When comparing Realm of the Mad God vs The Escapists 2, the Slant community recommends Realm of the Mad God for most people. In the question“What are the best low-spec PC games?” Realm of the Mad God is ranked 76th while The Escapists 2 is ranked 85th. The most important reason people chose Realm of the Mad God is:
With a spell and a weapon equipped you aim and shoot at enemies and dodge their incoming projectiles. Sounds simple, but it is not when you have over 100 different missiles coming at you. This is the essence of Realm of the Mad God (RotMG). You are supposed to evade enemy attacks and strike back yourself to countless numbers of enemies. Just as when you feel that you have beaten the last enemy, another one starts firing at you. All of this comes varied as different enemies, have different attack patterns, projectile speeds and intricacies to them.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Fast-paced combat
With a spell and a weapon equipped you aim and shoot at enemies and dodge their incoming projectiles. Sounds simple, but it is not when you have over 100 different missiles coming at you.
This is the essence of Realm of the Mad God (RotMG). You are supposed to evade enemy attacks and strike back yourself to countless numbers of enemies. Just as when you feel that you have beaten the last enemy, another one starts firing at you. All of this comes varied as different enemies, have different attack patterns, projectile speeds and intricacies to them.
Pro Easy to learn, hard to master
The game is built with 8-bit retro style in mind. Such design choices made the game feel and look simplistic, and not overwhelming right from the start.
The game is simple to pick up with a helpful tutorial aiding you at the beginning of the game. A few minutes in you will find yourself accustomed to controls, interface and the abilities of your character.
If you play for a while, you will encounter more dangerous enemies that will force you to flee and to face them once again until you are able to fight against them properly.
Pro Huge fights
Realm of the Mad God features massive fights that occur between players and Oryx's minions. Some of the most exciting and terrifying enemies are not beatable alone and it requires co-operation between the players. As a result, you will see yourself teaming up with other 85+ strangers and trying to beat the boss.
Pro Permadeath
Permadeath is what adds spice to this game that makes it what it is. If you die, you lose your beloved character and all the items you had with you. You start over again.
This is what draws you in to play more as you want to get back where you were.
Pro Variety
The game offers multiple settings, hundreds of different items and monsters. Over a dozen of different classes with different powers, abilities, perks and playstyles are available to try out.
Pro Encourages experimentation and creativity
There is no right or wrong way to do anything, and it's entirely a risk vs reward scenario for anything you want to try. You are only limited by your creativity in escaping, as each prison has almost endless possibilities and encourages the player to make the best use of their inventory and be creative in handling every situation.
Bed sheets can be used to cover cell windows from the prying eyes of guards, desks can be moved to reach out of reach vents, crafted tools can be used for various purposes such as breaking through walls or doors, and shovels can be used to dig holes. You can try to sneak around guards, or opt to hide in vents until they're out of sight. If you're feeling especially brave, you can even attempt to fight the guards and take their keys allowing easier access around the prison.
Pro Good balance of game systems make for a rewarding simulation
Taking action in the game uses up your stamina, so you'll still have to make time for things like eating and sleeping if you want to have energy for things like digging through walls, fighting other inmates, or cutting through vents and gates.
Items such as shovels and cutters have limited durability, so they can't be used endlessly. Raw materials can be found around the prison to craft items, or you can buy items from fences using money earned by running fetch quests for other inmates. No matter how you acquire them, crafting materials and finished goods are limited so you'll have to use your items wisely.
Time is an important factor that has to be managed too, with certain activities having to be done at certain times. This limits the amount of time you have to roam the prison, since you have to show up for meal times and roll calls. Free time can be used to craft, roam the prison to determine the guard patterns, or finally put your ultimate escape plan into action.
Juggling each and every one of the various aspects of the game results in a very deep and rewarding simulation experience.
Pro Solid progression of difficulty
The difficulty increases as you progress, with each prison becoming just a little more intricate and more challenging to escape from than the previous. The prisons themselves get more complex with more obstacles to overcome such as tougher guards which results in more ways things can go wrong. The progress feels good and natural, as you're always building on what you learned in previous prisons to escape from the newest one.
Pro Great pixel art style for retro fans
If you enjoy a more retro style, then this game is pure eye candy. Simple but charming, the pixel art is colorful, with the sprites having a nice variety in animations when they're shoveling, searching, running around, fighting, or partaking in any kind of activity that would require movement. The tile sets for the game world are nicely detailed, colored and shaded. You won't get tired of looking at the same tiles over and over due to the sheer amount and variety of the art assets created for the game.
Pro Lots of replayability
No two games will play out alike. Each prison is an open sandbox, so it's definitely not a linear experience with a defined escape blueprint. Prisons can be replayed over and over to beat your previous time, measured in how many in-game days it took you to escape, which leaves plenty of room for trying new things on each successive playthrough.
Pro Co-Op multiplayer mode adds a new depth to gameplay
Working together creates a whole new experience with loads of possibilities. In co-op mode, you play with up to 3 teammates either online or locally as you work towards escaping the prison together. This adds a whole new dynamic to gameplay as working together creates experiences that just aren't possible when playing solo. Someone could distract the guards, while another searches rooms for crafting materials. One player could run around collecting items, while another scopes out the guard's patrol patterns. Some can complete quests to collect money while others are working on digging tunnels.
Pro A couple of alternative prisons add a change of scenery
Tired of bricks, cold floors, and cement cells? For those who want a change of scenery, there is a prison set in the wild west, and even a futuristic space prison. This adds a little bit of variety to the look of the game while keeping the same gameplay mechanics. It's a nice touch and gives your eyes a break from staring at the same tilesets over and over.
Cons
Con Pay-2-Win
The game uses "Coins" as a currency to purchase both cosmetic and fundamental items to the gameplay. Coins cannot be earned and are only obtained through real-world money. Although you can grind your way to all of the items without paying, it will be harder and will take longer than paying a few bucks for one of the best items in the game.
This can be felt when you have to pay to not run out of vault space (permanent storage for your items) or have another character slot without sacrificing your initial character. Moreover, in the Nexus (game's town safe area) you can buy one of the strongest items in the game.
A prime example of this would be maximizing pet skills which help you in combat. It takes months taking skills to the maximum level, if you are not willing to spend any money. On the other hand, if you pay a significant amount of money, it will take you less than a day.
Con Sometimes lags
There are various issues that can cause lag within the game. For some tips in dealing with it you can read here.
Con Glitches back to the main screen
During massive brawls, where there are a lot of enemies and other players, the game starts lagging and glitching. Worst case scenario, the players are sent back to the login screens.
Con Repetitive
In order to take your character's skills to the highest levels or obtain strongest items in the game, it will require grinding. Grinding means doing the same thing over and over again to gain something of value. This is where repetition comes in.
Usually, this is felt when players are trying to make their characters strong enough to compete with end-game content (strongest bosses). This requires maximizing the skills and obtaining items which sometimes could take a while. For instance, the chances of getting one of the strongest bows in the game "Doom Bow" is 1%.
Con Getting caught by guards can be overly punishing
It's frustrating when you spend several hours grinding quests for other inmates, collecting items, crafting, and carefully planning your escape, only to get caught by guards and lose all your items or killed. This effectively means you have to start over, wasting hours of your own time and days of in-game time.
Con Can feel grindy at times
Running around doing fetch quests for other inmates, or searching for crafting materials for hours on end can get stale after a while.
Con Tutorial doesn't cover much
The tutorial will only walk you through the barest of basics, resulting in the player having to learn the game's various mechanics on their own.