The problem is never his music it’s that it isn’t Francis’. Johnson Vendetti’s folk music that we hear is moving and beautifully composed. The soundtrack here is unbelievable, and not just the rock. At only four or five hours long, though, the visual and audio experience was more than enough to keep me glued to the screen. As you make your way through each level, you’ll find a few things to inspect, but that’s the only other thing breaking up the levels. Hearing about the danger of some of these encounters and then finding something you can’t fail at is The Artful Escape’s biggest disconnect. Some of the inputs eventually get slightly complex, but missing one allows you to simply try again until you get it right. These sequences bring a musical element to the game, but there’s still no challenge. You’ll meet some character wanting to challenge you and must follow them in a game of Simon, copying their inputs. The only thing breaking up these levels is the occasional musical challenge. At times I found myself jumping forward repeatedly instead of walking solely because it’s faster. My biggest struggle was the slow pace Francis moves at. It’s a straightforward game that is much more about the experience than any mechanics. You’ll just appear a few steps back or have to climb back up.
Even missing a jump isn’t really an issue. Various stages set you walking back and forth, but with a double jump and the ability to shred at any time to slow your descent, there’s never really any challenge. It perhaps has more in common with walking simulators like Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture and What Remains of Edith Finch. On some level, it’s a platformer, but there’s nothing to it, really. We’re a long way into this review for me not to have said anything about how The Artful Escape plays, but that’s because it barely does. Soon Francis joins them on their dimensional ship, the Cosmic Lung, as their opening act, and they set off for the stars. It turns out Lightman’s appears in town under the right circumstances, and it can take you to all kinds of other worlds. That’s when an alien concert booker and Lightman himself appear and invite Francis to journey through the universe with them. To his knowledge, though, there’s no such place in town, and a search proves futile. After committing a minor crime together and inspiring Francis to do something he’s been too afraid to do, she tells him to meet her at Lightman’s in town. Despite seeing his struggle, she also sees something interesting in him. His impromptu display is overheard by light show maestro Violetta. Despite his love for that music, he tells himself this is just fooling around it isn’t the hard work being a serious artist requires. Francis reaches for the stars, and in a moment alone, rips into a killer guitar solo early in the game. The poster for his first show doesn’t even have his photo on it. He can certainly play it well enough, but what does a teenager raised on comic books, science fiction, and psychedelic rock know about the struggles of a miner? There’s no room for him in that world. That becomes a problem because Francis doesn’t love that music. Johnson put them on the map, they hope Francis will get them back there. While the game starts with it filled with the music and fans of Johnson, a closer look finds shops closing and a town struggling. Despite having a wonderful Wes Anderson-like vibe to it, Calypso has seen better days. He’s set to give his first big performance at a twenty-fifth anniversary festival celebrating Pines and the now-deceased artist who created it.Įveryone wants Francis to play his uncle’s music and be the same sort of artist. Despite never meeting him, their hometown of Calypso believes Francis is the next Johnson.
A folk singer seemingly inspired by Dylan, Johnson passed a lot onto his nephew, including his look, musical talent, and a thirst for adventure. Twenty-five years ago, Johnson released his masterpiece, the album Pines. The more I think about it, though, the less I care.įrancis Vendetti is the nephew of the great Johnson Vendetti. I’m still not completely sure how much of a game it is, and I’m even less sure that being a game adds does it any favors. An audio-visual tour de force, I’ll treasure my memories of it. What makes a video game a video game? Controlling a character? Any input at all? Is it something we just know when we see it? These are questions I asked while making my way through The Artful Escape.
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