“You are imprisoned, Goat, for the crime of witchcraft!” But what they don’t know is that you’re an Escape Goat, and they haven’t made the prison yet that can hold you!
“You are imprisoned, Goat, for the crime of witchcraft!” But what they don’t know is that you’re an Escape Goat, and they haven’t made the prison yet that can hold you!
Originally released on Xbox Live back in November 2011, the platform-puzzler Escape Goat is finally making its way to the PC. The premise is simple, if a bit strange: You’re a goat, unjustly imprisoned for the crime of witchcraft, and now you have to escape. Gameplay involves platform-style jumping, button-pushing and avoiding numerous deadly traps, and while it starts off easily, you can expect the challenge to ramp up considerably as it goes.
Helping you on your daring breakout is a mouse who wants to make his own bid for freedom. Mouse can be sent into areas too small for goats, and wears a magic hat that turns up from time to time, allowing him to swap places with Goat no matter where he is. Goat himself is a surprisingly nimble fellow, able to perform impressive double-jumps and high-speed, head-butting dashes, a handy way to deal with some of the game’s less-than-solid obstacles.
The developer says Escape Goat boasts “a unique physics engine that allows pixel-perfect world manipulation and destruction,” and although that sounds very high-tech, the game has a distinctly retro look about it. But while it may not blow you away with eye candy, the original Xbox release is still a very well-regarded game, earning high marks across numerous reviews as well as climbing into the top 25 games on the Xbox Live Indie Games channel. The music is pretty great too.
Escape Goat will launch with more than 50 levels, plus a full-featured editor allowing players to create and share their own devious designs. Look for it to come out on the PC in June.
