14 DAY TRIAL // 
Platformers nowadays tend to go in one of two different directions, either really easy for casual players or really hardcore for those who want just pixels to make the difference between living or dying and retrying the whole thing from the start.
Mechanic Escape from Slak Games promises to deliver a more challenging experience, but with at least an opening section that should draw in less skilled players. Couple this with a novel premise of a TV set that's trying to save his friends stranded in all sorts of oppressive environments and the platformer certainly looks promising.
Does Mechanic Escape manage to make a great getaway or should it be locked and the key thrown away? Let's find out.
Mechanic Escape definitely has an original premise, as players control Mech, a TV set that needs to go through all sorts of challenging levels in order to save his smaller or bigger buddies. Each level tasks players with collecting 5 bigger and 50 smaller TVs, but only the bigger ones are used to unlock bonus character skins.
The actual platforming mechanics are quite tight, as Mech feels good when navigating the many different levels. He can also perform double jumps and use different extra mechanics like cannons, electric circuits, and more to quickly navigate the environment.
While you'll mostly be able to explore the levels at your own pace, Mechanic Escape breaks this up by having bigger bosses chase you for a certain distance, forcing you to keep on moving until you reach a special laser gate that destroys them.
These moments are certainly frantic and exciting but also sometimes expose one glaring problem when it comes to quickly navigating the levels. The double jump doesn't exactly work at all times, meaning your character can get stuck on the corner of a platform and, instead of jumping straight up, he jumps back where he came from, and sometimes right into a trap or a boss, instantly killing you.
Death in Mechanic Escape sends you back to the beginning of the level, as there aren't any mid-level checkpoints, for example. Even so, considering most maps are rather small and can be completed in around one minute, it's doesn't feel all that harsh.
Collectibles are scattered in a good way across the levels and the slightly more elusive ones can always be spotted and reached with a bit of effort, as the game doesn't force players to pull all kinds of crazy tricks in order to find one item.
There are 80 levels across four worlds and they get harder and harder, so prepare to either hone your skills fast or spend a lot of time cussing at the screen. Even from the first level of the second world, you'll notice a sharp increase in difficulty, requiring much faster reactions.
The visual style in Mechanic Escape is vibrant and impressive and doesn't resort to using already cliché 8-bit pixelated graphics. Instead, you're treated to some great colors and smooth – albeit limited – animations.
The soundtrack isn't that great, however, mostly serving as simple background music. This is a shame, since some electro or house tracks would've made the world feel a bit more interesting.
While a co-op mode doesn’t exactly jive with the core platformer experiences, a leaderboard or even some ghost data from other players would've promoted competition and replayability but, as of right now, there are no such things in the game.
Conclusion
Mechanic Escape is a fun platformer with a sharp difficulty curve. You'll certainly enjoy the vibrant visual style but slight issues with the double jump and the soundtrack do put a hamper on the experience. Even so, if you've enjoyed some of the newer platformers like Super Meat Boy or Giana Sisters, you'll certainly have a great time with this new one.
