Game Info: (Box Display)
- System: PS4, Xbox One, PC
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Developer: Hazelight
- Release Date: Mar 23, 2018
- Price:$29.99
- Rating: M for Mature
- Genre: Action, Adventure
- Players: 2 (Local Co-Op or Online with friends)
- Official Website: https://www.ea.com/games/a-way-out
Who it Caters to
What to Expect
Story
Gameplay
A Way Out is pretty simple to explain. Two players—which are needed as this is a co-op only game—choose between two characters named Leo and Vincent. Both have been thrown into prison and both must escape together. Neither Vincent or Leo have different abilities or skills when being used in A Way Out but do have different sequences that coincide with each other. That means you’re literally seeing two perspectives on a split-screen experience which reminds us of games like Army of Two or even Portal 2. However, A Way Out isn’t just a co-op shooter or puzzle game, A Way Out is numerous genres all wrapped up in a clever co-op action-adventure title.
Players will need to work together—literally—to do nearly everything in A Way Out. For example, there might be an inmate that needs to be distracted allowing another player to move in and accomplish a goal that they couldn’t do without the other player’s distractive move. Then there are parts of A Way Out where a player might need to lend a hand to their friend to avoid a quick death because of an ambush attack or a struggle in a fist fight. There are dozens of moments where co-op shines in A Way Out and we don’t wish to spoil any of these moments as its always exciting to see what will happen next. Just note that A Way Out never gets boring as you might be running one minute and then the next getting into a driving shootout where a player needs to drive and the other needs to shoot.
Another strength of the co-op experience in A Way Out is that there are moments where the game will offer multiple ways to solve a problem. Early on, Leo and Vincent will need to smuggle out sheets to help their escape plan. One way is to cause a fight to break out diverting the attention of the guards long enough to allow players to sneak a friend into a cart filled with linen. Another way is to bribe off some guy and then break a machine to accomplish your goal. We found that no puzzle in A Way Out had just one solution and often there was a multitude of ways to reach your end goal. There are even bigger story moments that can change dramatically based off an action the players both—as you must always come to a unanimous decision in choices found in A Way Out—decide on.
Graphically and sound wise, A Way Out also impresses with some solid voice work and awe-inspiring music. We did notice some strange glitches with the graphics—as well as technical glitches—that did cause some strange moments in A Way Out, but none were too annoying. Though a few times we did need to restart a checkpoint—which there are tons of—but again, it wasn’t constant and was just a once in a while occurrence. A Way Out did impress us though with some strong visuals that usually aren’t seen on same screen co-op games and it shows that any studio with a little work and time can mirror the solid graphics found in A Way Out.
Finally, we wish to share something very interesting about A Way Out. As we’ve said time and time again, this is a co-op experience, folks. That means no single-player is possible with A Way Out and we’re glad to be honest. A single player with an AI would ruin A Way Out and make choices and dialogue between Leo and Vincent less meaningful. Now this does mean you need a real friend in the same room—or online—to play A Way Out and with no matchmaking, this might cause some gamers to worry they won’t be able to even start A Way Out at all. Luckily, developer Hazelight actually made A Way Out playable with someone who doesn’t own the game by having the one owner send an invite to a friend so they can download a trial version of A Way Out. The trial version of A Way Out lets the non-owner play the entire game as long as they play with the owner, it’s a brilliant idea and one that we applaud here at Honey’s Anime.
Honey's Gameplay Consensus:
Honey's Pros:
- Excellent story with some clever homages to famous movies and other prison escape stories
- Co-Op is a blast with constantly different gameplay experiences
- The two main characters are charming and weird but work wonderfully together
- Solid soundtrack with excellent voice acting
- Multiple paths and two endings means playing through a second time wouldn’t be too hard to do
- Epic finale that you won’t see coming
- The ability to have a friend download the game for free (though it’s a trial version meaning they can’t play from start to finish without you) is something other studios should do
Honey's Cons:
- Sometimes glitchy segments
- Lack of matchmaking means you need a real friend online and offline to play
- Puzzles can be overly simple at times
Honey's Final Verdict: