Escape from Ever After was quite the surprise to me. While going in with the perspective that this Paper Mario-inspired game might scratch an itch Nintendo themselves seem happy to leave squarely as an age old storybook tale many look fondly upon, the team at Sleepy Castle Studio is ready to pen a new fable for the ages. While Escape from Ever After has some quirks, this two-man team impressively delivers an excellent experience that mixes elements of Paper Mario and Shrek with a heavy dose of humor.
Escape from Ever After
Developer: Sleepy Castle Studio
Price: TBD
Platform: PC (reviewed), Switch, Xbox, PlayStation 5
MonsterVine was supplied with a Steam code for review
Escape from Ever After starts with our peppy hero, Flynt Buckler, on his umpteenth try to get rid of the scourge of the land, the terrifying dragon Tinder. He doesn’t succeed this time, not because he gets burned to a crisp as per usual, but because there’s been a change in management. When I say management, that’s not a euphemism – the largest conglomerate in the known universe, Ever After Inc., has taken over Flynt’s storybook and thrown the villainous Tinder in a holding cell. As if discovering you’re a children’s book character wasn’t enough, Flynt’s one track mind leads him to rejecting Ever After Inc.’s job offer and into a jail cell with his former/current nemesis, Tinder. The two put aside their differences to try to scheme a way to return their book to normal, where they run into plenty of recognizable fairy tale staples and some odd surprises along the way. The humor is prescient, and it’s less of a Fourth Wall than it is a “4th Window,” considering your goal eventually becomes to go to the Real World, which had me grinning through my playthrough. While some jokes probably don’t need a pratfall to accompany them, and I did find a couple of instances of dialogue that could’ve used another pass, much like a great sitcom or anime, I wondered what the characters would say next. Escape from Ever After feels like a great continuation of the first three Paper Mario games and the Mario & Luigi series games in both tone and levity, though it does go to some shockingly adult places at times. Hearing Mr. Moon’s corporate word salad, or reading an email talking about “rockstars,” is sure to bring a laugh to you if you’ve ever worked in an office or a demanding retail job.
Escape from Ever After Is a Sharp, Funny RPG That Knows Its Roots
The gameplay itself should be fairly familiar to turn-based RPG players, with action commands used for both offense and defense. The game does not mention it, but there’s at least one “hidden” ability in the fact that Tinder can set foes alight, and if Flynt’s shield passes through a burning enemy, he can spread the fire to each enemy. I don’t know if this remains true for your other three party members. Unlike Paper Mario, you can actually switch Flynt out if needed, so it may be worth experimenting. If you’re a part of the audience who wished the Paper Mario series had a bit more difficulty to it, you’ll be right at home here. This does mean if you’re not paying attention, you can waste an entire turn because you tried to attack an enemy who’s guarded against melee attacks, or is brandishing a shield. I do feel like the reliance on shields got a bit excessive, but your fourth recruit helps greatly with that. The increase in difficulty is noticeable not just in combat but also in puzzles. An interesting note is that there are accessibility features in the form of Guard Assist and Attack Assist. I did not find the game overly difficult, but during certain tougher boss fights I found myself turning them on and off after the troublesome foe was dealt with. There is a fair bit of platforming, which is perfunctory, and even then, you normally don’t take damage from falling off a platform. As this is a small team and considering they’re following in the footsteps of Nintendo themselves, I can give a bit of grace when I misjudge where my 2D hero needs to be for a jump a handful of times.
Sidequests are surprisingly svelte, as I’m sure if the office environment doesn’t trigger you in Escape from Ever After, knowing that there’s a trading quest might. But the trading quest is a nonissue, as are “character finding” sidequests – provided you’re half-awake, you should be able to tell who the NPC is hinting at without having to follow a guide. I appreciate that a game about bureaucracy and corporate malfeasance doesn’t actually waste my time with something that could’ve been an email.
Daniel Whitworth’s soundtrack is excellent, with his jazzy big-band score somehow fitting all the different storybooks you end up in, and also matching the almost-sinister, frantic corporate offices you spend so much time in. Whether I was sailing the pirate infested high seas on a how-did-this-get-approved-by-HR company vacation/treasure hunt, crash landing on an icy alien planet, or saving naive wolves from porcine land developers, Whitworth’s music felt appropriate and engaging.
The Final Word
Escape from Ever After is a great game, and considering how people took to last year’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, part of me wonders if this Paper Mario-inspired game will have the same effect. It’s really wonderful to see a two-person team like this fund a successful Kickstarter, who probably played games like Paper Mario when they were younger to understand how to deliver such a strong, reminiscent game, and I look forward to what Sleepy Castle Studio has planned next.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
