Ape Out
{{Short description|2019 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Ape Out
| image = Ape Out poster.jpg
| alt = At the top, the orange shade of a gorilla on a light green background and behind dark green horizontal bars. At the bottom the words "Ape" and "Out" in yellow, aligned vertically.
| caption =
| developer = Gabe Cuzzillo
| publisher = Devolver Digital
| engine = Unity
| platforms = Windows, Nintendo Switch
| released = February 28, 2019
| genre = Beat 'em up
| modes = Single-player
| designer = Gabe Cuzzillo
| programmer = Gabe Cuzzillo
| artist = {{Unbulleted list|Gabe Cuzzillo|Bennett Foddy}}
| composer = Maxi Boch
}}
Ape Out (stylized in all caps) is a 2019 beat 'em up game developed by Gabe Cuzzillo and published by Devolver Digital. Financed by the Indie Fund, it was produced when Cuzzillo attended game development classes at New York University. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch on February 28, 2019, and has garnered a positive reception.
Gameplay
Ape Out is a single player beat 'em up video game played from a top-down perspective.{{cite web |url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/110222/ape-out-now-available-on-switch-and-pc |title=Ape Out now available on Switch and PC |first=Kevin |last=Tucker |date=February 28, 2019 |website=Shacknews}}{{cite web |last=Reilly |first=Luke |date=February 28, 2019 |title=Ape Out Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/02/28/ape-out-review |access-date=January 30, 2024 |website=IGN}} The player controls a gorilla running through a maze while evading gun-wielding humans. The enemies can be killed with a single attack, grabbed, or used as a shield. In each level, the player must reach the goal without being killed.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/03/14/ape-out-is-wild-percussion-driven-romp/?noredirect=on |title='Ape Out' is a wild, percussion-driven romp |first=Christopher |last=Byrd |date=March 14, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} The maze design is randomized and is slightly different on each play.{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/ape-out-is-a-violent-musical-game-about-rampaging-prim-1833000694 |title=Ape Out Is A Violent, Musical Game About Rampaging Primates |first=Nathan |last=Grayson |date=March 1, 2019 |website=Kotaku}}
The game also features a minimalist art style, which has been compared to that of Saul Bass.{{cite web |url=https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2019/3/1/18246035/ape-out-review-switch-pc |title=Ape Out is the Saul Bass-inspired power fantasy I didn't know I wanted |first=Jeremy |last=Winslow |date=March 1, 2019 |website=Polygon}}{{cite web |last=Webster |first=Andrew |date=March 8, 2019 |title=Ape Out turns raging monkeys into improvisational jazz |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/8/18255975/ape-out-game-pc-nintendo-switch |website=The Verge}}{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/uk/ape-out-asks-what-happens-when-hotline-miami-meets-thelonious-monk-and-discovers-an-early-game-of-the-year-contender/ |title=Ape Out asks what happens when Hotline Miami meets Thelonious Monk, and discovers an early game of the year contender |first=Alex |last=Avard |date=February 28, 2019 |website=GamesRadar}}
Development
Ape Out was developed by Gabe Cuzzillo using Unity, a game engine.{{cite web |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/264767/Road_to_the_Student_IGF_Gabe_Cuzzillos_Ape_Out.php |title=Road to the Student IGF: Gabe Cuzzillo's Ape Out |first=Chris |last=Baker |date=February 1, 2016 |website=Gamasutra}} Ape Out was Cuzzillo's second game after Foiled, which he developed with Aaron Taecker-Wyss and released in 2014.{{cite web |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/212243/Road_to_the_Student_IGF_Gabe_Cuzzillo_on_Foiled.php |title=Road to the Student IGF: Gabe Cuzzillo on Foiled |first=John |last=Polson |date=March 5, 2014 |website=Gamasutra}} Development on Ape Out began when Cuzzillo attended game development courses at New York University (NYU), where he also worked on an independent study with Bennett Foddy. Foddy contributed to the game's art, while Matt Boch, an associate professor for NYU's Game Center, worked on the game's music system and sound design.{{cite web |url=http://www.igf.com/article/here-are-your-juries-igf-2019-nuovo-visual-art-and-audio-awards |title=Here are your juries for the IGF 2019 Nuovo, Visual Art, and Audio awards! |date=November 19, 2016 |website=Independent Games Festival}} Ape Out was part of the NYU Game Center Incubator and was partially financed by the Indie Fund.{{cite web |url=https://indie-fund.com/2017/03/ape-out/ |title=Ape Out! |date=March 9, 2017 |website=Indie Fund |access-date=March 1, 2019 |archive-date=May 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529205008/http://indie-fund.com/2017/03/ape-out/ |url-status=dead }}
Devolver Digital released a playable trailer for the game in March 2017 and planned to release the game by mid-2017.{{cite web |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/09/ape-out-demo/ |title=Ape Out demo samples Devolver's primate rampage |first=Alice |last=O'Connor |date=March 9, 2017 |website=Rock, Paper, Shotgun}} The publisher announced in December 2018 that Ape Out would be released on February 7, 2019, for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamereactor.eu/news/716253/Ape+Out+finally+escapes+on+February+7/ |title=Ape Out finally escapes on February 7 |first=Bengt |last=Lemne |date=December 6, 2018 |website=Gamereactor}} However, the game was delayed by three weeks and was released for both platforms on February 28, 2019.
