I Wanna Escape Into My Mind

Creator: Jane_Chef

Average Rating
9.1 / 10
Brilliant
Average Difficulty
49.9 / 100
Novice
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Tags:

Adventure (18) Needle (1) Avoidance (2) Trap (1) Gimmick (13) Boss (15) Special (6) Long (5) Story (1) Different_Engine (1) Art (6) Sudoku (3) FangameMarathon (3) SourPls (1) Unity (1) Plot (1) surreal (1) Death_Grips (1) Action (1) Wacky (1) Post-Sudoku (1) Cycle (1) FM_2023 (2) Is_Lesbian_Allowed_As_A_Tag? (1) Lesbian (4) Lesbian_Seems_To_Be_Allowed (1) sapphic (1) medley_but_epic (1) wantcore (1) transgender (1) Čeda (1)

Screenshots

1/6
by DomGamer

67 Reviews:

MrDobryiKot
Give me the address of you dealer, please.
[4] Likes
Rating: 10.0       Difficulty: N/A
Jul 19, 2023
Natsu
A very fun adventure game with design that keeps introducing new mechanics and ideas that flow very well despite how unconventional some of them are. It's a great time, I loved the bosses especially and I felt that the game has a very good pace. The saves are all quite fast to play through, it feels like a lot of care was placed into all of the cycles and platforming to make it feel very smooth and intuitive to play.

The music is admittedly not to my tastes mostly but the aesthetic of the game is unique and well defined, and I absolutely loved all of the art and animations. The final boss in particular was a strong highlight for this. The game has a very strong identity and sense of humour, Jane is just an incredibly impressionable maker, and I look forward to anything else she makes in the future.

Definitely worth a play! Difficulty is mostly consistent though I found there were a few standout screens that took me a while.

(As a very unimportant side note, I love all of the OG IWBTG references! Fun to see a lot of explicit references in a modern fangame in an age I don't feel like people are really fans of Guy :b I just appreciate it)

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Tagged as: Adventure Boss FM_2023
[4] Likes
Rating: 9.2       Difficulty: 50
Jul 18, 2023
Cthaere
And yet again I am forced to break my own self imposed rule. I generally do not give games that I did not have an immediate connection with 9+, however this game deserves it (and honestly, it deserves higher, but at that point I'd be dishonest to myself).

I doubt there's much I can say that has not been said already, however there are a few points I would like to add and accentuate. First of all, I agree with most of what marc and derf were saying, and I am glad that we're starting to take steps towards having games with well executed narratives. Too often, even when games do try to have a narrative, they tend to be either personal to the maker to the point of being near-unrecognizable to anyone else, so vague as to feel like the author only wanted the player to FEEL like there's a narrative where there isn't one, or the "narrative" is just some plot to give the kid an excuse to be where they are, without any real significance or commentary on anything. Many of them also feel very flat, where once you figure them out you can only go "was that it? is that all?". This game, in contrast, has multiple layers that make the existence of a narrative obvious, as well as its general shape, while not revealing all the cards immediately, which I wish more games would do. Many parts are also much more broadly open to interpretation, which I also appreciate.

As far as executing the concept, it is very well done and feels both direct and purposefully designed, with the final result coming together as a well made, cohesive and rich experience. I do feel like there are a few nitpicks. First, I have a personal hangup regarding high energy songs that are coupled with relatively static vfx. This shows up a few times and in nearly all of them I would have liked seeing new vfx styles and strong effects, something that I want and burnmind do well but feels a bit missing here. Final stage also feels overly long and has some big frustrating moments. The choice to bring all the gimmicks back together also felt not quite fleshed out to me; while one can very easily make the reading of the game being a journey of facing and overcoming one's anxieties, and thus the final stage could be an allusion to either having a panic attack or taking the final step to overcome them all, the final stage still doesn't sit right with me in this context (or any similar one), as it feels that either the concept can be portrayed in the abstract with minimal unpleasantness, or that the unpleasantness must be experienced whole in which case I would have preferred it to be made more explicit and turned even higher.

So why is this not a 10? I hate to admit it, but I did not instantly connect with the game. I appreciate it on an intellectual level, and it is very clear what it's going for on an emotional level, however it did not work for me. It always sucks when a piece of art others love to death bounces off you, and it doubly sucks when it's a piece of art that you not only feel like you should connect with, but one that you ALSO love to death on the concept alone. But that's something you just gotta learn to cope with; this was not the first time it happened to me, and I'm certain it won't be the last.

You will also note that I avoid making a substantial and detailed reading into the game, one that I can claim full ownership of and confidently stand behind; Quite frankly, I feel unqualified to give any. My media literacy is in need of improvement, and besides this game feels like it is at least partially a personal (if not to say a cathartic/therauptic) creation, and that makes the relationship between maker and game much stickier. Besides, it's a lot better for one to form their own opinions and theories first before "getting the answer" from someone who has "figured it out", and so I feel like giving any full reading on DF would likely do more harm than good. With that said, Marc and Derf both take us in a good direction, I feel. Go read their reviews.

