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The Artful Escape

A teenage guitar prodigy sets out on a psychedelic journey to inspire his stage persona and confront the legacy of a dead folk legend. Starring voice performances by Michael Johnston, Caroline Kinley, Lena Headey, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Strong, and Carl Weathers.

Steam Page
Release
September 9, 2021
4 years and 328 days ago
Steam Reviews
Very Positive1,994 reviews91.9%

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Updated: Jul 13, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer.
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher.
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Updated: Jul 13, 2026Publisher statusHow the game's publishing relationship is classified.
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Search Google: How is The Artful Escape and Annapurna Interactive funded?FundingThe known source of funding behind the game.
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Updated: Jul 13, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released.
The game was released through a separate publisher.

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About the Game

On the eve of his first performance, Francis Vendetti struggles with the legacy of a dead folk legend and the cosmic wanderings of his own imagination.

In an attempt to escape the musical legacy of his uncle, a teenage guitar prodigy embarks on a psychedelic journey to inspire his new stage persona, searching for who he isn’t in an adventure spanning stolen opera houses, melodic alien landscapes, and the impossible depths of the Cosmic Extraordinary.

Starring voice performances by Michael Johnston, Caroline Kinley, Lena Headey, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Strong, and Carl Weathers.

KEY FEATURES:
* A story about great expectations, towering legacies, aliens, folk music, guitar solos, making stuff up, and living your dreams like memories.
* Musical jams. They’re visceral. They traverse dimensions.
* Craft your own stage persona from the sci-fi beginnings of your backstory to the trim on your moonboots.
* Converse, consult and chill with all manner of beings: disenchanted publicans, nostalgic villagers, lumbering alien wildlife, and reality-defying behemoths.
* Shred, soar and dance across the multiverse. Traverse landscapes made of sound -- composed by your movement -- as if the world itself were an instrument.