A Way Out (2018, Multiplatform)

Developer: Hazelight Studios
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Clear Version: PS4
Clear Platform: PS4/PS5
Clear Date: 6/3/25

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Why should I care?
Hazelight’s first effort is a lesser experience in most ways than its successors, but it’s still a fun way to spend a few hours with your player two of choice.

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I’m breaking out of here tonight

Mere days after I finished Split Fiction, Hazelight’s first game went on sale on the PlayStation Store, which I assume was no coincidence. I snapped it up quickly and mostly blindly in hopes of playing another pleasant co-op game with my partner. A Way Out is a prison-break game and the debut of the studio’s signature co-op only gameplay stylings. It follows inmates Vincent Moretti and Leo Caruso as they plan an execute a prison break with the goal of pursuing the crime boss responsible for their respective incarcerations. While its story beats are convoluted and implausible, it’s fun enough as a shared activity to be worth seeing through with a buddy.

You may raise an eyebrow at the character select screen at the very beginning of the game, which shows the two protagonists in a small airplane dressed as if they are about to perform a military operation. They are introduced with brief text bios, and you and your playing partner can argue over who gets to control whom. You won’t have long to ponder their current circumstances before being whisked away to some exposition cutscenes showing Leo going about his daily life in prison and Vincent going through his intake processes.

You first take control of your respective characters in the prison yard, where you get the basic controls. You’re also introduced to one of the game’s many interactive elements and minigames. There’s a set of dip bars near where you first assume control of Leo, and you’re given a challenge to beat the prison record. To do so, you play a little button-mashing game. It’s nothing special, but it breaks up the action that mostly involves walking around, talking to people, and/or pressing a button to interact with objects. There’s lot of these about throughout the game, and it’s easy to see how they serve as a precursor to the myriad ideas introduced in Split Fiction.

Before long, a fight breaks out in which Vincent defends Leo, the two find out that they both have beef with a crime boss by the name of Harvey. They orchestrate their Way Out and (spoiler) actually manage their jailbreak. From there on, it’s a story of two guys on the lam trying to get revenge. The writing is nothing special (in fact, it’s often unbelievable in ways difficult to overlook), but it’s an adequate vehicle for the game’s relatively simple adventure gameplay.

Because of its simplistic gameplay, it’s probably an easier introduction to this kind of thing than Split Fiction. While Split Fiction certainly takes care to be appreciable by players of all skill levels, A Way Out has a generally slower pace. It has a couple driving and/or shooting sequences, but none are particularly demanding. You should feel comfortable playing this with anyone that has at least some fundamental game understanding and ability.

I find myself running out of gas to say much more about this one. It’s an interesting look at the origins of some of the design philosophy that led to the lovely Split Fiction, but it’s a merely decent product overall. My enjoyment of it was definitely carried by the fact that even just-okay couch co-op is still such a nice thing. Inasmuch as offerings of that sort are somewhat rare, it’s worth a look in that regard, but even in that pool there is a number of things I’d play first.