Escape From Ever After Review - The Best Paper Mario Game?

"Obviously, Escape from Ever After owes an awful lot to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Hell, even the opening splash screen where the characters are lined up is basically a one-to-one recreation of the famous Nintendo title. It's like they ambled into Nintendo, stole Paper Mario, realised they couldn't sell it like that and quickly learned origami so they could toss some new characters in. A bit of paint later, and voila, new Paper Mario game...er, I mean, new game."

"This also means there is an argument to be made that almost everything good about Escape From Ever After is really just everything that was good about Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. But let's be honest if we start venturing down that path then no game is ever going to get credit for doing anything. Bluntly, Escape From Ever After doesn't massively improve on what came before it - but it doesn't need to. It's still a damn good time."

"Classic fairy-tale hero Flynt Buckler returns to the castle to once again battle the mighty and massive Tinder the dragon, only to find a slightly miffed receptionist. Turns out, the castle has been taken over by Ever After Inc, a real-life company that buys up books and exploits the resources within, including making classic fairytale characters - like the three blind mice - work for them. As for Tinder, she's now sporting a control collar, which has reduced her to a tiny and very angry dragon."

Escape From Ever After is developed by Sleepy Castle Studio and Wing It! Creative and published by HypeTrain Digital for Xbox One, Series S/X, PS5, PC, and Switch. The game heavily channels Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, mirroring visual presentation and core charm while adding a paper-themed aesthetic and new characters. The story follows fairy-tale hero Flynt Buckler returning to confront dragon Tinder, only to find Ever After Inc has commodified book characters and taken the castle. Tinder is fitted with a control collar, forcing an uneasy alliance with Flynt. The game preserves classic mechanics, humor, and nostalgia, delivering a very enjoyable experience despite limited innovation.

Read at WGB