Escape From Ever After Channels a Classic Nintendo Formula for Modern Fun
- Antal Bokor
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
I wanted to clear some of my early-year backlog as we started to move into the bulk of this year’s releases, and I figured I should finally write about Escape From Ever After. It’s not that I was putting off playing it. In fact, I’ve been steadily putting time into this Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door clone. Because that’s exactly what it is—and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially if it's exactly what you want.
When I say it’s a clone of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (TTYD), I mean it. Swap out TTYD's badges for trinkets, flower points for mocha points, and star power for synergy, and you’ll see it’s nearly identical. This extends all the way down to the reactive style of attacks and blocks that help you deal more damage or mitigate incoming hits, respectively. It’s not like anyone is trying to hide it, either. The characters are all paper cut-outs, ostensibly to represent their storybook nature.
Instead of traveling through a Super Mario Bros.-inspired world, each area is a different storybook to explore. And while I thought the game would stick strictly to fairytales (you know, since it's themed that way, named that way, etc.), it actually pulls from a more eclectic list of literary influences, including H.P. Lovecraft and Robert Louis Stevenson.
But despite the eldritch horrors and pirate escapades, Escape From Ever After is a wholesome, cute game that never takes itself or its stories too seriously. It’s not exactly a humorous game (despite some laughs), but it’s definitely a whimsical one.
As Flynt, you’re on a mission to defeat Tinder the Dragon. However, your quest is interrupted when you’re both captured by Ever After Inc. and forced into their corporate hierarchy. Alongside Tinder, the Big Bad Wolf, Eva from HR, and Patches, you must work together to take down the corporate giant from the inside. To do that, you’ll go on adventures through storybooks as you perform quests to climb the corporate ladder.
Gameplay in Escape From Ever After is a mixture of exploration, bits of platforming and puzzle-solving, and turn-based combat. While you have an entire party of characters, only two are ever active at one time. You can actively swap between characters in both exploration mode and combat as different situations arise. Each character has a specialty that allows them to interact with the environment to progress. Eva can change animals into springy mushrooms to access higher areas, while Tinder can light fires to burn obstacles or light torches.
Combat in Escape From Ever After is probably its main draw, and it’s surprisingly addictive. Each character has access to their own set of trinkets that enable different abilities. If an enemy has a shield, for instance, they can block Flynt’s shield throw, but Eva can turn into a frog and snatch the shield away. As I mentioned before, attacking and blocking have a timed element to them. So even though combat is technically turn-based, there is still an active element that requires you to hit a certain button at a certain time, or do a small quick-time event for maximum effect.
While the timing windows for these blocks and attacks can occasionally feel a bit strict—a minor gripe in an otherwise highly polished system—landing a perfect parry or executing a massive synergy attack never stops feeling rewarding. It forces you to stay engaged with every single turn, ensuring the combat never devolves into mindless button-mashing, even when you are just clearing out lower-level enemies while exploring.
Ultimately, Escape From Ever After knows exactly what it is and who it is for. It wears its Paper Mario inspirations proudly on its sleeve, but injects enough of its own distinct identity through its clever corporate satire and literary mashups to avoid feeling like a simple retread. Better yet, the adventure clocks in at a highly digestible 20 to 25 hours. It tells its story, delivers its mechanics, and wraps up before it ever has a chance to overstay its welcome—making it the perfect, whimsical palate cleanser before the rest of the year's heavy-hitting releases arrive. If you’ve been chasing the high of classic turn-based RPGs, Ever After Inc. is a company well worth selling your soul to.
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