A way out

The game revolves around the two prison inmates Vincent Moretti (voiced by Eric Krogh) and Leo Caruso (voiced by Fares Fares , the brother of Josef Fares).

The game starts with cut scenes from an airplane in which the two look back on past events. Vincent arrives fresh in jail at the beginning of the game and is sentenced to 14 years, while Leo has been in prison for six months and has been sentenced to eight years. Vincent embodies the calm and thoughtful type and has previously worked as a banker, while Leo turns out to be an impulsive guy in his mid-30s with a bad childhood. They both have a wife and Leo also has a child named Alex. Vincent's wife is about to give birth to their baby and advises him to think about their child and to be more careful.

At first, the two don't think much of each other, but when Vincent helps Leo win a fight, the two get closer and help each other cope with life in prison, such as brawls with other inmates.

The outbreak

Later in the hospital room, Leo tells Vincent about an outbreak he is planning, and Vincent offers to help with it. Leo wants to carry out the outbreak alone and doesn't want any more help from him, but Vincent tries to convince him that they have Harvey as a common enemy and that they have to go through it together to catch him. Later, the two plan the breakout and then break out of prison.

After the eruption, they flee into a forest and settle in a lonely settlement. Vincent tells Leo that Harvey killed his brother as a warning because he did not want to manage his sums of money in the bank and blamed him for revenge. When they are discovered by an elderly couple, they steal a car and flee. After a chase with the police and an escape by boat, they visit Leo's family. Leo's son is not quite able to cope with the situation and so Leo tries to improve his father-son relationship again.

Vengeance campaign

Then they go to a construction site to find Ray, an accomplice of Harvey, to find out from him where Harvey is. After a chase and torture interrogation, Ray confesses that Harvey is in Mexico. After the two have gotten weapons from an arms dealer, they make their way into town. The arms dealer passes the information on to another man from Harvey's team, who is supposed to see that the two are killed. A hit man chases them through a building. However, the two manage to turn him off in time and end the matter.

Meanwhile, Vincent's wife has had her child and the two are on their way to the hospital. But shortly after Vincent saw his child and talked to his wife, the police arrived. Leo is arrested, but Vincent manages to free him, and he escapes with him to the pilot Emily, whom he already knows. She flies the two of them to Mexico near Harvey and the two jump with a parachute so that they land on a beach. They fight their way past Harvey's henchmen, break into his domicile and then kill him. More armed opponents arrive and they flee through the tropical regions on motorbikes, where Emily picks them up by plane. To improve his relationship with his wife, Leo convinces Vincent to write a letter for her during the flight.

The turn

When the two get off the plane, the police have already appeared with several vehicles and armed policemen and want to arrest Leo. Vincent and Emily turn out to be secret agents of the police and also want to arrest Leo. A flashback reveals that Vincent saw Leo in a trade between him, Vincent's brother, and one of Harvey's men. Vincent's brother dies and Leo is convicted. Vincent decides to become an undercover agent and to be taken to jail with Leo to get at Harvey. Leo can't cope with this and kidnaps Vincent in anger. After the car falls into the water and both of them have escaped, Leo escapes onto a boat and Vincent follows him in a helicopter that is controlled by Emily. Leo escapes into a building and Vincent pursues him. In desperation, Leo fights for life and death with Vincent until one of the players has to kill the other player. Hence there are two endings.

In the ending in which Vincent dies, Leo gives Vincent's letter to his wife and escapes with his family. In the end in which Leo dies, Vincent quits the police, he reconciles with his wife and looks to the future with his baby. But when he brings the sad news to Leo's wife, he is seen by her as a monster, leaves the family in mourning and is never supposed to show up again.

Gameplay

A Way Out is an action-adventure and third-person shooter that can only be played with two players in co-op mode . In this case, the two players through either a local or online - split-screen mode, which each shows the view from one of the main characters, play together. However, online matchmaking is not supported and instead you have to use existing friends from your contacts to play. One takes on the role of Vincent Moretti and the other that of Leo Caruso. In order to solve the tasks in the game, the players must therefore work together and coordinate and help each other, for example by distracting people or opening something up for the other. In order to play through the game, however, there are several solution and decision-making paths, but these do not affect the main plot.

The gameplay elements include, for example, shooting sequences, conducting dialogues and interacting with people or objects, exploring the world, chases, overcoming a course, sneaking and escape passages, solving puzzles and finding solutions and close combat.

Development and publication

Development and announcements

The game was presented for the first time at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2017. It was developed by the Swedish Hazelight Studios in Unreal Engine 4 , which were already involved in the game Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons . There the game was presented by Electronic Arts in the indie program EA Originals . The lead developer was Josef Fares . The developments started in 2014.

In the meantime, rumors surfaced through a Reddit user that the title could be postponed until 2019. Later, however, the developer Josef Fares announced on Twitter that this was an untruth and confirmed March 23, 2018 as the start date. Motion capture recordings were made for some scenes in the game . EA made 3.7 million US dollars available for the developments.

Publication and distribution

The initial release took place on March 23, 2018 for the platforms Windows, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Although the game has German subtitles and a German user interface, it does not have German synchronization and therefore uses English. EA claims that it does not earn any money with the game.

The Windows version can only be downloaded from the Origin Internet sales platform . Downloadable content is not planned. A friend can buy the game and a partner can play with this person for free.

reception

Reviews

Meta-ratings
Database	Rating
Metacritic	78/100 (PC)
reviews
publication	Rating
Game Informer	7.0 / 10
GamePro	79/100
GamesRadar	4.5 / 5
GameSpot	6/10
GameStar	80/100
IGN	8.3 / 10
Polygon	7.5 / 10

Heiko Klinge from GameStar described the game in a preview version as being kept simple with a well-implemented focus on the couch-co-op experience between two players. The co-op mechanism is made more attractive again, but it can lose its appeal if the game is too long. The press mainly praised the cooperation in co-op mode and the resulting game mechanics, game design, setting and storytelling. In addition, there are many little things to discover in the game and a change between action and quiet sequences. The story was also praised: It shows that inconspicuous things gain importance later. The players build an emotional connection to the characters and their friendship and solidarity and the story is transported through the gameplay. The game also seems like an interactive film for lovers of thrillers and gangster films that takes advantage of the computer game medium. However, the clichéd revenge story in the game and the lack of decision-making options with effects were criticized. The ending has been described as an emotional roller coaster ride.

Compare to other works

The game was compared to the TV series Prison Break , as well as other prison films such as The Condemned or Escape from Alcatraz and Pulp stories from the 1970s because of the subject matter, ideas and setting . The game was also compared with the television series 24 due to the fact that it was shown several similar views and with the computer game Portal 2 and other action titles due to the collaboration in puzzle solving .

Developer comments

The developer Josef Fares says that for him the best possible gaming experience is in the foreground and the replayability is not so important. The playing time should be around seven to eight hours. In reality, however, this is four to six hours. He also complained about the performance of the current generation of consoles and the PlayStation 4.

Web links

A Way Out on MobyGames
A Way Out on EA's website

Individual evidence

↑ Benjamin Braun: A Way Out - system requirements are known, all information here on Gamestar.de , March 14, 2018, accessed on March 25, 2018
↑ ^a ^b ^c A Way Out - New game from the Brothers makers can only be played in co-op - GameStar. Retrieved March 25, 2018 .
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↑ ^a ^b A Way Out in the test: prison co-op with a profound story - Golem.de. Retrieved March 25, 2018 .
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↑ A Way Out - At least twice as long as Brothers - but. Retrieved March 25, 2018 .
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