All in all, this is a massive step in a direction I've been waiting for fangames to go towards for a long while, and it is an exceptionally well made one to boot. Despite not having gotten as much out of it as I felt I should have, the game still gives me hope, and is an undeniable cornerstone of narrative design.

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[3] Likes
Rating: 9.0       Difficulty: N/A
Feb 5, 2024
kikones34
Very good game! It is well-designed and has unique interesting gimmicks. The concepts are also well introduced to the player, starting with easy examples so that you quickly get what they're about, and then making them more complicated as you progress. I really liked the bosses too, they were generally fair, had good telegraphing of the attacks and were pretty fun.

The game is heavy on timing-based obstacles, and I feel it was generally well-balanced. In almost all of the rooms, everything is placed so that there's good cycles if you just go right after resetting, so you don't need to stand there waiting every time you die. You sometimes do have to wait for certain cycles after the first few obstacles, which can get a bit tiring if you reset a lot, but it wasn't that big of a deal for me. It was also clear to me that the position of everything was quite deliberate to create interesting challenges.

As someone who's gone through a gender identity crisis, the story resonated with me. I also liked the symbolism of the stage elements and bosses. I do think, however, that execution-wise the themes were a bit overdone. I get the feel the dev wanted to transmit, but in my opinion some parts were edgier than they needed to be, both style-wise and music-wise. There were also some questionable stylistic choices that made seeing certain elements a bit difficult, which felt unfair, although they were few and far between.

As for the music, I did generally enjoy it, but some of the songs had a way too strong start (e.g. second phase of the final boss), and it was giving me a headache to listen to it over and over again after resetting. The full song may be fine because it calms down later, but listening to the start on repeat, not nice. I do think though that all the SFX were very well chosen and satisfying.

The hand-drawn graphics and animations are very good, and it's really refreshing to see some original art in a fangame, honestly. In fact it's refreshing to see this many original elements in a fangame in general. It does use some assets from other games, but they feel more like cool references. It also adds to that feel that the dev made the whole thing in Unity, rather than using the classic GM engines.

Now, I have to say that stages 1 through 4 were very good, but stage 5 fell a bit flat for me. It starts promising, mixing gimmicks from previous stages in cool ways. But then, it gets dragged on for SO long, it gets to a point where I feel it's not adding anything to the game, it just feels like padding. I think the game would've benefited from a shorter stage 5 that only kept the most interesting gimmick combinations. And then, the last boss was a bit hit-and-miss for me, some of the phases were good, but others were a bit underwhelming or unfair. All in all my least favorite stage, and it's a shame that it's the last thing in the game.

There's also one nitpick I have about the engine that others have already mentioned, which is that The Kid completely stops after a room transition, even if you're still pressing the buttons. It doesn't get too in the way though, as there aren't any moments in which you need to go back and forth quickly between different rooms.

All things considered, I really enjoyed playing the game and it's obvious that the dev put lots of effort into it. Totally recommended!

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[3] Likes
Rating: 8.2       Difficulty: 50
Oct 20, 2023
kurath
Another excellent entry from Jane.

It is worth noting, this is a very artistic game and can be quite (intentionally) abrasive at times, so don't come in looking for a clean experience but rather when you're in the right state of mind for it.

The art is mostly original and is definitely one of the standouts in terms of conveying the atmosphere and crafting the experience. Production-wise otherwise, there's a lot of good audio touches, and though the soundtrack in general didn't really appeal to me, it still leaves an impact as part of the whole package. The engine is custom, and feels a bit off at times, but within the context of the game isn't an issue - just something to watch out for if that's a problem for you.

The game flows quite well most of t he time, and the platforming while leaning a bit more towards traditional fangame style than Chungo's did, still stands out as quite unique and varied. The bosses are generally not too tough and serve to improve that variety. There are a handful of awkward segments along the way, but nothing too problematic.

Overall, I don't think the game is quite for everyone, but it wears its identity on its sleeve and you should be able to quickly tell if its a style you'd be interested in. If it is, it is a fun game and worth your time.

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Tagged as: Adventure Boss
[3] Likes
Rating: 9.0       Difficulty: 50
Sep 14, 2023
Murphy0749
This is by far the most bat shit insane fangame I have played in a long time. If you like Chungo's Gauntlet then you are for sure going to have a great time with this one, I will say that it is harder than Chungo. Some of the gimmicks were easy to understand, while others can give newcomers some trouble. The room where you shoot the saw for example.

Overall, this is an amazing well done adventure game that is worth a play!

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[3] Likes
Rating: 9.8 98       Difficulty: 54 54
Jul 19, 2023
NightShark115
We really have come a long way since Hereditary Baldness, haven't we...

I Wanna Escape Into My Mind is an adventure game made for the 2023 Fangame Marathon. The game is heavily based on games like Burnmind or I Want, and describes itself with the themes of "change, identity and figuring out who you are".

