The Artful Escape is like a downhill snowboarding title meets a gentle platformer meets a rhythm game. Change is scary, and change in the face of what feels like a predetermined path is petrifying, but The Artful Escape makes the journey towards self-discovery downright beautiful. Those who have taken the road less traveled on their journey to self-identification know all too well the vice-like grip of anxiety that takes hold at the thought of disapproval from friends and family, or the fluttering of self-doubt butterflies that threaten to bring up your dinner when you venture out in a new look. The self-doubt that plagues Francis will also speak to many of us.

In very Ramona Flowers fashion, Violetta appears seemingly out of nowhere at the top of a mountain in Calypso and dryly asks Francis the most important question of his adolescent life (and one that speaks to us all): 'have you ever considered becoming someone else entirely?' It's that question that cues up The Artful Escape title card and sparks the match that starts a fire in Francis' belly - a fire that nearly flickers out whenever he doubts himself along the way.

Red Dead Online departs Xbox Game Pass on 13th September, while the 15th will see the removal of Company of Heroes 2 (PC), Disgaea 4 (PC), Forza Motorsport 7 (cloud, console, PC), Hotshot Racing (cloud and console), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics (cloud, console, PC) and Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales (cloud and console).Luckily, Francis gets a chance to step into Bowie's moon boots and out of his uncle's shadow thanks to a girl named Violetta. We're yet to publish our review, but this surreal rock opera published by Annapurna Interactive has us very excited.Īs Microsoft giveth, so Microsoft taketh away. 'Vlambeer's latest pocket of panicky delight is an intense arcade roguelike that rivals Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac,' Eurogamer wrote in our 2015 Nuclear Throne review, branding it as essential.Īs for The Artful Escape, well, we've been waiting for it almost as long.

Finally, next Thursday 9th September, Xbox Game Pass gets 'ironic outer space survival adventure' Breathedge for cloud, console and PC, plus top-down shooter Nuclear Throne and the dazzling Artful Escape for console and PC.

The artful escape review download