The Artful Escape review

Need to Know

What is it? A story-driven musical sci-fi rock opera through space.
Release date Out now.
Expect to pay £15 / $20
Developer Beethoven and Dinosaur
Publisher Annapurna Interactive
Reviewed on AMD Ryzen 5 3600, Radeon RX 5700 XT, 8GB RAM
Multiplayer No
Link Official website (opens in new tab)

Francis Vendetti is in a bit of an artistic rut. He’s a teenage musical prodigy who has been given the opportunity to continue his dead uncle’s legacy, a legendary folk singer who could spin poetry from a few guitar twangs. But Francis’ musical ambitions lie in a different type of music—the cosmic kind. He dreams of rock n’ roll riffs so epic they’ll traverse dimensions and jams so extreme they’ll create rifts across the galaxy. 

The Artful Escape is a story-driven platforming adventure about Francis’ journey to rock stardom. In his quiet Colorado hometown, the community is expecting him to continue his Uncle’s musical legacy and have planned a debut show that will kick start his career. But on the night of the performance, he gets whisked away on a strange intergalactic adventure, one that helps him discover his new psychedelic stage persona. 

As Francis begins to hop through a kaleidoscope of planets that span the far reaches of the galaxy, something still tethers him to his Uncle—an identity he can’t escape. These two personas leave our musical genius stuck in the middle, a musician caught, literally, between two worlds.

(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)

Joining Galvatron’s epic guitar licks is an eclectic star-studded cast each playing their own cosmic weirdo. Jason Schwartzman voices a dead-pan floating brain in a jar, Mark Strong plays an intergalactic music producer, Francis’ eccentric mentor and space guide is brought to life by Carl Weathers, and Lena Headly of Game of Thrones fame makes for a magnificent, if frightening, all-powerful cosmic entity. Each voice fits perfectly into the world, with each cast member’s performance equally matching the energy of their characters’ bonkers designs.

But under the blockbuster casting, dazzling worlds, and awesome guitar wailing is a genuinely sincere story. The Artful Escape’s musical guitar mechanics never reach the heights of its showstopping visuals, but Francis’ journey of self-discovery is universal—his just happens to be part of a spectacular, laser-powered light show that will leave your head spinning and ears ringing.

As seen on PCgamer