Escape Plan (video game)

Players control two characters, Lil and Laarg (centre). One of Bakuki's minions can also be seen in this image (top left).

In Escape Plan, the player controls two characters, Lil and Laarg, through a series of booby-trapped rooms using the PlayStation Vita's front and rear multitouch panels and motion controls. The gesture-based control system requires players to trace paths for the characters and tap obstacles to move them out of the way and clear a path for them. Traps range from a single brick lying on the floor to enormous rotating fan blades. Failure to guide Lil and Laarg to safety usually results in a gruesome death.[6]

The characters can traverse the game world in numerous ways. In some levels they are inflated with helium, requiring the player to tilt the console to guide them as they float around the room.[7] Lil and Laarg usually move relatively slowly and in order to avoid fast-moving traps the player must grab the characters and pull them quickly to safety by pinching the Vita, touching both the front and rear panels at once.[4]

At a preview event in October 2011, IGN editors ranked Escape Plan as their favourite PlayStation Vita game so far, commenting specifically on the game's "stunning", black and white chiaroscuro visuals, "great" classical soundtrack and gameplay which makes good use of many of the Vita's control features.[5] In a December 2011 preview of the game, Destructoid's Samit Sarkar described it as "perhaps the best showcase of the Vita’s unique capabilities".[6]

Upon release, the game received "average" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[9][10]

Digital Spy gave the Vita version four stars out of five and called it "one of the most unique and charming looking games you'll ever play, and the pick-up-and-play value makes it perfect for a handheld. Minor control issues prevent it from achieving perfection, but it's still perhaps the most effective showcase of the Vita hardware to date."[25] The A.V. Club gave it a B and said that its "macabre humor and beautiful black-and-white chiaroscuro look make it a welcome respite from the noise and flash of the other Vita launch titles. Sony has a knack for finding and funding indie developers with a refined sense of style."[24] The Digital Fix gave it seven out of ten and said, "In all, we can't help but think that Escape Plan represents a missed opportunity. The wonderfully stunning visuals, the understated sound track [sic] and intuitive control system so very nearly elevate the game into a posterboy for the new hardware. However, the short, unchallenging nature of the game moves us away from this territory and instead positions Escape Plan as more of an experience than an outright game, with the nods to cinematic practices of the past aiding its artistic endeavours."[26]

As of April 2012, Escape Plan was the number one selling PlayStation Network game on the PlayStation Vita. [8]

• Official Escape Plan site
• Fun Bits Interactive official website
• Escape Plan at MobyGames