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Escape Doodland review

In a world of pen and paper, not paying attention in class, and margin doodles…lies Escape Doodland: a clever and cheeky game where you’re running your little drawn legs out of Doodland as fast as you can go!

Playing a lot like Temple Run or Tomb Raider: Relic Run, there’s a perpetual motion of your chosen doodle as you jump, climb and fart your way through the levels. However, in Relic Run, you have nothing chasing you–in Doodland there’s a massive threat on your tail. No worries though! You can fart backwards to keep it at bay if you wish…just one of the many fart-portunities you’ll get as you cheese it on out of the clutches of your dreaded defeat!

Escape Doodland is under no illusions about how hard the actual gameplay can be. It might have a very childlike appeal to it, especially with the crude humour, but you won’t make it out of Doodland without some serious elbow grease and plenty of trial and error. You have three hearts and a handful of checkpoints per level, but that’s all the mercy you’ll be shown…and even in those cases, sometimes it’s simply not enough to get your drawn behind together.

Watch the Escape Doodland trailer below:

As it’s a game that relies heavily on reflexes and a bit of memory, the difficulty I cited up there might be something different to a young, fresh mind. I can very much see a kiddo getting engrossed by the concept and humour, and putting most adults to shame with how well they can navigate their way through. Either way, it’s a game that unless you’re naturally cat-like–you’ll need a bit of practise to sharpen your escape skills.

It’s adorable and will no doubt get your kid laughing (you fart in the baddies mouths, for Pete’s sake). The repetitive nature of Escape Doodland is broken up with the incentive for upgrades and unlocks as you collect beans and zippo lighters to power said farts. You’ll unlock new characters and all sorts, which nobody can deny is a lot of fun to work toward.

View some Escape Doodland screenshots in our gallery:

Playing on PC, Escape Doodland felt a little out of place. More of a tablet or mobile phone type of game, but without the micro transactions (thank goodness). As the controls are really simple, I wouldn’t be surprised to find this in an app store somewhere down the line–and for good reason! Without any negative connotation here, I would have a blast playing this at a bus stop, or in a waiting room to pass the time. The option to buy on Nintendo Switch really influences my recommendation too.

It’s a bit of busy work for a game, but keeps it nice and fresh with adorable characters and concepts. You’ll be the ‘cool parent’ in town with all the fart references, and if you’re anything like me–you’ll be giggling at it as an adult anyway. Time to put on your drawn running shoes and eat your beans: we’ve got to Escape Doodland ASAP!

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Escape Doodland was reviewed using a digital code supplied by the publisher. The game is available to buy now on Steam or the Nintendo eShop.

Publisher: PlayWay / Ultimate Games Developer: flukyMachine Release date: November 30th, 2018 Reviewed on: PC/Steam Also Available On: Nintendo Switch

Sara Boardman
Sara Boardman
By day, Sara is a video game fanatic, playing since her fingers could work a controller, keyboard and mouse. By night, she's a cartoonist who likes to draw silly pictures of her whippet, Phil.

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