"Without Escape"

"Without Escape"
Reviewed By: Carless Yen
Platform: Xbox
Publisher: eastasiasoft
Developer: Bumpy Trail Games
Release Date: 1/15/2020
Price:3.99

Without Escape is a point and click horror title that puts you home alone while your parents are out of town. It is tribute to, and reminds you of those old school PC games with the still image backgrounds, but it also works in some really cool video moments. I think they do a really amazing job at delivering that home alone feel.with creepy noises while you hunt for clues. It does this without any jump scares a rarity in horror games lately. The images look really nice, so it isn't hard to point out things you need to click on, plus the cursor turns into a spyglass when something is clickable. Even if this wasn't the case, everything is so well drawn you'd be able to distinguish things any ways. Warning though that might gross you out at certain moments later game. As there is some gore in "Without Escape"

The puzzles aren't overly difficult, but they also don't hold your hand. You will find yourself backtracking through rooms trying to find what you do next, and that is good. I enjoy a challenge, and it adds to the amount of time you play the game. It can be beat in a hour if you know what your doing, but first play through will take you longer than that if you aren't looking anything up online. There are also multiple endings, but it doesn't require playing the whole game over you can use save states. "If they work" I had a issue with saves not working for me, and having to repeat a lot of things. I also had a issue with getting kicked to Dashboard. If it wasn't for that I would have gave this game a higher score. I really enjoyed my time with it, but right now has a few issues which I'm sure will get updated soon.

I really think "Without Escape" is worth your time though especially at it's price. There isn't a lot better horror experiences better than this at under the 5 dollar price point. It is also great for the Achievement/Trophy hunters out there as well. it only has 12 , and you can get them all in under a hour. I didn't because of the game glitching out, I had to reload the game, and play the last parts over to get it. So Yes "Without Escape" isn't perfect it has several development or porting issues, but I have no doubt they are already probably working on those. They aren't game breaking either. It is still very much playable, and an enjoyable experience.

Pros:
Well drawn backgrounds, and video
Sounds and Music aid in the creepy feel
Puzzles make you think
Well written story

Cons:
Save game doesn't always work correctly
Got kicked to Dashboard several times
Achievements glitched out had refresh game couple times

Overall: 6.8 Even with very fixable issues "Without Escape" is a pleasant way to spend a evening for fans of the horror genre.Even with frustrating bugs the enjoyment is there especially at such an affordable price tag. Horror fans and Achievement/Trophy hunters won't find much more entertainment under 5 dollars than "Without Escape".