In the industry today, not many games are marketed as couch co-op or 2 player online only. It may be possible that there was only one couch co-op Action-Adventure game revealed at E3 from Electronic Arts. A Way Out, gives gamers something they haven’t seen as often from mainstream publishers like EA.
Hazelight Studios created something that requires two players but consumers could get away with only buying one copy. God forbid an action-adventure game is made in a way that loses potential sales by offering the option to have friends play on the same console. Not only does this game look great, it makes a statement where it’s possible to bring back couch co-op despite the assimilated multiplayer gaming standards we know today.
A Way Out is a game where both characters are directly dependent on each other to progress through the game such as distracting guards or synchronizing separate objectives to complete a goal. The EA conference did have a higher focus on the prison break section of the game, however, both protagonists are shown dealing with the aftermath of their escape and the manhunt that follows. It looked interesting enough tackling the intricate task of busting out of the big house, but seeing the adventure go outside of that looks to show a lot more depth to the story besides the prison escape.
Fans of Uncharted 4 will have a great appreciation of the AWO gameplay as it really does resemble that look and feel you get and the in-game companionship. A strong focus on story and the dynamic between both protagonists sets an ideal stage to be a solid triple-A title despite being a small development team behind the works.
Expect quick time events, simultaneous objectives to complete, and a reliance on both players to mutually survive each event in order to successfully progress the game. Still, this game has promise that could be a chance for the consumer to not only vote for big publishers to take more chances on new IPs, but for the opportunity for players to make the vote for more couch co-op. Fans of this game style should keep an eye out for this one in early 2018. CE certainly will.
Thanks,
-Matt
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