One Escape Switch Review – Get Me Outta Here!

One Escape is a fun, little indie game about helping three buff animals escape from the confines of maximum security prison life after a failed bank robbery. It is a single player game where you take control of the three main characters separately, each with their own 20 puzzle rooms to solve and get through.

But is this prison escape worth the effort? Or should these three just sit in their cells and wait out their sentences? Let’s find out!

The game starts you off as prisoner ED-152 (AKA Dook), a jacked duck with the ability to crawl through small spaces (Surprisingly, since he is SWOLE!). Each of the three buff characters, Dook, Gor (AKA DX-79, a jacked gorilla), and Hog (AKA EX-56, a jacked boar), are able to double-jump, but each of them have something that makes them and the puzzles they need to solve unique.

As is the standard for these Ratalaika Games, levels are split into groups, and there are 20 stages per character. There are also some dollar bills to collect throughout the stages (10 bills per the 20 stages for each character), and they offer a little bit more of a challenge when puzzle solving.

Each character feels unique enough and adds their own flavor to the table. As said, Dook is able to crawl through spaces, Gor is able to climb certain walls, and Hog is able to both punch through certain things (Including enemies) and push boxes around (Hog even has a health bar, as he can instigate fights with guards and can withstand one hit from them). Despite the fact that each character offers their differences, the game for the most part feels organically similar, and this is a rather simple game that lacks a real challenge. But don’t think that means the game is easy. It is just that the more challenging areas are limited.

The guards in the game have a specific range they can see, which is helpful to knowing boundaries, but it also looks ridiculous that you can stand in direct sight of a guard yet they cannot see you. There are a few ways to avoid guards, but the most common that all three characters can do is hide within dark corridors that let you jump in and avoid being caught. These areas can also be used to bring alarms down if you accidentally set them off, so getting used to finding and using them is key, especially for bigger stages.

One thing I found rather annoying about One Escape was the meticulous back-and-forth is makes you do in order to clear certain stages. For example: the switch to turn off the laser is all the way to the left, the laser is all the way to the right which grants you access to the red key that opens a door all the way on the left, which upon opening grants you the green key that opens the door all the way to the right. That is not even an exaggeration. Thankfully, this does not happen too often, but when it does, it is such a drag.

Surprisingly, there is not a whole lot of closure when beating the game (Or when clearing all the stages). It just kind of ends, which is a little disappointing, since One Escape has a nice intro that explains the trio’s motive and how they got caught. I was expecting some kind of celebration upon their escapes, but oh, well.

The hit boxes for the enemies and hazards can be a bit unfair at times, but since the game is not very difficult and the stages are not so long, this is not a serious problem, although it does exist. A checkpoint on some of the longer levels could have supplemented this, but it really is not that big of a deal.

The graphics, as they usually are with games from Ratalaika, are the perfect kind of beautiful pixelation. I love each of the main character sprites, and the level designs are quite pretty. The soundtrack also has some banging tunes that had me bobbing my head to the beat numerous times throughout the game.

One Escape is quite the unique little title, and it is genuinely a lot of fun despite its minor flaws. The three characters are all fun to play as, and their stages are well-designed and unique to their skill set. This is a wonderful game with lots of charm and personality, and its entry price is beyond reasonable and one of the main reasons why I highly recommend it. Please help these swole animals to escape this insanely designed prison. They really deserve a second chance.

One Escape Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: Ratalaika Games
Developer: BUG-Studio
Release Date: March 26, 2021
Price: $4.99, £4.99, €4,99
Game Size: 40 MB