barely) interactive story. [*][h3]PRESENTATION:[/h3] Fantastic. It carries the entire experience. [*][h3]STORY:[/h3] Very prominent. Depending on who you are (and perhaps your age), you'll either find it cheesy and flawed or genuinely touching. [*][h3]GAMEPLAY/GAMEPLAY LOOP:[/h3] Walk to the right and occasionally press X to play the guitar. [*][h3]TECHNICAL POLISH:[/h3] I encountered one minor glitch: part of the outfit I selected (specifically the makeup) disappeared after quitting and reloading. [*][h3]MONEYxCONTENT VALUE:[/h3] You can get all achievements in under 5 hours. There is [i]technically[/i] some replayability, since early choices can slightly alter later dialogue, but I don't think it changes the experience in any meaningful way. No matter how high the production value is, $18.49 for roughly 5 hours of content works out to about $3.70 per hour. As much as I enjoy pretty colors and grandiose soundtracks, that's a bit steep. Buy it on sale. [/list]