When comparing Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition 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 Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition is ranked 36th. 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 Satisfying hack-and-slash combat against dense packs of enemies
Taking out huge packs of enemies in Hyrule Warriors is incredibly satisfying. Even though your foes outnumber you, you have powerful, flashy attacks to lift them in the air and take them down, dozens at a time. Slashing through everyone with spinning attacks with gigantic swords, for example, never gets old, especially while playing as one of your favorite characters from The Legend of Zelda games. Clearing out maps of all the enemies makes you feel powerful and gives you a great sense of accomplishment.
Pro You get to play as several characters from The Legend of Zelda series
Hyrule Warriors has a good roster of characters to play as, each of them from The Legend of Zelda games. Aside from the most well-known characters like Zelda and Link, fans of the series get to enjoy plenty of other familiar faces. You can play as Ganondorf, the main antagonist from the series, as well as other characters like Sheik, Princess Ruto, Yuga, Volga, and many more. Even if you're not a diehard fan of the series, you can still enjoy the sheer variety of characters and all their different fighting styles.
Pro Two players can co-op the whole game together
You can team up with a friend to play all of the story content and more. The splitscreen co-op is local only, but you get to play the whole game together, making some of the more challenging missions more manageable. Playing co-op on docked mode through the TV is probably best, since the handheld is a bit too small to see everything clearly with the screen cut in half.
Pro Upscaled visuals plus all DLC content from the original
As an upgrade from the existing Hyrule Warriors, the Definitive Edition has an improved resolution and framerate, plus all the bonus content. Everything runs smoothly at 1080p and 60 FPS, with brighter colors for maps, characters, and enemies. All the DLC content is here from the start as well, meaning you get the whole package from the original Hyrule Warriors along with the added characters, maps, and more. If you didn't get the chance to play Hyrule Warriors on the Wii U or 3DS, this is a great time to jump in.
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 Hardly any new content exclusive to this Definitive Edition
If you already played Hyrule Warriors on the Wii U or 3DS, there isn't much of a reason to pick up this new version. The upscaled visuals are nice, but there isn't much here compared to the existing game, especially if you shelled out money for all the DLC before. At most, characters like Zelda have new costumes from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which isn't much of an incentive by itself. So if you played the original and you're on the fence about buying this version, you might want to hold off for a price drop first.
Con Splitscreen for co-op makes it hard to see the map
The vertical split across the middle of the screen makes it hard to see what's going on during co-op play. Since there are tons of enemies on the screen at any one time, having that density packed into a smaller portion of your TV or handheld screen is inconvenient. You'll probably still have a great time with co-op, despite the setback.
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.