A Way Out - Co-Op-Only Action Crime Drama by Josef 'Fuck the Oscars' Fares
42 replies, posted
https://i.imgur.com/rEU0V6o.jpg
Just finished this with a friend and think it really deserves more attention.
About A Way Out:
A Way Out is a story driven co-op game for PC, PS4 and Xbox One created by Josef Fares a film director and creator of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, developed under his new game Hazelight Studios. A Way Out is a contrast to his previous game, whereas Brothers was a solo-experience with two characters, A Way Out can only be played with another player from start to finish. The game is unique in that it's not particularly bound to a single genre, and has various setpieces and levels that has elements of puzzle games, brawlers, stealth and shooters, with a lot of narrative downtime in-between.
Two of the playable characters are given equal focus, with the game being unique in that it's almost-always splitscreen even during cutscenes, giving both players significant and unique interactions with the game's cast and environments. All the NPCs have unique dialog and interactions with each of the playable characters. The game is also filled with various minigames and interactive things during downtime such as baseball, music/rhythm, arcade and board games. The game also has branching choices where players can choose between two routes or approaches into situations, each with unique results and reactions depending on the outcome.
One of the biggest selling points of the game is that only one player needs to own a copy of the game, and they can invite anyone without any limits to play the game with them. It can either be played online or in local splitscreen.
Synopsis:
A Way Out is about Vincent & Leo, two different people who meet together due to similar circumstances. Both of them have different motivations, values and goals but must work together for the same purpose. Vincent is freshly incarcerated and sentenced to 14 years into the same prison Leo is sentenced, who is 6 months in out of 8 years. Both of them must work together to escape prison, dodge the authorities, settle personal struggles with themselves and their families and fight against a mutual foe.
https://i.imgur.com/acVXkFl.png
Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWvRa4D98Zg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShQpjGEDYhs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lBzzg4l0Yw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-hY7GQqbH4
Highly recommend playing this with a close friend or a relative, it's a really unique and great experience.
I was impressed with how good the game actually was. Besides some jank it was a very memorable experience that I thoroughly enjoyed sitting through, with anything from a pretty gripping story to small details that solidifed the game's quality for me.
My friend and I just finished and damn that was a fun ending.
Ending Spoilers:
Me and my friend went through legit on the effort of chasing/escaping, with some hesitation from both of us. We were nearly silent but in mutual understanding when we got to the last shootout when the two health bars showed up. I was playing as Leo and I managed to grab the gun at the end and damn, we were still silent but I really didn't want to shoot Vincent, but when we both realized time was just frozen and couldn't wait, probably one of the most gut punching feelings I had in a game.
At first I was worried the game wouldn't be as good as I hoped, but man was I wrong.
Played a few hours with a buddy tonight (through the theater shootout section) - really enjoying it so far. We're playing couch co-op and being able to communicate and/or shit-talk the other guy in person makes it a lot of fun - especially since we picked the character that's kind of the opposite of our personalities.
At first I was a little disappointed at how short the actual prison time was, but the variety of situations and settings make it quite enjoyable and keep you guessing. And although the story isn't as interactive and radiant as, say, a Telltale game I'm really enjoying the storytelling and performances.
I was really hyped for it since announcement, and it managed to exceed my expectations. Me and my friend came in expecting a very fun co-op adventure with some possible jank here and there, but an overall enjoyable ride. And I got that and more, along with one of the most moving experiences I had in a video game. I sincerely hope Fares and Hazelight make a lot of sales from this game and continue to deliver unique experiences like it.
The fact that only one person needs a copy is a real power move.
What a great game. I was pretty surprised at how well it turned out but then I saw that he had also done Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Dude has a real talent for game direction.
For those of you that have finished, which ending do you prefer? I like Leo's more just because he has a family that loves him and they have no one else to depend upon. Vincent got his revenge for his brother, he and his wife are already distant, the gov will support her, and his child won't have the experience of having a father and suddenly losing him. I feel bad for Emily at the funeral though, you can tell she's blaming herself for letting Vincent down at that last confrontation.
I watched a couple buddies stream the game, and I instantly regretted not playing it myself blind. It really is the type of game that NEEDS to be experienced with both players going in completely blind.
Played as Leo and didn't reach the gun in time, friend did not hesitate at all in those QTEs
Very much enjoyed the game though.
I personally find the ending conflicting, because throughout the game the players are given options to fork their narrative slightly, but during the twist player decisions are completely muted in favor of the director's vision. If one side of the player is not invested in their character's decision (e.g. Leo choosing to resist) and resorted to reluctance, then the last segment falls apart, a complete dissonance to the dire situation. The mechanical-twist would have worked so much better if the characters are forced into a "kill or be killed" situation so the players understand that both them and the characters do not have a choice, but the current ending demands that the players (especially Vincent since the player is also surprised that he's a cop) to sympathize with the characters' actions for the mood to set in, which I don't think all players will be on the same page. If the final killing shot isn't so forced I think extra neutral endings (Vincent let Leo go / Leo surrenders) would greatly amplify final impressions. This reminds me so much of that Bioshock Ludonarrative Dissonance argument.
