By Kelsey Cameron
First published March 28 2018, Edited 2023
A Way Out is a co-op story-driven game by Hazelight Studios, with much of the same team that brought us the emotionally charged Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The game is set in the 1970s about two men, Vincent and Leo, who break out of prison to seek revenge on a mutual enemy.
In typical 70s crime style, Leo and Vincent are dramatised characters. Leo is impulsive and typically wants to solve disputes violently where Vincent is calm and calculated. These polar personalities build a friendship throughout the game, which is reinforced through the players completing tasks together.
The Gameplay
By far the most amazing aspect of this game is the co-op. The split screen is generally vertical but changes according to the unfolding action. One player may have a larger section of the screen, then it may change to a horizontal split. In the first moments of the game, one player is free to move around, watching the new inmates coming in while the other player is watching a cutscene. It was an obscurely fascinating moment to move around and watch the scene unfold from a different view point. The moment definitely captures your attention.
In another exemplary moment about mid-way through the game the entire sequence switches from character to character, and consequently player to player, because Leo and Vincent are split up. Instead of simply cutting to the next character, the camera tracks through a labyrinth-like hospital setting. This sequence highlights the capabilities of the videogame medium and manages to create adrenaline filled play alongside a unique and faced paced narrative.
There are also quirky side components dotted throughout to make the story-driven experience seem a little more open-world. I enjoyed the street-fighter style sequence, playing Connect Four (and thrashing my partner by the way), and playing arcade games – I am all for games within games, "gameception", if you will. These are the smaller moments that evoke competition, which grows the friendship between the characters and players. I really enjoyed that the characters and players actions mirror each other here. While Leo and Vincent are competing, so are the players. Stacking these simulative experiences is a really effective tool for bridging the gap of immediacy, which to me is the mark of excellent game design in my opinion.
I do however, criticise the amount of interactive elements in the space that do not have a meaningful contribution to the story or player. Actions such as working out in the prison yard and hammering a random plank of wood to a table. Although entertaining the first time you do it, this really pulled the player out of the narrative world and highlighted the distinctions between the player rather than bringing them closer together. The player is reminded that they are new to the world and the characters are not. I also found these encounters had a negative effect on the usually phenomenal game pacing.
Generally, the mechanics were good with gameplay centered on working together and solving environmental puzzles that need to be overcome together. These aspects of play were well thought out and well executed. However, there is a shooting sequence towards the end that although serviced the story and the 1970s hyper-masculine action, did nothing–at–all for the game. Of course A Way Out is not made to have great shooting mechanics so we have to cut them some slack here, but this sequence in particular was not enjoyable to play and felt like it didn't belong in this type of game regardless of the setting.
The Story
As a narrative-driven game, I did expect big things from the actual story in A Way Out. There is no denying the pace of this game was incredible – and more game designers should take note that it is entirely possible to create great story-driven games where the propelled pace does not contrive play and make it feel like an interactive film. The player definitely had agency throughout the game and the tasks were focused, allowing this pace to flow smoothly.
Hoooowever, and I write that with a big breath; I did find it difficult to connect with the characters. Perhaps I was expecting more given how emotionally charged Brothers was but this one was a miss from me. In the final moments of the game Leo and Vincent are forced to battle to the death after the revelation that Vincent is really an undercover agent. I think this battle of betrayal is meant to evoke an inner turmoil in each of the players. They played together and built a friendship throughout the experience and now they have to kill each other. I just wasn't that upset about it, perhaps because I found the whole ending a bit of a "cop" out.
The meaning behind "A Way Out" clearly means different things to these characters. While Vincent's "way out" refers to his way out of the force, Leo's refers to his way out of the crime boss trying to kill he and his family. In a really lose way, they are each others solution but I seriously don't think anyone needed to die to get that point across. If the player chose to do that then sure, but I really wanted there to be an option to opt out of killing each other.
Think of how great that would have been from the players perspective: Leo, the aggressive criminal decides not to kill this cop that has really betrayed him meaning his "way out" is choosing a different life and taking responsibility for his pretty crappy actions. This results in, ending 1) Vincent helps Leo to rebuild his life, the two become even better friends and ride off into the sunset together OR ending 2) Vincent, the cruel cop who never cared about Leo and was only out to avenge his brother mercilessly kills Leo, betraying him again and leaving Leo's son fatherless, with a chip on his shoulder about unnecessary police brutality and a propulsion to the cycle of trauma. Giving the player that final and pertinent choice would have given them agency to create their own experience and make the game mean something to them personally, which is why games are so brilliant.
I believe having more choices in the final moments would have strengthened the entire story because the meaning of the character's journey is created through the player like in the co-op gaming moments where the two climb up the prison wall back to back. For the ending to be forced in a battle of betrayal just didn't fit the journey to me. This was the moment I didn't believe the story: these two men have families and all they care about is fighting each other to the death? Just no.