Real Talk By: KJ

Escapist adventure A Way Out presents a Story-focused experience.  Main Characters (Leo and Vincent) have been locked-down.  These two are fueled by a similar goal of revenge.  How will things play out? This Hazelight developed EA Original is strictly a coop venture.  Find a buddy nearby, or someone online.  Friends of those who own the game can play for free.  Is this title worthy of breaking away from single player normality?

At times AWO can feel like two different games happening simultaneously.  As billed, The title revolves largely around convict activities.  For example, one is working on damaging a structure to advance an objective.  The other stays on look-out making sure the coast is clear of Prison Guards.  AWO does a good job of putting big responsibilities in the hands of either player.  You will team up in occasional (QTE-powered) fights, and all kinds of various tasks utilizing cooperation in big (and tiny ways).  You could tell Hazelight had fun making this one as some mini games are laugh-out-loud entertaining.

Many split-screen titles often deal with a downgrade in visuals or performance.  Fortunately, we didn’t run into much of this.  Developers made solid usage of Unreal 4 as this one stays visually consistent from start to finish.  Cut-scenes are pretty entertaining and voice acting is solid.  Every cinematic smoothly sets up the next gameplay sequence.  Another aspect I enjoyed was how the split screen would adjust in size and shape.  This depends on the activity, and who is currently doing something of greater importance.  Snazzy.

Spoiler Alert, you make it out of Prison!  Arguably this is where the most fun happens.  My hat goes off to Hazelight for trying so many coop concepts in one game.  You’ll see much of it in the outside world.  Shootout sequences are some of the stronger parts.  The Cover system does the job, and controls feel pretty comfortable.  Even more focus on this aspect and less Quick Time Events, would have added an extra layer of challenge.  Driving portions needed some finer tuning also.  Steering and draw distances are a bit off.  Chatting with NPCs is a feature frequently made available, but rarely were conversations profitable to progression.

The does story takes an awesome shift in direction.  I enjoyed how it was executed thoroughly.  Players interest levels will remain at a high-level to see what is going to happen next, so that is a big plus.   This EA Original will take players generally 6-7 hours to complete making the current $29.99 pricing a wise choice.  Perhaps a second playthrough with the other character will add more value for some.  If a sequel is to come about, add higher levels of difficulty, and stronger incentives to return.  No doubt, A Way Out provides entertainment and suspense at an affordable price.

A Way Out Gets

3.5 out of Five

 

What’s Legit?

+Inventive Coop

+Fun Storytelling

What’s Perpetrating?

-Easy

-Some Coop Challenges Fall Short

-Too Many QTES