Newcomer Beethoven & Dinosaur is here to make its 1970's rock n' roll dreams come true in the form of The Artful Escape. It's bringing it all to life with the publisher backing of Annapurna Interactive, the fine folks that brought us Ashen, Outer Wilds, and What Remains of Edith Finch.
That's all just publishing stuff, but Annapurna has a good eye for this sort of thing. Annapurna doesn't throw its weight into just any old indie project that comes along. So, while guitar-driven rock doesn't do much (if anything) for me, and while good-looking sidescrolling platformers are the most common substance on the planet right now, I'm keeping an eye on this one because the publisher, Annapurna, has become quite the tastemaker of the years.
You're the fur-collared Francis Vendetti, traversing landscapes made of sound--soundscapes!--triggered by your movements, as if the world were your instrument. "Players will experience Close Encounters of the Third Kind-style musical jams, endless possibilities for custom on-stage personas, conversations with all manners of being from disenchanted publicans to lumbering alien wildlife, as well as the ability to walk, run, double jump, air walk, light cannon, trip and dance across the multiverse." I've watched the psychedelia of this announcement trailer a couple times and, eh, it's growing on me a little bit, but we'll see. I'm getting the alien vibe, I'm getting the proto-hipster musician-life vibe as well. But I need to see something pretty miraculous from the gameplay to keep me hooked. Because watching a dude run along and strum an electric guitar and/or kickflip on his skateboard isn't going to be enough to trigger my musical sensibilities or my nostalgia, either one.
The Artful Escape is coming to Xbox and Apple Arcade (that's an interesting combo) sometime in 2020.
