A Way Out (2018)

Such an incredibly charming, cheesy, yet emotional game. While the actual gameplay ranges from "pretty decent" to "underwhelming", the craft on display by Josef Fares and Hazelight makes for an incredibly immersive, well-directed cinematic experience, with special mentions going to the incredibly smooth transitions from scene to scene, owing to Fares' background as a film director.

Homages and references to classic movies are strewn about, always adding to the fun cheesiness factor of the game - the Scarface-esque mansion at the end or the Oldboy sequence in the hospital stand out to me for making me grin and giggle with my buddy in excitement, and that's what this game is really good at - making you have fun with a good buddy - be it a jam session on the piano and banjo, or just chucking horseshoes at a barn, the game shows this friendly-buddy dynamic between the two main characters so incredibly well, making the ending that much more impactful.

Of course, if you're looking for a co-op game with intense gameplay, A Way Out isn't quite the thing you're looking for, and not playing couch co-op/a good friend will definitely be a detracting factor as well, but this game was some of the most fun I've had for an afternoon or two. Hopefully Josef Fares will be making more co-op experiences in the future!

Coming from Hazelight Studios, the same guys that made "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons", one can expect a nicely narrated story and some quirky game mechanics. The first is there, the latter as well, to some extent… The game relies mostly in QTEs and simple puzzles with a single solution, which is anything but revolutionary, although the twist of requiring somebody else in co-op is what makes it stand out.

You can play it cooperatively either online (only requiring a single copy for both of you, as well as PsPlus in PS4) or locally, which I strongly recommend; It´s very cool to encourage or mock whoever is sitting next to you as you progress in the story together.

The game feels a lot like an interactive movie and it´s very approachable for those not so familiar with videogames, so if you're looking for a game to introduce your partner (heck, or even your parents!) into gaming, this is a very good starting point.

You either play as Vincent or Leo, whose personalities feel completely opposed at times: calm vs crazy guy, or good / bad cop, respectively. You can choose any of the two characters every time you fire up the game and continue were you left off, although my girlfriend and I stick to our initial choice all the way to the end. I guess we developed some sort of bonding with our characters. You both meet in prison, realise your stories are connected and then agree to help each other to find a way out (see what I did there?). In the process you'll have to solve puzzles, sneak past guards, drive vehicles and shoot some dudes. All in a split-screen coop fashion, which every now and then transitions seamlessly to a full screen for narrative purposes.

The scenarios are generally small, with some hidden mini-games scattered here and there but even so I never felt the game promoted exploration. In the end, if you're checking very corner of the scenario in your screen half, chances are your colleague is progressing in the story on the other half of the screen and you might miss some of the story details. I guess exploring requires a bit of coordination and like-minded players; If you're playing with somebody that likes to dash to the credits, forget about it. In that regard, the advantage of playing it in couch coop is that you probably know what to expect.

When it comes to shooting, this isn't any hardcore FPS stuff. In fact, the AI is a tad brainless and these sections of the game are laughably easy, but one could argue this was made on purpose to make it more palatable for non-gamers.

If I had to mention a negative thing about the game, this is how tricky it can be to interact with some objects/people sometimes, since the interaction button prompt doesn´t always pop up depending on your camera angle or character relative position. Considering that more often than not you´re running against the clock, it can be a bit frustrating at times.

All in all, the story is not super original but still has room for some surprises. The game looks and plays nicely and the whole coop gameplay makes it a very recommendable experience. Not much replay value once the whole story is revealed, but still probably worth of a place in your collection for a gaming session with friends.

I’ll give A Way Out three stars for the ambition it shows in the final hour.

However, it is filled with basic and uninspired mechanics. It tries to do a little of everything and a lot of it feels clunky.

The story is the highlight for me. It is very bad. Woven together out of the cheesiest cliches and worst voice acting imaginable. The result is maybe the video game equivalent of The Room (and its co-op!)

Worth a play but don’t pay full price.

7/10 - Hidden gem

Pros:

Unexpectedly well-written story & character development between Leo and Vincent that turns into an emotional roller-coaster near the end of the game

The game plays like a cheesy 80s action movie and I love it - Cars flipping over each other in slow motion and the two barely catching each other after huge jumps make the game a true cinematic experience, and a blast to play with a friend

Cons:

The game is quite Short (Around 6 hours), I beat it in one sitting

By the end, having to get your buddy to come and open the same door or rip off the same bit of sheet metal with you for the twelfth kind of outstays its welcome. Also, the gunplay is somewhat lacking, feeling tacked on near the end of development for the sake of making some parts of the game a shooter

Finally had someone to play with! I started playing with my 11-yr old cousin, and he's enjoying it as much as I am. The game has a lot to offer for the two players! I like how they included options on how you'll go about an objective. Makes the game worthy of a 2nd play-through with a different friend to try out the other options you didn't select. :)

Love how in some cases, any one of you could play the "action" part while the other take the "decoy" part. And then blame one another for sometimes being a failure and then you switch roles. Lol.