Don't Escape: 4 Days to Survive

Overview

Don't Escape: 4 Days to Survive is a traditional indie point-and-click horror adventure game for Steam, developed by scriptwelder and published by Armor Games Studios. The game follows the player trying to survive a series of threats after a great disaster, while also trying to uncover the truth behind the calamity and gathering a group of survivors. Don't Escape differs from a typical point-and-click game in that certain actions like traveling or building with detract from the player's remaining time, and each chapter offers different potential scenarios for the player to try to contend with in order to increase replayability. The game won the Best Story and Retro Roots awards at Pixel Heaven 2017, and placed 3rd for Best Indie Game at Digital Dragons 2017. It released on March 11th 2019 for Steam, GOG, and Kartridge.

Plot

At the start of the game, the player has been wandering nomadic throughout the wasteland after the moon cracked in half due to unknown events, and catastrophic environmental changes and other disasters began to sweep the world. As the game opens, he wakes up from a nightmare of an oncoming danger, only to discover that his dream might have been prophetic. He takes shelter in an abandoned farm house, which is where most of the game centers around, and must figure out how to keep himself safe before night falls. As the game progresses, he encounters other survivors, and learns their stories while they follow rumours of safety.

Gameplay

Much of Don't Escape: 4 Days to Survive plays like a traditional point-and-click game. The player clicks on items to interact or examine them, and solve puzzles. All items the player can pick up and carry have weight, so they will need to think carefully about what they might need, though they can set down and swap items at any time. The biggest factor in the game is the clock; traveling around the map or dismantling, building, or certain other actions takes time, though they can freely explore areas and interact with things without worrying about a timer. Some actions can take less time than they did previously if the player meets certain requirements, like repairing a car for faster travel, or having another character help them. The player will need to complete their objectives before the clock runs out.

Each chapter has several different potential dangers to contend with. It might be giant spiders or a poisonous fog, and the player will need to adjust their strategy for how they fortify their base and what items they need to do so. Barring the windows may stop intruders, for instance, but it won't stop gas or extreme temperatures. Each location has a wide variety of items to find and gather, though not all of them will be useful in every situation. Once the clock has run out, or the player chooses to end the day if they feel confident, they will see a summary of how successful their methods were. If they live, they move onto the next chapter. If they fail, they can choose to restart the current day, or simply reload one of their saves from the many save slots available to be used at any time.

History

The original Don't Escape series began as a trilogy of free Flash games designed to invert the popular "escape the room" genre of point-and-click puzzle games. The first Don't Escape title, released in June of 2013, centered around the concept of the player being a werewolf, and needing to secure their home (and weaken themselves) before night fell to ensure they couldn't escape and threaten the surrounding area. Don't Escape 2: The Outbreak, released in January of 2015, took place during a zombie apocalypse, and introduced the concept of time and map travel; the player was searching a city to try to find supplies to keep themselves safe in a specific location from an incoming zombie horde. Don't Escape 3, released in July of 2015, took place on board a space station, when the player awakens to discover the crew has been killed and must find out the reason why, as well as decide on their course of action to get the best ending.

The game was originally titled Don't Escape: 4 Days in a Wasteland, but changed its name to Don't Escape: 4 Days to Survive in April of 2019 to avoid potential brand confusion with another product.