AR-K: The Great Escape (PC) Review

Sadly, though, that was extremely naïve thinking, as The Great Escape is nothing more than a rudimentary entry into the world of point-and-click adventuring, with fetch quests, plenty of random object usage, and one too many puzzles that leave the gamer scratching their head in bewilderment as to how the conclusion was achieved. Add in instances of not actually knowing where to go or what to do next, with an annoying hint system that more often than not announces that it cannot help at all, and suddenly what looked and sounded like quite the charming quest, fast becomes one of monotony and frustration. Oh, and mixing in expletives during exchanges just for the sake of it, rather than to improve characterisation is neither big, nor clever…it merely jars, as do the spelling mistakes that creep in.

Visually, The Great Escape is very dated, but, as mentioned, has a certain retro chic charisma, however, the voice acting comes across as a bit too stilted, breaking the connection during the various missions that lead character, Alicia, must undertake to escape the depressing facility she is currently held captive in. When the story is flat, characters lack any real draw, conversations frequently drag on longer than necessary, and puzzles are either too convoluted or actually do not really make sense, there are some fundamental problems at play. There are also moments where it is obvious what to do, yet unless another chain of events has been triggered, a wall is hit. It is all such a shame, since there is definitely potential in its concept. Sadly, though, the full extent of that potential is never met, leaving for a bland conclusion to the AR-K…arc.