Without Escape – Classically Inspired Point and Click Horror
I have to say that I’m a fan of this point and click revival. Without Escape is actually kind of a remastering of a game by the same name that appeared on the Xbox 360. This time around, it’s got 1080p pre-rendered visuals full of detail and a good amount of gore. The basic premise, however, remains the same–escape the crazy shit that’s going on in your house. It’s horror, exploration, and puzzles.
“It’s been said that home is where the heart is – but occasionally, home is where your beating heart is ripped out from your chest by a rusty chain … under the gaze of a single giant eye on the wall. If you remember the original Without Escape on Xbox Live Indie Games, think of this release as the remaster you didn’t know you needed!” – Miguel Antonio Rivera Casas (Founder, Bumpy Trail Games)
The story is pretty straightforward: you arrive home to find your parents gone and the house deserted, but you think nothing of it until it’s too late. Players wake up at 2:45 in the morning, start clicking around the room for clues, and then slowly unravel a bizarre story. There are six possible endings but I’m not going to spoil any of them here.
The visuals and sounds are dark, atmospheric, and go from creepy to downright disturbing. I found myself upstairs at one point where the walls appeared to be made of flesh and the downstairs area flooded with blood. Sounds of shattering glass or children laughing and running are heard at time-based intervals. I highly suggest playing in the dark with headphones on the first time around.
The biggest downside to Without Escape is that it’s an incredibly short experience. My first playthrough took about an hour and a half or so between reading all of the text and exploring a lot. Sadly, my subsequent speed runs (an absolute must to unlock ending #3) took about 17 minutes. In fact, there’s a leaderboard system to document the fastest times through the game by ending. The press release I received prompts players to “[p]erform well in timed runs against other players – and you might just live forever in the online leaderboards.” I have a hard time imagining people competing with each other, but I’m sure some will.
Without Escape ultimately lacks the mind-bendingly esoteric puzzles one might find in games like Shadowgate or Myst. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it makes the game experience magnitudes less frustrating. However, it also means that players probably won’t feel any compulsion to relive the experience later on.
Without Escape is available on Steam, itch.io, and the Windows Store.
Dorkadia received a copy of Without Escape for review purposes.
