June 19, 2017 by Amy Stately
With platformers being around since the dawn of consoles, it’s hard for developers to make gameplay feel unique after all these years. However, the team at Beethoven & Dinosaur seem to have managed to do just that with The Artful Escape – a platformer that played in a artistic and interesting way we haven’t ever seen before.
In The Artful Escape, players control a boy named Francis, a struggling musician/artist who is trying to figure out who he is and what type of stage persona he wants to create. Players will go on a trippy Journey-like adventure to discover themselves in a world filled with beautifully-colored backdrops and mysterious musical monsters.
In our hands-on time with the game, we got a better understanding of the gameplay mechanics which involve a mix of guitar playing, Simon Says rhythm and color matching, and even snowboarding down glittery snow-covered mountains.
The majority of the level we played at E3 involved having to jump over large obstacles by strumming Francis’ glowing guitar to float through the air. The electric guitar’s riffs seamlessly played along with the background music to help set the tone of each new area we encountered and was unlike anything else we played at E3 2017.
We didn’t get a chance to dive into The Artful Escape‘s customization options, but B&D assured us that transforming Francis’ look and personality would play a major role in the game’s storytelling that involves multiple dialog options.
The Artful Escape still has no official launch date, but is set for release on PC and Xbox One.
