When comparing Golf Story vs The Escapists 2, the Slant community recommends The Escapists 2 for most people. In the question“What are the best couch/local co-op games for the Nintendo Switch?” The Escapists 2 is ranked 14th while Golf Story is ranked 21st. The most important reason people chose The Escapists 2 is:
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.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Includes interesting RPG elements that add a nice layer of depth
Completing quests for NPCs awards you with the staple role-playing currencies of choice - money and experience. Money is used to buy new golf clubs which provide interesting and unique bonuses, such as being able to curve your shots better, hit a ball further, or putt with more accuracy. Experience is used to level up your character's stats such as how far you can drive the ball, purity to help correct slices, accuracy, and more. There's a lot of different stats to keep an eye on and clubs to play around with, so it adds a nice layer of depth that should keep your RPG cravings satisfied.
Pro You can golf anywhere you want in the game world and in doing so possibly even unlock secrets
While you're out and about exploring and doing quests, you are free to drop a ball and take a swing anywhere in the game world for practice or just for fun. Golfing isn't just limited to courses and quests, meaning you can set goals for yourself like trying to hit a specific tree or shooting the golf ball over the heads of NPCs. This might unlock some bonus content, as various objects in the game world reward bonuses such as money, experience, and access to secret areas if you hit them with your golf ball. Between quests and courses, just start swinging your club and you may be surprised at what you can find.
Pro Golfing itself feels satisfying and controls incredibly well
The golfing itself comes together in a satisfying way that feels intuitive to control, easy to grasp, and just plain great when you see your carefully set up shot hit its target. Hitting the ball uses timed button presses to control things like accuracy and swing strength, making it a minigame in and of itself. You can also set the direction, arc, and spin of the ball for total control of each shot. Once you've got everything adjusted, you take your swing, watching the ball soar into the air.
Pro The approach to RPG elements is a novel spin never seen before in a golf game
Instead of shiny gear and weapons like standard RPGs, Golf Story chooses to equip you with a wide variety of different golf clubs that provide stat bonuses or unique effects like hitting a ball further or putting better. Rather than stats such as strength, stamina, and intellect, your character has a more golf focused skillset including slices, accuracy, and distance. It's a novel approach that combines golf with beloved RPG elements in a way that's never been done before.
Pro Charming 16 bit style
The pixel art graphics look like they came straight from the SNES era, which will be a huge plus to gamers who prefer a retro style. The tilesets are colorful and varied. Sprites are detailed, and are a definite nod to the days of old school gaming as they have a slight bounce when they walk. Animations are smooth and great to view, such as how a trail of changing colors appears behind the golf ball while it's in midair.
Pro Humorous writing
While the premise of the story is simple - you are a guy trying to achieve your dream of becoming a golf pro - the humor in the actual writing is very apparent and there are more than a few laugh out loud moments. First of all, every NPC has their own creative way to put you down and insult your golf games, which results in some pretty funny dialogue. Nobody thinks can you make it as a pro, and they don't hold back with the insults.
Almost everything in the game is handled with a humorous spin. Whether it's the elitist trainer who gets overly upset every time you refer to the disc in disc golfing as a "frisbee", angry geese acting as a hazard on the course, hilarious rap battles revolving around golf with such lines as "shooting star / try shooting par / the tour don't play handicaps / brah", or trying to hit a kid in the ear with your golf ball to rescue him from alligators, the writing is unique and really stands out.
Pro Lots of variety in the side quests will provide hours of fun
Running around the overworld, you'll run into a lot of NPCs who will ask you to perform sidequests that will put your skills to the test. They might ask you to hit a ball to a certain location, bounce it off something, complete timed events, or ask you to pick up golf balls in a maze. There are so many NPCs and so much variety in the activities that you will always have a fun way to take a break from the main story. Completing these objectives awards money, experience, and special items so it's always worth checking them out, and it's a great way to build up your skill for the main story courses.
Pro Animated NPC dialogue boxes are a great touch
To convey the mood and emotion of each NPC, an animated dialogue box will appear over their head that grows, shrinks, tilts, and moves with their speech. For example, when they're angry the text is big and bold and the box may slightly wobble from side to side. It's executed extremely well, helping to draw you into the emotions of each NPC without the need for any voice acting.
Pro Local multiplayer mode lets you compete against a friend
The local multiplayer mode allows you to go head-to-head against a friend on 9 hole course. Before the match, you can select the golf clubs you want to use, adjust course settings such as wind speed and slope, and choose to play on any course you have unlocked. It's a great way to continue to fun with a friend after you've completed the story mode, and you can play on the same device since it's turn based.
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 Story is not as great in the latter half of the game
While the story starts out pretty strong, having struggles, hardships, and general drama between characters, most of the problems get solved way too early, shifting focus to winning the golfing championship. As a result, the latter half of the game lacks the driving force of proving someone wrong or overcoming a trauma, so it might not feel as interesting.
Con No online multiplayer
Unfortunately, the game is limited to local multiplayer mode, and no online mode exists at this time.
Con Slopes and hills are hard to see on the golf course
The game is 2D, so sometimes things like small hills and slopes on the golf courses are hard to see. This makes it hard to predict how your shot will roll or bounce once it lands on the ground, making for some unpredictable golfing.
Con Disc golfing minigame can be confusing
One of the minigames requires you to golf with a disc, and due to the controls, can tend be a bit on the confusing side. The disc can controlled in the air, but it responds to controls based on the way the disc is facing. For example, if the disc is facing south, pressing left will move the disc right. All in all, it just doesn't feel good to control since you will constantly be dealing with the way the disc faces in relation to the buttons you're pressing.
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.