The Artful Escape

Developer Beethoven & Dinosaur Publisher Annapurna Interactive Format iOS, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series Origin Australia Release 2021

Two things stand out about The Artful Escape: the sensationally rock’n’roll name of Beethoven & Dinosaur founder Johnny Galvatron, and the game’s sublime E3 2017 demo that still reverberates in our ears three years on. That’s rather apt given this is a tale of a young musician out to cement his place in rock history by embarking on a cosmic quest to discover his musical identity. Think Bowie between personas, with a bit more double-jumping involved.

Francis Vendetti’s journey manifests as a mix of 2D platforming and chattier encounters in the vein of Kentucky Route Zero in the way they encourage expression without derailing a linear tale. But it’s the instrument-powered athletics that stick with us, as Francis shreds his guitar to pull off a Yoshi-like flutter jump, if Yoshi were into arena rock instead of fruit picking. Around him the extraterrestrial flora and fauna harmonise with his music and burst to neon life. This is world design as concert choreography, even the simplest stretch of path firing pyrotechnics and spotlights into the sky.

Instead of combat – Vendetti is not destined to become a bat-head-chomping shock merchant – you negotiate with galactic beasts through miniature concerts that channel the call-andanswer of Spielberg’s Close Encounters. It’s a simple Simon Says exercise that again rewards audio and visual excess worthy of the gaudiest rock opera. As Galvatron says, “We want the shredding in the game to feel powerful and effortless.” After the past year, consider us at the front of the ticket line (respecting social distancing, naturally).