= Music =
One of the game's main themes is jazz music, and each of the game's four chapters are represented as jazz albums with each level representing one track. The gameplay features a loud and chaotic, all-percussion jazz soundtrack composed by Maxi Boch (associate arts professor at NYU Game Center){{cite web |last=Hoon Chan |first=Khee |date=March 21, 2019 |title=How the frenetic jazz of Ape Out elevates its violence |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/03/21/how-the-frenetic-jazz-of-ape-out-elevates-its-violence/ |website=Rock Paper Shotgun}} which reacts dynamically to the gameplay, for example by increasing in intensity as the player faces more enemies, crashing cymbals each time an enemy is killed and adjusting the volume according to one's speed and number of kills.{{cite web |last=Wright |first=Stephen T |date=February 27, 2019 |title=How 'Ape Out' Creates a Soundscape Worthy of Smashing |url=https://variety.com/2019/gaming/columns/how-ape-out-creates-a-soundscape-worthy-of-smashing-1203150773/ |website=Variety}}
In order to provide a reactive and procedurally generated soundtrack for each playthrough, the game draws from a bank of thousands of recorded individual drum sounds, some recorded by Boch with others sourced externally, and combines them according to player movement. The system will also match the location of what is happening on screen to the drum or cymbal which matches that approximate location on a real drum kit. Each chapter of the game also features a different style of jazz percussion, with Boch describing the first chapter as the most quintessentially jazz, whereas other chapters feature more unusual instruments for jazz music. The end of the last chapter features the song "You've Got to Have Freedom" by Pharoah Sanders.
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| MC = NS: 84/100{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/ape-out/critic-reviews/?platform=nintendo-switch |title=Ape Out for Switch Reviews |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |accessdate=April 3, 2019}}
PC: 83/100{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/ape-out/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |title=Ape Out for PC Reviews |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |accessdate=April 3, 2019}}
| GI = 8.25/10{{cite magazine |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/review/ape-out/a-new-kind-of-ape-escape |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302024600/https://www.gameinformer.com/review/ape-out/a-new-kind-of-ape-escape |url-status=live |archive-date=March 2, 2019 |title=Ape Out Review – A New Kind Of Ape Escape |first=Javy |last=Gwaltney |date=February 28, 2019 |magazine=Game Informer}}
| GSpot = 7/10{{cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ape-out-review-monkey-business/1900-6417095/ |title=Ape Out Review – Monkey Business |first=James |last=O'Connor |date=February 28, 2019 |website=GameSpot}}
| IGN = 8.8/10{{cite web |last1=Reilly |first1=Luke |title=Ape Out Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/02/28/ape-out-review |website=IGN |date=26 August 2021 |access-date=26 August 2021}}
| EuroG = Recommended{{cite web |last=Chiodini |first=Johnny |date=March 1, 2019 |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-03-01-ape-out-review-a-meditation-on-jazz-violence-and-escapee-monkeys |title=Ape Out review - a meditation on jazz, violence and escapee monkeys |publisher=Eurogamer |access-date=August 26, 2021}}
| NLife = 9/10{{cite web |last1=Vogel |first1=Mitch |title=Ape Out (Switch) Review |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/ape_out |website=Nintendo Life |date=26 August 2021 |access-date=26 August 2021}}
| Destruct = 9/10{{cite web |last1=Moyse |first1=Chris |title=Review: Ape Out |url=https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-ape-out/ |website=Destructoid |date=26 August 2021 |access-date=26 August 2021}}
| PCGUS = 70/100{{cite web |last1=Wilde |first1=Tyler |title=Ape Out review |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/ape-out-review/ |website=PC Gamer |date=26 August 2021 |access-date=26 August 2021}}
}}
Ape Out received "generally favorable" reviews on both platforms, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. On OpenCritic, Ape Out received a "strong" approval rating of 89%.{{Cite web |title=Ape Out |url=https://opencritic.com/game/7336/ape-out |access-date=January 3, 2024 |website=OpenCritic}}
= Awards =
The game was a finalist for the 2016 Independent Games Festival's "Best Student Game" award but lost to Beglitched.{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Adam |date=March 17, 2016 |title=Her Story Wins Big At IGF Awards |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/03/17/igf-awards-winners-her-story/ |website=Rock, Paper, Shotgun}} The game was nominated for "Best Visual Design" and "Best Audio" at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards,{{cite web |url=http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2019/09/days_gone_rides_off_with_three_nominations_in_this_years_golden_joystick_awards |title=Days Gone Rides Off with Three Nominations in This Year's Golden Joystick Awards |first=Stephen |last=Tailby |date=September 20, 2019 |website=Push Square |accessdate=January 8, 2020}} and for the Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game at the New York Game Awards,{{cite web |url=https://www.bleedingcool.com/2020/01/02/the-new-york-game-awards-announces-2020-nominees/ |title=The New York Game Awards Announces 2020 Nominees |first=Gavin |last=Sheehan |date=January 2, 2020 |website=Bleeding Cool |accessdate=January 4, 2020}} and won the award for "Audio Achievement" at the 16th British Academy Games Awards, whereas its other nomination was for "Debut Game".{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/games/news/bafta-games-awards-2020-results-list-winners-outer-wilds-death-stranding-control-disco-elysium-a9444411.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/games/news/bafta-games-awards-2020-results-list-winners-outer-wilds-death-stranding-control-disco-elysium-a9444411.html |archive-date=2022-05-07 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Bafta Games Awards 2020: The results in full |first=Louis |last=Chilton |date=April 2, 2020 |newspaper=The Independent |accessdate=April 3, 2020}}
{{clear}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- {{MobyGames|/119018/ape-out/}}
{{Bennett Foddy}}
Category:Nintendo Switch games
Category:Video games about primates
Category:Video games developed in the United States
Category:Games financed by Indie Fund
Category:Single-player video games