Who knew being stuck in a prison could feel so liberating? In the case of Team 17’s The Escapists 2, this feeling is definitely the case, albeit the player is held back by some questionable design choices…but with such large-scale prisons (many containing numerous levels of floors and each floor masterfully crafted to consider a variety of different approaches) and so many options for a daring escape, the poorer design choices are hardly noticed.
The Escapists 2, the sequel to the original The Escapists (both produced by Team 17), is in effect a Shawshank simulator, in which the goal of the game is to escape the selection of super prisons that sometimes make the Death Star’s engineering look flawless. However, despite the fact that Rattlesnake Springs is literally built directly on top of an abandoned mine shaft that leads to the free world (a feature that would have made Andy Dufresne’s life a Hell of a lot easier), each prison is equipped with highly competent, suspicious guards who, if the player isn’t conscious of what they’re doing, will notice any attempts to dig or any missing vents, and who will immediately check your desk for contraband if there are discarded illegal items on the floor near the player’s cell. The player will also have to abide to a prison schedule, which is unique according to the prison the player is in. They will have to attend roll call, eat breakfast and perform jobs in order to appease the guards. The more well behaved the player, the less the guards check up on them if they’ve been missing from the typical routine (though roll call is a must with each prison). It’s this that shows just how tactical the player has to be when doing almost anything in the game.
And because of this, Team 17’s The Escapists, in the end, feels primarily like a management sim. The user is expected to complete quests to gain the prison’s currency which, surprisingly, isn’t heroin or cigarettes, but is gold coins, in order to buy items that will boost their chances of escaping. Managing the time windows given between each roll call and learning how to manage the guards and the local not-so-neighbourly inmates (who will sometimes attempt to beat you with a mop for no reason other than you wanted to use their shower while they were using it) will be what takes up the bulk of the player’s stay at each of the prisons. Furthermore, due to individual prison quirks (such as magnificent metal detectors that can somehow detect that sock mace, made of soap, you just crafted to beat Ted because you don’t like his face), the management can be extremely tedious and difficult. This can get a little nauseating at times. And the feeling never lets up.
Memorisation is a big part of The Escapists 2; the player has to remember the ins and outs of each floor as well as the exterior. It is inevitable, at some point in the game, that the player will slip up in terms of management. They will walk through a metal detector with contraband or accidentally miss roll call. And if this happens, then the player will be thrown into the infirmary, where they will be forced to peel potatoes and wait out their time…fun. All of these factors make The Escapists 2 surprisingly difficult and, at times, slightly boring. The sheer size of the prisons adds to the complexity of any escape, and makes guards more likely to spot you. Thankfully, the opportunity for exploration in these mega jails and the differences within each jail (every prison has its own unique setting with unique quirks) makes the game less repetitive and boring, however.
The main difference in The Escapists 2, when compared with its predecessor, is the new and largely improved crafting system. The player is now able to see exactly what items can be combined to create new items, a feature that the original was certainly lacking. However, while this is a positive improvement, the system still lacks. It only shows the user the images of the items needed to be combined and doesn’t provide any worded descriptions, which can and will be a problem. If the player doesn’t recognise the images, then they will be left with no idea of where to find the items; and some of the images can be rather obscure looking. Also, there aren’t any tutorials on what the items are used for; and in a game that encourages experimentation, this wouldn’t be a problem in the slightest. However, another update from the original, is the new way in which the game saves. No longer can a user leave an unsaved game and load back with everything as it was pre-messed up. The game now autosaves on default, and this was a conscious decision to be more realistic. The problem is, with this saving feature, the player will inevitably be reluctant to try out contraband items. And therefore, escaping the prison (and becoming an Escapist) is a lot harder. Indeed, because of these features, the Escapists 2 can, at its worst, feel like being in a state of purgatory, the safe haven of escape seeming a distant star in the horizon.
However, with the exception of some heavy repetition, the long amount of time it’ll take for beginners to escape these mega prisons is quickly forgiven, granted the plethora of colourful characters and bright humour. Much of this comes from the interactions between the guards and the inmates and sometimes humour is even derived from the prison nurses. Even the escape animations at the end of each successful escape (unique to the way in which the player escaped) are given clever thought. Furthermore, there are now two new modes which weren’t in the original game: the multiplayer and a new timed mode, where the player is tasked with escaping from a prison transport vehicle before they arrive at port. These new modes really break up the repetitive nature of the single-player prison escapes and show off different aspects of the game, such as just how well thought out the designs of the prisons are. If the player is tired of the standard prison escape mode, then they can readily switch to one of these two other modes, and their boredom will likely subside. Both these new modes, particularly the multiplayer, work like a charm.
Summary
The Escapists 2 is a game that largely expands on the original, offering new modes and bright humour along with exceptionally well-designed labyrinth-like prisons. But it is by no means a perfect sequel. There are repetition issues, as well as some poor design choices. The game is a frustrating but largely rewarding management sim which is worth a look for sure.
Owain was a community contributor to ICXM, writing 2 articles in 2017 covering Xbox news. ICXM operated as an independent Xbox and Windows gaming outlet through the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative, drawing from a rotating bench of editorial volunteers.