During the EA Play showcase during E3 2017 week this past summer, we were introduced to A Way Out, a new co-op game from the makers of the incredible indie title Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons—a game I was actually pretty shocked to discover didn’t have a co-op option, but is still great. Personally, the best case scenario for me would be if both of these games had the option to play alone or with a friend. But that’s just me.
During the recent Game Awards 2017, a new video for the game was released introducing the two main characters. But much more importantly than that, it has been revealed that in order for people to play this two-player co-op game, only one of the two people playing will actually have to purchase it. A very cool thing for those behind the game to do.
Continue below for additional info on A Way Out, the recently released video, and more.
The game’s director, Josef Fares, recently talked about the brief history of his studio Hazelight, the game, and the decision to make a co-op title which only requires one of the two players to purchase. From PlayStation Blog:
Q: Tell us about yourself and how a movie producer decides to create his own Videogame Studio (Hazelight)?
Josef Fares: Well, I arrived in Sweden when I was a young boy, and I spent my teen years playing video games and filming a large amount of short films on a borrowed camcorder. I even was the youngest student in a prestigious Swedish film school! I’ve always been passionate about creation and telling stories to people. While working as a movie director, I have done that how I wanted. One day a friend who was in charge of a game development education asked me if I was interested in making a game in six weeks with a couple of students. I got super excited and came up with the idea for Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons the same day. After the release of Brothers, me and the team were overwhelmed by the positive reception from industry critics and were all very excited and very proud to see the enthusiasm of the players as well. I knew I wanted to keep making games, so I started Hazelight and brought with me the core team behind Brothers. We started at around 12 people, and now we are 40!
Q: We discovered A Way Out at EA PLAY this year, what is so special about it?
JF: A Way Out is very special indeed. I wanted to create a game with not only a great emotional cinematic narrative, but also never-seen before ways to play co-op.
It all begins in prison with two separate inmates, Leo and Vincent, who don’t know each other. They have different personalities, Vincent is calm and sort of the wise one, whereas Leo is rash and likes to make a scene. While their stories progress, you and your friend will have to build a relationship based on trust as they break out of prison and into the world.
Concerning co-op, I think we undervalue the power of experiencing interactive stories together, like watching a movie as a family, for instance. It was always important for me to enable two friends to form a bond with their characters and through that relationship also form a new bond with each other.
Q: Why did you chose to create a co-op only game?
JF: A friend and I were looking for a co-op game that wasn’t just a drop-in/drop-out experience. We wanted a game with a strong story where the characters have unique personalities and goals. After searching and searching, we couldn’t find a game where players can seamlessly experience full screen to cinematic split-screen. So we decided to make one!
Q: I heard you could invite a friend to play the whole game with you. This is quite unique!
JF: Yes! We are super excited to allow friends to enjoy the game together, and only one of them has to buy the game. Basically, if you buy the game, your friend downloads the friends pass free trial, and then you invite him to play the full game with you for free. And yes, I mean for free for real.
Fares was one of the show-stealers during the above mentioned Game Awards 2017, as you can see from 2:16:21 to 2:20:03 of the full awards presentation. He continued gaining popularity with a blunt statement on the Twitter about two people having to purchase a game in order for them to play:
Clearly someone who has fond memories of the days when folks used to play games together in the same room, which only required one copy of the game. And by the way, playing his new game with someone in the same room is also an option.
A Way Out will be released on March 23rd, 2018. Be sure to check out the reveal and gameplay trailers from E3 as well if you missed them.
Videos
From Hazelight Studios, creators of *Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons* comes an exclusively co-op adventure unlike anything you’ve played before.
Join Vincent and Leo, two inmates who must work together to make their daring escape from prison and continue beyond into both characters’ lives in an action-packed story.
When you buy the full version of A Way Out, you’ll get the special chance to invite friends into the full experience to play with you for free. So pre-order now, find a friend you can trust, and start planning.
A WAY OUT breaks out on March 23, 2018.
Pre-order now at: http://x.ea.com/43296
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