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The Artful Escape

4.4 out of 5
7 User Ratings
5 Stars
57%
5 Stars
57%
4 Stars
29%
4 Stars
29%
3 Stars
14%
3 Stars
14%
2 Stars
0%
2 Stars
0%
1 Stars
0%
1 Stars
0%
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The Artful Escape is a story about great expectations, towering legacies, aliens, folk music, guitar solos, making stuff up, and living your dreams like memories.
£12.25
£15.99
-23%
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About The Artful Escape

About this game

On the eve of his first performance, Francis Vendetti struggles with the legacy of a dead folk legend and the cosmic wanderings of his own imagination.

In an attempt to escape the musical legacy of his uncle, a teenage guitar prodigy embarks on a psychedelic journey to inspire his new stage persona, searching for who he isn’t in an adventure spanning stolen opera houses, melodic alien landscapes, and the impossible depths of the Cosmic Extraordinary.

Starring voice performances by Michael Johnston, Caroline Kinley, Lena Headey, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Strong, and Carl Weathers.

KEY FEATURES:

  • A story about great expectations, towering legacies, aliens, folk music, guitar solos, making stuff up, and living your dreams like memories.
  • Musical jams. They’re visceral. They traverse dimensions.
  • Craft your own stage persona from the sci-fi beginnings of your backstory to the trim on your moonboots.
  • Converse, consult and chill with all manner of beings: disenchanted publicans, nostalgic villagers, lumbering alien wildlife, and reality-defying behemoths.
  • Shred, soar and dance across the multiverse. Traverse landscapes made of sound -- composed by your movement -- as if the world itself were an instrument.

Game Details

Platform:
steam
Release Date:
September 09, 2021
Developer:
Beethoven and Dinosaur
Publisher:
Annapurna Interactive
Rating:
ACB rating of 6
ESRB rating of 10
PEGI rating of 12
USK rating of 6
Supported Languages:
English
Steam Deck Support:
Unsupported
Link:
Genres:
Walking Simulator
Adventure

Platformer

Interactive Fiction
Themes:
Music
Atmospheric

Colorful

Great Soundtrack

Sci-fi

Stylized

Narrative

Psychedelic

Beautiful
Play Styles:
Singleplayer
2D
Features:
Steam Achievements
Full controller support

Steam Trading Cards

Steam Cloud

Singleplayer

Product Requirements

Minimum:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-540 | AMD FX-4350
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 650, 1 GB | AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 7 GB available space

Recommended:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-6600 | AMD FX-8350
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070, 8 GB | AMD Radeon RX 580, 4 GB
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 7 GB available space

Critic Reviews

80

Attack of the Fanboy

80 / 100
"The Artful Escape provides a strong narrative adventure focused on self-discovery, identity, and expression that musicians, artists, and just about anyone can find something to...

CGMagazine

70 / 100
"The Artful Escape has a stellar narrative with actual good humour enhanced by the voice acting talent and beautiful landscapes, but the gameplay is stale and those who dislike...

Checkpoint Gaming

100 / 100
"The Artful Escape is a story about legacies, finding yourself, change and transition that presents itself in such an ingenious way that all can absolutely enjoy it. Gliding...
Reviews provided by MetaCritic

The Artful Escape Statistics

Statistics Powered By

Play Time Statistics

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60%
70%

Time Played

< 1 Hour
0%
~1 Hour
0%
~2 Hours
7.69%
~4 Hours
69.23%
~8 Hours
15.38%
~12 Hours
0%
~20 Hours
7.69%
~40 Hours
0%
~60 Hours
0%
>= 80 Hours
0%
Achievement Hunter?
0% of players played this game for >= 80 Hours!

Difficulty Statistics

Difficulty Rating

Simple
93.33%
Easy
0%
Just Right
0%
Tough
6.67%
Unforgiving
0%
Relax & enjoy! 93.33%  of players consider this game to be Simple

Completion Statistics

0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%

Play Behaviour

Tried It
6.25%
Played It
0%
Halfway
0%
Beat It
50%
Conquered It
43.75%
Completionist! 43.75%  of players have Conquered It

The Artful Escape User Reviews

All our customer reviews are open and honest. We publish all reviews that are relevant and follow our guidelines.

