The Artful Escape Reviews

what I thought getting high would be like

[h1] I AM NECRONIZER!! THE GENERAL OF THE HEAVY METAL BRIGADE!! [/h1] This game genuinely feels like a cheesy but a great 80s comic book come to life with animations, music and score just like you imagined when you first read as a 10 year old kid reading past his bedtime on a summer holiday night! I always dreamt what if I went into music? Growing up with Linkin Park, Evanescence and Slipknot was a weird time for me but not only I enjoyed listening to them but I always thought I should start learning instruments and stuff and go into that field. That whole life would be an interesting one for sure and this game felt like a snapshot into that alternate reality and I am thankful to the whole Beethoven and Dinosaur for giving me that small but unforgettable snapshot! P.S. The most extreme metal character was voiced by the director himself? HORNS UP BABY HELL FUCKING YEAH 🤘

I find this game's title is so deceiving. The game has these glimmering moments where every element in the game artfully aligns. But unlike art that is truly an escape, I found myself bored through the overwhelming majority of the game. It's a essentially a walking sim. There is a painfully easy guitar minigame that there is no punishment for losing, but overall, it's a walking sim. I go into a walking sim expecting strong story because there is no gameplay, but the story isn't interesting. The main character is a pathetic musician who's in the shadow of his uncle, but suddenly halfway through the story, he flips on a dime and becomes 99% confident. I don't blame him for becoming super confident either, because he goes on this journey to realize that he a good musician without his uncle and every place he performs calls him the god of music. All of this is extra ironic since the music in this game gets stale REALLY QUICK. Like, there is a button to dash, and it also makes you shred on your guitar. There are all these elements in the game that react to you playing your guitar, and I never really engaged with them because I got sick of the guitar so fast. The visuals also really get stale. Everything really falls into the bucket of "blob-y purple alien, maybe with yellow". And yet there are these moments. There is a pretty strong story beat at the end of the game that the "captain" supports really well. There will be 10 seconds of music that I find really appealing. The visuals in the level transition are really cool (the first time). Nothing consistent over the whole game. Are these moments worth it? No. You should artfully escape from this steam page and play something else.

A gorgeous aesthetic experience. This is a visual novel with elements of a side-scroller and a rhythm game. The gameplay itself is very simple, not challenging at all. But the story is very well written and the artstyle is breathtaking, can't wait for Mixtape by the same studio to come out!

Perhaps not for those who want concrete gameplay or puzzle-solving, but nevertheless a gorgeous and hard-hitting game that stands just fine on its own without those elements. Reminiscent of the breathtaking scenery of sci-fi epics and relaxing visual games like Alto's Odyssey and Monument Valley, and presents with a mild, yet entertaining and often hilarious story line and character development. I have played this game close to a dozen times in my life (albeit mostly when this game was on Xbox Gamepass years ago) and I couldn't be happier about purchasing it here to play it all over again. I would highly recommend this game to anyone and will continue to do so.

Got this as part of an Annapurna bundle and just started it to see what it was. 3.5 hours later I completed this little rhythm game hidden under a stunning visual and aural experience. Positively wallowing in whimsy and poignancy, loved it. The few music games I've played feel discordant when I have to join in, me being not musical at all, but the background music and chords you have access to in this one play together nicely. That, along with the glorious visuals kept me engrossed in the story and sound the whole way. Even a little frisson here and there. If you like getting lost in a little psychedelic world for a while, this game might be for you.

Visually stunning with an existential story. However, it lacked conflict and stakes and I was expecting more complexity in the gameplay.

I've been gaming for 35 years.. this is not so much a game as the most beautiful piece of art my ears have ever witnessed, my eyes have ever gazed upon, and my soul has felt with such warmth about a boy learning to be his truest self. I know wherever Carl Weathers is now he can feel my heartfelt gratitude for guiding me through the cosmic extraordinary <3