4/5 ★ – ManWithAMovieCam's review of A Way Out.

"A Way Out" is an innovative cooperative experience that shakes up gameplay in a bombastic manner, and generally does not take itself seriously. But it is in its jovial nature that this game shines, and allows it to build toward an extremely satisfying ending. "A Way Out" is an escape-from-prison game that focuses more on its narrative than its clunky gameplay, and it takes about 6 to 9 hours to complete (nice). Retailing for $30, it isn't a game I would pick up at full price; however, there is a feature where only one player needs to "own" the game for both players to enjoy it (since two players are required). At the time of this review, it is available on Gamepass, so I was happy to check it out. This is a cooperative experience. I cannot stress this enough: your second player will be the deciding factor on how much fun you have. Pick someone you genuinely enjoy playing with, and who can play through the whole campaign--don't switch your player 2 halfway through, and stick with whichever character you start with. Hopefully you two can easily make decisions, otherwise you're in for a lot of arguing. I was lucky to find someone on my friends' list who filled the role wonderfully, and we had a blast. If ever there was a perfect example of "so bad, it's good," this would be it. The game is filled with strange sidequests and minigames that don't fit the urgency of the world. Like at all. Most of the time, we were gawking at how ridiculous these scenarios were, and making fun of how bad the writing is. And it is bad. But if you can accept the bad writing, the deadpan acting, the clunky gameplay, and lean into the odd tone of the world, you will have a much better time. The whole game takes place split-screen style, even over an internet connection, so you always see what your partner is doing (and vice-versa). And while the other persons' screen doesn't always match what's happening, it's close enough to keep the connection believable. There are a lot of innovative cooperative moments that build the relationship between these characters, and stronger narrative moments are given a larger share of the screen. I was floored by some of the sequences in the game, and every time both screens merged into one, there was a satisfying cinematic climax that followed. Quick side note: there were also enough awkward moments of sexual tension that this game could have been rebranded "A Way Out of the Closet" (which I would have loved to see). Just think: two guys bond with each other while breaking out of prison AND heteronormative narratives by discovering the only thing keeping them captive...was each other. But I digress. In all seriousness, you should play "A Way Out" for the wacky obstacles, silly sidequests, and random dialogue with strangers. And please PLEASE go through the whole story, this game deserves it. I can wholeheartedly say it was one of the best co-op experiences since Deadspace 3, and that is in no small part thanks to my friend, who stuck it out with me. I give this game 4 awkward see-saws out of 5.