First of all, the main thing you'll notice right away: the engine. Since the game is made on Unity, the usual engine options are entirely incompatible, meaning Jane had to rebuild the physics from scratch. Unfortunately, it's not the best recreation in the world. The jump heights are different than the original, the collision order is just wrong sometimes, right shift key is entirely disabled, the list goes on. Because of this, the game just feels very different to play than other fangames. Luckily, Jane at least knew how to design around this engine so the game felt natural to play in this engine, rather than hindered by it. Still, it can really be felt, so if you don't like dealing with irregular physics, this game won't be enjoyable for you.

With that established, how is the game itself? Well, it's a lot of fun. The game throws a lot of gimmicks your way, starting with normal gimmicks like moving killer walls, ending with more insane stuff like an enemy chasing you to destroy blocks around you, or eyeballs that shoot giant hands at you. The game uses these gimmicks extremely well, and not a single one of them felt unsatisfying to navigate around (with the exception of the stupid homing cherries in the Untitled Needle Game room, as I just have no idea whether they will explode or not). That's not even mentioning the different transformation that the Kid gets in the game, which can improve your movement options and enhance your weapons. There are a bunch of enemies in the game that you have to fight, and these powerups really help in dealing with them.
And of course, with a game this big, there's also bosses, which are just as fun as the platforming.
-The first boss is Norton, a nice introduction to what the bosses are gonna be like. The attacks are all simple to read, while still being fun.
-Following him is the "REAL boss", Contrarian Cherry, who is a literal joke boss. Moving on.
-Up next is Princess Nehema, who starts this game's trend of "clusterfuck bosses". It's not that bad at first, but once you enter the second half, you have shit coming from all sides, plus a guy on the left that you have to keep shooting before he corners you. Even in all the chaos, the boss still manages to be a lot of fun.
-The same, however, can not be said for Wlfgrl. This boss follows the same "clusterfuck boss" design as Nehema, but with significantly less effort directed towards the balancing. This becomes especially a problem in the parts where you actually damage the boss, since you have to deal with aimed eyeballs flying at you, on top of a bunch of other stuff, all in a really cramped room.
-Queen is a nice refresher after that. She's a rather unique boss, with more emphasis on spawning attacks relative to the player's position. Some of these can be a little unfair at first glance, but once you learn to stay on your toes more, you won't have as rough of a time.
-But we're not done yet though! After that, there's a phase 2, against the Queen fused with a giant Core. This one differs from the first one, going back to the design philosophy of the other bosses. The room is also much bigger than the other bosses, so you have plenty of space to dodge everything, and the attacks are all telegraphed well, so nothing is ever unfair.
-From this point onwards, all the bosses in the game are based on previous content from the game, starting with Contrarian Cherry teaming up with Wlfgrl. This is surprisingly not as bad as you would expect, as Wlfgrl doesn't do much of the attacks, and Contrarian Cherry takes center stage here. Or, rather, his "badass Original Characters" do instead. You fight against 3 separate bosses one at a time, each with their own attack. I don't really like how slow-paced it gets sometimes, but other than that, it's a good boss.
-And then Nehema comes back again, this time fused with the same Core that Queen fused with earlier. This fight uses enemies and attacks from both of those fights, while keeping in mind how these attacks impact the fight relative to each other. My favorite example of this is the attack with the chasing enemies paired with the waves on the ground.
-Finally, there's the final boss, Mind. You end the game by fighting a mirror image of yourself, featuring all 4 forms you can take in this game. It's a pretty long fight, so I'm happy to say that almost all of the fight is well-designed. The attacks are based on the abilities you were given while you had control over these forms, putting you on the recieving end of them this time. The only problem I had was the eyeball attack in phase 1, since it seems too confusing to figure out how to dodge it, but other than that, a nice sendoff to a nice game.
Oh yeah, this game also has a story. It's a rather complicated story, with elements of it strewn throughout the game. This unfortunately meant I wasn't able to understand much of what was happening, other than the whole game being a trans allegory. But hey, if you like games with stories, this is definitely something you would like. Other reviewers have already weighed in their takes on what the story could represent, so if you want somewhat of an idea of what it could mean, then go check them out.

And that just about covers it! A really fun game from top to bottom, despite a few rough spots here and there. Definitely recommended if the engine doesn't deter you.

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Tagged as: Adventure Trap Gimmick Boss Special Long Story Different_Engine Unity Death_Grips
[2] Likes
Rating: 8.0 80       Difficulty: 50 50
Sep 4, 2024
Sully
how is it so fucking good holy shit why didnt i play this like a year ago

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[2] Likes
Rating: 10.0 100       Difficulty: 50 50
Jul 11, 2024
iouhoh
This game is absolutely insane. Really fun gameplay and cool bosses.

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[2] Likes
Rating: 10.0 100       Difficulty: 53 53
Feb 18, 2024
olinolivia
beautiful in a way i didn't know was within this medium's reach

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[2] Likes
Rating: 10.0 100       Difficulty: N/A
Jan 10, 2024