One Escape [Xbox]

One Escape, the newest title from developers BUG-Studio, has you take on the role of three bank robbers; Dook, Gor and Hog, as they attempt to escape from prison after being caught during their heist.

Each of the three characters available to you have their own skill that proves useful during the 20 levels assigned to them. Dook, being a duck, is smaller than the other two, so can utilise crawlspaces in the vents between some rooms; the gorilla character, Gor, can climb up walls that have markings on them to reach higher areas; and Hog can use brute force to bash through walls, move boxes and even knock out guards. The levels for each character are different, giving a total of 60 levels to be played - and these levels will only have features that can be utilised by the specific character you play as, so you don’t have to worry about missing anything in areas you can’t get to.

Presented in a clean, well-detailed pixel art style, One Escape has a side-on view of various areas of this labyrinthian prison. There are a bunch of different puzzles to complete, including ones in the form of coloured key cards you must find for particular security doors, as well as flickable switches to turn security cameras or electrified beams of water on/off to progress. I’m not really sure what’s going on with the sprinkler system here, ha. When you first take control of each character, it starts with you bursting out of your prison uniform, which adds a nice little bit of comedy. The music is quite low-key and fits the whole escape-from-prison vibe well, and is punctuated with plenty of sounds of the various security systems, including big hydraulic doors, toxic gas sprays and laser beams - as well as the sirens anytime you get caught.

Enemy AI is hilariously rigid, with orange cones of light representing their field of view. A lot of times I found it to be easier to just jump right over them instead of waiting till they turn around, but this depends on other guards being nearby or security cameras waiting to catch you. You can also make use of shadowy alcoves a la Splinter Cell to slip out of sight to sneak round guards or bypass cameras.

For being such a simple puzzle game, One Escape is a lot of fun - and great to pick up for a quick level or two if you’re low on time. And at £4.99 on the Xbox Store, the price is fantastic for what you get. Puzzles aren’t overly difficult, they just require a little bit of going back and forward, so the kids have really enjoyed playing it too. All achievements can be unlocked in around an hour or so, so it’s equally great for people looking to increase their gamerscore.

In the end, we decided to give One Escape the Collecting Asylum rating of 7/10.

Have you played One Escape yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!

- V x

Thank you to Ratalaika for the One Escape Xbox review code!