


It’s a little goofy, but what else do you expect from an Australian guy named Johnny Galvatron. The spider asks you to jam with it, and you make music together. You get through the woods and run into a huge creature that looks like a spider. You can jump and hang in the air and hear a guitar chord at the same time. The background is psychedelic, with shimmering lights reflecting off the snow. You start by hovering in the air and then start moving. Rather, you’re exploring both the visuals and the music behind them. While you’re often jumping from one place to another, you can’t really hit the wrong button. As you hurtle through the air, you can press buttons and make the music blast. In the game, you run sideways and jump into space.

“I want it to feel powerful, like you’re jamming together with creatures and coming together with the resulting chords.” “Music feels more physical when you are playing it live,” he said. Details on some objects or even the items themselves also failed to load in during some cutscenes, leading to a distracting effect (this one is less so on the team, as I have experienced the same issue in several other Unreal Engine titles).Above: Jamming with the spongy, spidery creature. There were stutters and large, noticeable sub-30fps drops. In my experience, the framerate was oftentimes inconsistent. In regards to the performance and this is the only area where Artful Escape takes a bit of a hit. Mind you, this is to be expected, as Johnny Galvatron, a rockstar himself, serves as creative director. From the level themes to the boss fights to the folk music played in the early game, there is a ton of great music here. However, there is more to aesthetics than just graphics, and the music of the game is just as strong as the artwork. It is easily one of the biggest feasts for the senses on the Series X right now, standing firmly alongside Psychonauts 2 and Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The blending of hand-drawn artwork with crazy particle effects and environments is a wonder to behold. Moving on to the aesthetics and this is where The Artful Escape truly shines.
