Escape Or Die Trying: A rundown of the most underrated game in freaking history

I bet not many of you have heard about a game called O.D.T, or rather, Escape Or Die Trying. Well, then you've come to the right place because this post will give you the rundown and of course, you'll get my thoughts.

The PlayStation cover for O.D.T

So, firstly, some background: O.D.T was designed and published by Psygnosis. It was released on the 31st of August 1998 for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It had a planned Nintendo 64 version but it got cancelled. The N64 version had another unlockable character, Mr. Bodybolt. 

Secret characters: Sophia Hawkins, Karma and Mr. Bodybolt

The plot goes like this: You play as one of 4 characters (there are also 2 unlockable characters, Stowaway Sophia Hawkins and Karma, the Ex-Deviant), Corporal Ike Hawkins, Cartographer Julia Chase, Chief Engineer Maxx Havok and Archbishop Solaar. You're on the Nautiflyus (an airship) with Captain Lamat and Marin (The pilot) transporting the Green Pearl back to Calli, the homeland of our heroes. The Green Pearl is a magical artifact that would hopefully heal the endemic Calli's people are facing. Due to time constraints, they were forced to fly over the Forbidden Zone and accidentally crash landed on a roof of a tower in the zone. The Captain and the Green Pearl are taken by Ah Puch, a super scary demon monster.

The Nautiflyus

Basically, you have 3 objectives:

• Collect gas canisters to refill the balloon of your ship, 
• Find and retrieve the Green Pearl and,
• Escape from the Forbidden Zone

In every level there in a final boss and every level feels different. There are different weapon ammo and cool spells that make the game interesting.

The 4 Main heroes of O.D.T

The Refinery, Gardens, Jails, Kitchens, Pools and Temple are the themes for the levels you face and the bosses are themed accordingly.

My favourite level was the Pools. The blue colours, the water (I love water in video games) and the fish wall patterns calmed me in a game filled with jumpscares. Well, jumpscares for me only actually.
My mom and I played this game together and I remember several times where I'd be watching her play, she'd head down a passage and where the light illuminates, I'd see movement, get a fright myself and grab hold of her shoulder and shout. She'd end up shouting as well and put the game on pause. I think that must've happened at least a million times. 

My Favourite level, The Pools

There were also these teal coloured monsters that wouldn't die even when they lay still on the ground and when you approached, they'd simply hop up and attack. And they'd make this scary groaning sound which kinda scared 6-7 year old me.
My least favourite level was the Kitchens. It had lots of jumping over lava, carcasses and spiders. And steamy warm chicken stood on every table. The boss at the end was also not cool. A monster wielding two butcher knives after playing a level filled with carcasses made me think I'd be a carcass soon too.

I did some research and found the bosses names in order; The Golem, The Prototype, The Treeman, Ek Ahau, Kisin, a Dragon and Ah Puch.

Ek Ahau was a cool dude. He was massive, with one arm and a deformed 'twin' stuck to his torso. He did these Kung-fu kicks and we literally nicknamed him Kung-fu Panda for that reason.
Being in a small room with this boss heavily stomping around after you was NOT a good thing.

And the Prototype had a funky move where if you had him walking into a corner, he'd turn the top half of his body around and suddenly he's facing you.
The Treeman had baby dinosaurs spewing from his chest, it was really annoying trying to fight a boss and also trying to keep the little rugrats from biting you.

My favourite character to play as was Ike. He balanced real well. Not too light or heavy in my hands. As a gamer, I can almost feel heavy and light characters in games. Julia was too light for me, one wrong flinch and she'd stroll off a ledge. Maxx was too heavy and I just never took to Solaar, honestly.

Some of the bosses and enemies you'll encounter

The array of enemies in the game fit into the environment, dinosaurs in the garden, bats in the open air outside and piranhas in the water. When you stood still in the water for too long, a piranha would take a chomp out of you. Them biting always sounded like they had false teeth rattling in their mouths. It was funny. 

This game brought me so much joy. As much as it was action packed, it had puzzle elements and it got my brain working. But I must admit dying over and over did frustrate me. When I got home early from school, you'd find me standing in my lounge, the controller in my hand, fighting the Dragon boss in the water level over and over. 

If I think about O.D.T objectively, I see few flaws. Better character back stories with more in game cutscenes could've strengthened the gameplay. More explanations to things. Back then, I loved the game for what it was. But if the game was remade as was then, today, critics would point out the same flaws. 

But, I think with a little creative flair and more backstory, the game could make it in today's gaming industry. I loved the game's layout and the impact the game had on my gaming journey is why, 100%, with no hesitation, Escape Or Die Trying makes it to my top favourite games of all time.

I thank my good friend, Lord Josh Allen, for the pictures I used in this post. He is a fellow O.D.T lover and has some great O.D.T related content on his Youtube and even has a Facebook group devoted to this amazing game, O.D.T Escape Or Die Trying.