The great escape

Sometimes you just have to get away from it all. Even Edge has had to take some rare holiday time this month to recharge the old batteries. Videogames have always largely been about escapism, and this month’s Hype features a bunch of titles that in one form or another provide a means of egress for either player or protagonist. Dontnod’s intriguing narrative thriller Twin Mirror (p40) features a mind palace into which its central character frequently absconds. It’s a peaceful place where he can organise his thoughts and memories, though he loses time in the real world wandering its halls. Cloud Gardens (p36) provides something similarly meditative for the player, as you cultivate plants and help life spring forth from dioramas of urban decay. Somewhere between a game and an interactive stress-toy, it’s proved to be the perfect tool for soothing our troubled minds during a particularly brutal deadline.

In Innerspace VR’s new title Maskmaker (p44), players are magically whisked away to new worlds to observe different cultures, inhabit spirits and gain new perspectives, all via the crafting and wearing of masks. Of course, no one is more famous for donning a disguise than the stars of our lead preview this month, Marvel’s Avengers (p32). We’ve spent time with the game pre-launch to discover if playing as Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and the rest of the team can provide us with the kind of escapist superhero fantasy it promises. If we remain unconvinced, it’s partly because we’re waiting for Squirrel Girl to be added to the roster.

Talking of which, in Nuts (p48), you’re tasked with tracking squirrels in a forest environment – which, it turns out, is more of a busman’s holiday. If we wanted to observe bright-eyed, bushy-tailed creatures peddling their nutty wares, we’d simply open our inboxes. (Sorry, freelancers – we love you really.)