Game Reviews

Aby Escape

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| Aby Escape
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Aby Escape
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| Aby Escape

Remember classic '80s kids' show The Raccoons? Well, Aby Escape is exactly like that, only without the cloying environmental message and simpering villain with a doodah for a nose.

And by 'exactly like that', we mean it's got a raccoon in it.

Aby Escape is split into two distinct sections - an endless-runner-style 'Unlimited' mode and a far, far more interesting 'Story' mode.

Whichever way you tackle it, the game is superficially similar to the rather wondrous Temple Run insofar as your wily raccoon protagonist dashes ceaselessly into the screen while you swipe and tilt to dodge, hop over, and slide under obstacles collecting coins.

Cash dash

As an endless-runner Aby Escape might not be revolutionary, but it's at least robust enough to induce that compulsive one-more-go mentality.

Story mode is definitely the star of the show, but - like pretty much everything in Aby Escape - it comes with a price, either in the form of real money or interminable grind.

However you go about unlocking it, Story mode is largely worth the effort, taking that core running conceit and crafting it into a surprisingly smart little platform-style adventure.

Over the course of 30 stages, Aby Escape works its little running shoes off to squeeze every last drop from its familiar setup, throwing in the likes of winding reflex-testing walkways, swipe-based rope slashing, and even hunt-the-numbers tapping challenges.

Tipping the balance

Unfortunately, all that good work starts unravel in the control department, with tilt controls proving the biggest issue.

While the likes of Temple Run rely on rock-solid control precision to thrust you into a Zen-like test of fearsome skill, Aby's stodgy movement makes success a little bit too much of a lottery to be genuinely rewarding.

Which is a shame, as there's a lot to like about Aby Escape once you get into its meatier Story mode. It's jaunty, engaging, and inventive, but sadly the game's lack of control precision makes it an exhausting, rather than exhilarating, race to the finish line.

Aby Escape

An imaginative take on the endless-runner that's let down by unresponsive controls
Score
Matt Wales
Matt Wales
Following a lifetime of adventure on the high seas, swabbing the editorial decks of the good ship IGN and singing freelance shanties across far-flung corners of the gaming press, Matt hung up his pirate hat and turned his surf-seared gaze toward the murky mysteries of the handheld gaming world. He lives to sound the siren on the best mobile games out there, and he can't wait to get kraken.