Escape from Ever After [REVIEW] – Once Upon a Timesheet 

I’ve always had a lot of love for the Paper Mario series, and while Nintendo have never quite captured the magic of the earlier titles in the newer releases in the series, there’ve been plenty of indie titles that have looked to fill that gap. And believe me, Escape from Ever After does a REALLY good job of it, with the game not just a nod to those classic titles, but a full-on embrace of what made them feel so special in its own right. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

The premise of Escape from Ever After is brilliant in its absurdity – instead of the usual ‘hero saves princess’ routine you might expect from a fairytale, we find our protagonist, Flynt Buckler, arriving at his arch-nemesis’s castle only to find it’s been turned into an office block. A mega-corporation, Ever After Inc., has gentrified the fairytale world, forcing heroes and villains alike into the crushing reality of the nine-to-five grind. Flynt ends up teaming up with that very nemesis – a dragon named Tinder – to climb the corporate ladder and take the system down from the inside… I know, it sounds insane, but it’s brilliant. 

This setup allows the writing to really shine, with the game funny, genuinely witty, and happy to take constant cracks at capitalism without feeling like a boring lecture. The way the narrative twists and turns just feels so clever, with the real charm coming in how it mashes up fairytales (and other elements of fantasy) into the tale – one minute you’re dealing with the Three Little Pigs, and the next you’re thrown into a noir detective setting or a Lovecraftian horror story. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it does, whilst beneath the satire and the jokes lies a sweet narrative about what happens to stories when they’re forgotten. The game has a lot of heart, and as someone who grew up with the sort of stories it has to tell and characters it lets you meet, it’s easy to feel immediately endeared to it. 

Presentation-wise, Escape from Ever After is an absolute treat. The Paper Mario-like aesthetic is vibrant and bursting with life, making the world an absolute joy to explore. You never quite know what you’ll see next, but it’s of such a consistent high quality that you’ll simply be excited to see where the adventure will take you. It’s all backed up by a soundtrack that is, quite frankly, an absolute banger, with plenty of catchy tunes that complement the adventure. 

“It manages to scratch that Paper Mario-like itch perfectly, all whilst standing tall as a brilliant release in the genre in its own unique, fairytale way.” 

Of course, given its Paper Mario inspiration, you can also expect some creative combat from Escape from Ever After, and luckily, it’s a lot of fun. It uses that familiar action command system where you have to time your button presses to boost damage or block attacks, and because the damage numbers are generally kept small, every hit matters. You can’t just brute force your way through, but have to treat encounters like a puzzle, where you’re managing character resources, and equipping badges for boosts, and timing your button presses carefully to ensure everything is efficiently performed. 

I’ve probably made it sound like there’s a lot to deal with, but honestly, it’s simple in execution to ensure that battling never feels like a chore. The boss fights are a particular highlight, often requiring you to interact with unique mechanics (like managing a corrupted heart or dealing with multiple enemy types at once) rather than just whittling down a massive health bar – it’s something we’ve seen in similar titles in the genre, but it does a good job of keeping Escape from Ever After engaging. 

What really elevates the experience beyond combat is how the gameplay bleeds into the exploration. It’s got a touch of that Metroidvania DNA, where you’ll actively use your party members’ oddball talents to navigate the world. It encourages you to poke your nose into every corner of the map to find hidden secrets, whilst the side content feels special too – you aren’t just fetching ten items for a generic NPC, but instead find yourself in plenty of… peculiar (but fitting) fairytale situations. I won’t give anything away here, but it embraces the source material perfectly and helps make the world feel properly lived-in rather than just a pretty backdrop. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

However, whilst I’ve got a lot of love for Escape from Ever After, it’s not entirely without its niggles. While the combat is engaging, it can get a bit repetitive, and some areas feel like they have just a few too many encounters. The defensive timing can also be a bit tight, with the window to parry attacks often short and inconsistent, which might lead to some frustrating moments. Nothing game-breaking, but small issues that caught my attention.

Developer: Sleepy Castle Studio 
Publisher: Hype Train Digital 
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1996390/Escape_from_Ever_After/