User Rating

Average score from 7 ratings
71% of users would recommend this.
4.4

User Ratings Breakdown

5 Stars
57%
5 Stars
57%
4 Stars
29%
4 Stars
29%
3 Stars
14%
3 Stars
14%
2 Stars
0%
2 Stars
0%
1 Stars
0%
1 Stars
0%

Not Recommended

tzunghaor
Verified purchase
This game is mostly a walking simulator in front of fantastical landscapes and creatures. The actual gameplay is rather minimal, and although there is some story, but there is just not enough to balance out how much you just have to hold the walk button.
Did you find this review helpful?

A rock fairytale bristling with the joy of music and self-actualization.

Akton
Verified purchase
The Artful Escape is a rock opera masquerading as a musical platforming game from the Australian development studio Beethoven & Dinosaur.  The Artful Escape follows Francis Vendetti, a teenage guitar prodigy bristling under others' expectations. An improbable encounter catapults him into a universe-spanning, mind-expanding adventure. Francis sheds his past and discovers who he wants to be. The gameplay shifts between three loops. The first is exploration and conversations with NPCs. The second is light platforming. The third is playing music by copying button presses, emulating playing different notes. However, the gameplay is almost unimportant. It is more something to do while gawking at the supersaturated visuals and basking in the music. Holding "X" on the controller allows Francis to improvise on the guitar ("shred") as he runs, leaps and slides through alien landscapes. I could not wipe the grin off my face from the sheer joy and spectacle.  The Artful Escape's universe has a Douglas Adams-like absurdity and comedy. For example, Francis Vendetti flies a warp turtle through the cosmic extraordinary to a starship called The Galactic Lung. He visits the Hyperion Wailzone, where the danger level is "dolphin".  The game's music is a love letter to the 1980s, particularly psychedelic rock. Much of the inspiration and music come from Johnny Galvatron, one of the developers. He fronted the band "The Galvatrons" in Australia and the UK in the late 2000s. The Artful Escape is part celebration, parody and critique of the music industry. Unfortunately, The Artful Escape is short, taking about five hours to finish. Those looking for challenges or meaningful choices will be disappointed. Sometimes holding "X" while jumping or moving is awkward. However, The Artful Escape is bursting with spectacle, absurdity and glee. Its message is hopeful and empowering. It is a fairy tale for the rock era, a monument to the joy of music and self-actualization.
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Hey, that's pretty good!

Some French Guy
Staff Review
The Artful Escape is a extraordinary adventure taking you to different colourful worlds while jamming on some good music. It teaches you some self-acceptance as well. Great game overall!
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Simple platformer in a beautiful universewide tour

RTz
Verified purchase
A gloriously epic rock-opera, more of an experience than a game, as expected from Annapurna. Very simple platforming with some rhythm section. More of a game-ified art exhibition in a gorgeous looking world.
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Recommended

Sam
Verified purchase
One of the best games I’ve ever played, with a great soundtrack and amazing graphics. The game wouldn’t run until I toned down the graphics settings, but that’s most likely a problem with my VM.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Relax and Enjoy! 93% of GameFAQs users said The Artful Escape is Simple or Easy.
According to PEGI, The Artful Escape is suitable for players aged 12 and above.
No, The Artful Escape is not currently playable on Steam Deck. Valve’s testing indicates that The Artful Escape is Unsupported on Steam Deck. Some or all of this game currently doesn't function on Steam Deck.
Minimum:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-540 | AMD FX-4350
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 650, 1 GB | AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 7 GB available space
Recommended:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-6600 | AMD FX-8350
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070, 8 GB | AMD Radeon RX 580, 4 GB
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 7 GB available space
The average playtime for GameFAQs users is 6 hours.
79% of critics on Metacritic recommend The Artful Escape. The Metascore is 80 out of 100.
71% of Fanatical users recommend The Artful Escape. The average review score is 4.4/5
The Artful Escape was released on September 09, 2021
The Artful Escape is published by Annapurna Interactive
The Artful Escape was developed by Beethoven and Dinosaur
Fanatical users tagged The Artful Escape as Walking Simulator, Adventure, Platformer, and Interactive Fiction
Fanatical users tagged The Artful Escape as Music, Atmospheric, Colorful, and Great Soundtrack
Yes, Fanatical users tagged The Artful Escape as Walking Simulator
Yes, Fanatical users tagged The Artful Escape as Adventure
Yes, Fanatical users tagged The Artful Escape as Platformer

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© 2021 Beethoven and Dinosaur Pty Ltd. Published by Annapurna Interactive under exclusive license. All rights reserved.

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