The Escapists is a pretty straightforward game in terms of story. Players take control of a randomly generated (and even customisable) prisoner. The goal is simple – to escape from different prisons by any means necessary. There’s really not much more to it.
And while there’s no major story being told here, the writing is peppered with a kind of dark humour that you’d expect to find in a Team17 game. Whether this publisher has some influence on the development of the game has yet to be seen, but it’s a nice touch that’s worth mentioning.
If you had to use one word to describe the visual presentation of The Escapists, it’s easily pragmatic. The game employs a very simple, lo-fi look that harkens back to NES games of old. The design of the game’s art is similarly quite reminiscent of the old Final Fantasy games – right down to their idle animations which look like they’re walking on the spot. The menus themselves evoke a similar feel too.