It's hard to leave the shadow of a legacy that seems larger than life, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.
In the sleepy town of Calypso the festival celebrating local legend Johnson Vendetti is in full swing. You play as Francis Vendetti, nephew of the famous folk singer. The poor lad is trying to force himself to fit into a Folk mold like his uncle for his first big show, when he's clearly destined to become the latest rock opera virtuoso.
You are playing the stage for the first time on the last night of a festival to honour your uncle. So no pressure, obviously. Everyone is counting on you to put on a show that will honour your uncle's legacy, but that isn't you. Francis is a man with his head in the stars, moonlight flowing through his veins.
Luckily for our Francis, a creature from beyond the stars visits the night before the dreaded gig and offers him a more tempting proposition. He introduces Francis to Lightman - an intergalactic rockstar - who offers him a gig as a support act. Our hero reluctantly agrees and begins his epic space adventure. He and Lightman are to play three shows with the help of Violetta, an incredibly talented laser artist who prefers backstage to the spotlight.
You bounce around the cosmos, playing sick guitar riffs to anyone who will listen. Flying through alien landscapes that bloom and transform as your music reaches them, this game is impossibly beautiful. The atmosphere woven by the level design and music is some of the best work I've ever seen in game design. I know this sounds like hyperbole, but I swear it on my Sega collection.
The segment where you wander through the town lighting it up with your sick guitar shredding was beautiful in a way I entirely did not expect. Although I know it was more alien in origin, it felt like pure magic. It made me feel the most profound feeling of hope, of wonder. A game has never made me feel like that before. It was... indescribable, and something I can only heartily recommend you experience for yourself.
The main theme here is allowing yourself to defy expectations to become the person you really are, and not downplaying your talents to make others happy. Francis had to accept that whereas he is Francis Vendetti and that will never change, he's also the Almighty Indiglo (at least in my game), lord and master of the guitar, first soloist of the intergalactic transmission. Violetta emerges from backstage and displays her laser art talents centre stage in the biggest concert in the universe and impressed the Glamourgonn - a creature that devours anyone who doesn't entertain it.
Obligations are one thing, but when you cast yourself free of them, you can reach your full potential. That's when you can create something beautiful. The developers clearly eschewed such petty trifles because The Artful Escape is something truly amazing. If you want to try it out, it is available on Game Pass right now. Run, don't walk.
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