I'd actually like it to allow for a more neutral ending if one side is clearly ahead of the other at the end.(Showing that either one side isn't trying or wouldn't have the strength to put up a fight anymore anyways) Have Leo surrender if he's way down, or Vincent realizes he can't apprehend Leo and is too tired to chase anymore. However, if both sides look like they're struggling as hard as they can and are neck and neck, it'd make more sense to have that end in the death of the other, since it'd show neither is backing down.
Just finished the game last night. I'm going to shill for this game until the day I die, and I'm going to buy a copy of the game even though I've already beaten it because I was using the friend pass. It just... deserves it.
I cried. The music that plays when Leo grabs Vincent's note (or Vincent grabbing Leo's hand) is honestly so amazingly well orchestrated and I still watch the scene this morning and find myself tearing up. And the way the dying player's camera fades away honestly just fucking destroyed me. I was playing as Vincent and I had to force myself to get into the role and hunt down Leo with everything I had, even though I absolutely despised the fact that Leo was betrayed. In the end I lost, but it was so fucking neck to neck, that I couldn't tell who reached the MP5 first until the cutscene started. I had a GENUINE problem with telling whether or not these scenes were predetermined or not because they just flow so well.
Ending Spoilers:
The endings already in the game are pretty emotional, but yeah I really would love a more neutral ending to give further meaning to those endings. I usually dislike games/movies that force 'bad/sad endings' though I am willing to make A Way Out an exception just due to how it moving and emotional the setup is, but I really do think both for the sake of a hopefully more happier ending and giving more impact to the current endings an ending where both can live will be fantastic.
I really love this idea and I wish this was something that could had happened to either side, and would be an even bigger surprise when it's something without prompts until the end, like the game observing hesitation on the attacks, or long periods of not attacking especially in the final parts of the duel.
This is really how I felt through it all. I was playing Leo in my case and while me and my friend are upset on the fact Vincent was a cop all along, at the start I was lowkey trying my best to hopefully surrender or get caught by Vincent since I was thinking maybe if Leo gets arrested it'll be less bloody and result in hopefully no one dying. When the boat chase started and it looks like Vincent was guns blazing, my friend quickly mentioned to give it all I got, which I did and we both got into our roles despite really wanting both to not be in conflict. Our heart sank when we got to the factory and saw 'Leo's Health & Vincent's Health' and that's when we had a feeling that one of us really did have to go down.
That ending scene when Leo grab's the note/Vincent hold Leo's hand is so good, that's the part that really did get me teary eyed, and the way it just fades the 'losing' player's screen was a very effective way of showing how that's it end, your partner who you stuck through thick and thin throughout the entire game is gone.
I hope we get a soundtrack release soon, the score in general was really superb throughout the game.
https://youtu.be/ZKlK-835Qts
https://twitter.com/josef_fares/status/977277141275611137
This makes me so happy.
Man this game was awesome. A perfect blend of movie and game, the splitscreen was a really great idea, the world was full of stuff, it didn't last too long noir was it too short. What a great experience.
Been watching some of my favorite youtubers play. Critikal and his girlfriend played it, and he said it was one of the best endings to a video game he'd ever seen.
https://twitter.com/josef_fares/status/939191548381499392
looked through fares' twitter and saw this gem
so i wanna grab this, but im wondering how the online coop on pc works, since apparently only one of us needs to own it
It's on Origin. You basically invite a friend via your friend's list. No limits to it. Progress is saved from the host's game, meaning if you wanted to replay it, even with another player, you'll be able to freely choose from chapter select where to start. Netcode's pretty fine from my experience.
I'm in the Philippines and my friend is all the way in Norway and we never experienced any lag issues or desync. The only issues we had is that we got disconnected from each other twice, but it might had been our internet's fault rather than the game since he was experiencing some internet issues too prior to other games.
You should clarify that the player who doesn't own the game will have to download the "Friend Pass" version of the game. Which is basically a trial version that grants you access to the whole game. But the catch is someone who owns the game has to invite you.
Whoops yeah forgot to detail that. But yeah like Keychain said just go to the Origin store page for the game and download the friend pass, either through browser or through the client. Origin
After bugging the devs on Discord about it for days they finally did it.
https://youtu.be/3oIz_PXu9gw
beat this with my bestie, now i'm gonna play it with my dad and see what heeee thinks
By the way if you guys are struggling to find people to talk to about this game, the official Discord is a great place to go. Just make sure you keep spoilers in the respective channel: Discord
A ton of the devs are there too and they'll answer questions if you have any.
Hey guys, I bought this to play with my brother but unfortunately he has some PC problems. I'm pretty much looking for someone to play with. Just know that I'm from Europe so it would probably be better if you are, too, so we have okay ping.
I play with a gernan who has a pretty much comcast-tier ISP with dogshit speeds and theres been 0 issues so i dont think location differences matter that much
Yeah the netcode is very solid, as someone with also shit speeds in the Philippines and playing with someone all the way to Norway, we had a pretty smooth experience together
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