A Way Out (video game)
A Way Out | |
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Developer(s) | Hazelight Studios |
Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
Director(s) | Josef Fares |
Engine | Unreal Engine 4[1] |
Platform(s) | |
Release | March 23, 2018 |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
A Way Out is an upcoming action-adventure video game being developed by Hazelight and published by Electronic Arts under their EA Originals program. It is the second video game to be directed by Josef Fares after Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Announced at E3 2017, the game will only be able to be played in either online or local split screen co-op between two players, with no single player mode. The game is currently scheduled for release on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 23, 2018.
Gameplay
A Way Out is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. It is specifically designed for split-screen cooperative multiplayer, which means that it must be played with another player through either local or online play.[2] In the game, players control Leo and Vincent, two convicted prisoners who must break out of prison and stay on the run from authorities. As the story of both protagonists is told simultaneously, their progress may not be synchronized, which may result in one player being able to control their character, while another watching a cutscene.[3] Players need to cooperate with each other in order to progress, and each situation can be approached differently, with both characters taking different roles. For instance, during a prison escape scene, one player needs to distract the guard, while another player needs to find a tool to aid their escape. These roles are not fixed, so Leo and Vincent can swap their roles in another playthrough. Players can interact with many non-playable characters, and there are dialogue options for players to choose.[4]
Similar to the PlayStation 4 version of Far Cry 4, players will be able to join online sessions (hosted by the player's friends) whether or not the joining player owns the actual game.[5]
Development
A Way Out is currently being developed by Hazelight Studios, a small team of developers in Sweden led by film director Josef Fares. Both Fares and several members of his team previously worked on the acclaimed title, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons from Starbreeze Studios.[6] Production of the game began in the second half of 2014.[7] The design philosophy for the game is that the team wanted to create a cooperative game that is unique and different. As a result, the team opted not use the traditional drop-in and drop-out cooperative format featured dominantly in mainstream cooperative games, and instead, they team decided to create a full game that must be played cooperatively with another player.[8] According to Fares, the game was his passion project and he cancelled an upcoming feature film in order to devote more time to working on the game.[7]
Despite the game's heavy focus on multiplayer, the game was described as an "emotional adventure".[9] As a result, cutscenes will play out even during online play to ensure that players can understand the story of the other character.[4] The game features a wide variety of gameplay sequences from stealth to driving to ensure that players are often presented with different gameplay situations and generally make the game and its characters more interesting.[8] To make the two protagonists more realistic, the team ensured that Leo and Vincent have distinct personalities and that they have different opinions and responses while interacting with the game's world.[10] Fares Fares, a Swedish-Lebanese actor and Josef Fares' older brother, plays Leo.[11]
The title will be part of publisher Electronic Arts' EA Originals program, dedicated to funding small independent games. The partnership came to fruition when Patrick Söderlund, the Executive Vice President of Electronic Arts, approached Fares personally for collaboration after being impressed by Brothers.[12] EA offered $3.7 million for the development of the game and gave Fares and his team complete creative control over the game's development.[8] The formation of Hazelight Studios and the partnership between Hazelight and EA was officially unveiled at The Game Awards 2014.[13] The game's title and gameplay was revealed at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 during EA's press conference. The game is set to be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 23, 2018.[14]
References
- ^ "Hazelight Studios Builds New Game With Unreal Engine 4".
- ^ Lemon, Marshall (June 11, 2017). "A Way Out is a fully co-operative prison breakdown adventure". VG 247. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ "E3 2017: EA Reveals A Way Out, New Co-Op Action Game From Brothers Dev". GameSpot. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
- ^ a b McCaffery, Ryan (June 10, 2017). "A Way Out May Be the Gutsiest Game of E3". IGN. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
- ^ https://www.windowscentral.com/prison-escape-way-out-lets-your-friends-play-entire-game-free-co-op
- ^ Makuch, Eddie (December 9, 2014). "EA to Publish Brothers Director's "Very Special" Next Game". GameSpot. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ a b Vlades, Giancarlo (June 11, 2016). "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons' creator canceled his next movie to work on a new game (exclusive)". VentureBeat. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ a b c Grubb, Jeff (June 10, 2017). "EA debuts A Way Out from the creator of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons". VentureBeat. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ Falvis, Elise (June 10, 2017). "EA Reveals A Way Out, A Co-Op Game From The Makers Of Brothers". Game Informer. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (June 11, 2017). "A Way Out crafts a cocky new forced co-op concept". Eurogamer. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ Fares, Josef (10 June 2017). "My big brother Fares Fares plays Leo in A Way Out!pic.twitter.com/gdaPVkR3Xz". @josef_fares. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ Batchelor, James (June 10, 2017). "EA Originals program continues with A Way Out". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
- ^ Campbell, Colin (June 11, 2017). "Hazelight game to be published by Electronic Arts". Polygon. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ Sarkar, Samit (December 7, 2017). "A Way Out's co-op trial lets one partner play for free (update)". Polygon. Retrieved December 13, 2017.