.. is a game that I like a lot! One of the first games I ever bought on Steam actually, I don't even know why, the trailer and pixelart artstyle just spoke to me back then. I was playing this in 2014! And, to my astonishment, I even found some screenshots I uploaded to Steam and even a VIDEO recorded with Fraps!
I found these screenshots the video after playing the current version, I didn't remember how much different it used to look! The main menu music was different too, and I can't seem to find the alpha version on YouTube!
As the name and the art suggests, you have to escape a prison! I remember in the early access version, the only prison was the one now called "Fhurst Peak Correctional". I also remember some mechanics being really different, there was a bag of cement you had to use to cover up dug tunnels (now, you can just do it with dirt). I remember the game being quite 'magical', because I didn't know anything. It was a lot of try around and find out; I remember digging a tunnel endlessly with dang plastic spoons, only to get caught and to have everything reset. I think I never escaped Fhurst Peak back then.
After the game fully came out, I played and struggled (in a good way!) a lot to complete the prisons. I guess I used to play it much more safer, cause I did not know the limitations of what you can get away with, and being sent to Solitary was such a death sentence! Losing items and stats; you could reset, but I think I didn't use to do it, I just lived with being caught, it made with certainly more interesting then always reloading. According to comments I wrote myself back then, I never got around to beat Jungle Compound, but apparently I have managed to escape Perks, Stalag and Shankton. Replaying nowadays and knowing everything about the game, it was easier, but there were still very thrilling moments.
Trying to juke the guards, getting away with some contraband, only to be sniped! Oh the stakes! Even more fun being really shameless and brash, skipping all periods to chip walls and dig tunnels; or just to read up in the library, as the player character is too stupid to push a key in a wad of putty xD
Some gameplay! Buying items from other inmates (you can't steal everything off of their desks, some better items you can only buy). Your only ingame source of information are payphones where you pay rather big amounts of money for escape tips (3 per map), or crafting notes telling you how you craft certain items. These are random though, so maybe you would never know about the ID papers you need in Jungle Compound... In the showers picture you can see that I chipped out walls and replaced them with posters so I can get in and out of my cell at night.. And of course, you need to level up your smarts, strength and speed! I'm not quite sure its true but leveling up your speed is also supposed to help with fatique/exhaustian levels.
Hearing the music again, I felt joy. I still love this soundtrack, it's really memorable. It just has something to it, something I can't quite describe. Amazing...
I remember also playing The Escapists 2 with a friend a few years back, it having mutliplayer. But I kind of do not remember it at all, I guess it was less memorable, and looking at it again, I didn't like the artstyle and how the game felt in general. After beating every prison besides Irongate in a few weeks, I guess I feel tired of the formula. Grinding up your stats and finding items became a chore, especially if you are always just one duck tape shy.
I also got the DLC cause they were on sale, but I only finished Escape Team by now, as said, I got tired of the formula currently. I would love to come back though after not playing for a while! It seems a bit abandoned, its website not existing anymore, and, I remember using a save editor once cause I thoroughly screwed up and saved with a hole in a fence in Santas Sweatshop. I couldnt find that editor anymore, I used to be in the subreddits sidebar, but I guess it was abandoned at the some time.
The DLC "The Escape Team": The DLC missions seem to mostly consist of collecting custom items to build something that aids you in escaping (here, it is a tank blowing up the outer wall! :D)
You have many ways to escape, but your main goal is to get outside of the perimeter/the map. You can dig, go through vents, jump off roofs, cut fences... if that is not your style, you can also try training up and recruting other inmates to perform a prison takeover! By binding guards with rope and duck tape you can make sure they don't get up again after being beaten; the warden will send you a note, telling you to leave, unlocking the master door and telling the snipers to withdraw if you beat enough.
Also! The game has a level editor and Steam workshop support, so if you want more The Escapists, you can always get it! I remember having a lot of fun with the map editor, but my 10 year old maps have some errors in the current version, namely desks being empty and other map elements not working.
This game is definitely special to me, and I really enjoyed my time replaying it :>