Escape 1000 km review: fun game with the worst timing ever

Escape 1000 km is a game about a plane crashing. Worst timing ever? Yes. But it’s not a bad game at all.

Escape 1000 km borrows the single button mechanic popularized by Flappy Bird. You’re in charge of piloting a passenger plane through 1,000 kilometers of obstacles. As you may have expected, this is not an easy task, because unlike other Flappy Bird clones out there, Escape 1000 km turns things up a notch with its graphics, physics, and audio.

Maneuvering a long, Boeing-type of plane is not easy. You have to watch for the way gravity acts on the vehicle, fit it through very tight spaces, and make sure its end doesn’t list downwards too soon. The slightest nudge against an obstacle causes the plane to crash, and sends its passenger load to their death. Each 1,000 kilometer long obstacle course is randomly generated.

Escape 1000 km makes use of futuristic silhouettes. Though the plane itself looks like it’s a present-day creation, the background and incoming obstacles, some as large as spacecraft, don’t. The accompanying background music is high-tempo and upbeat, and helps make the game more exciting.

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What I really liked about Escape 1000 km was that at the start, you could either wait for your passengers to board or simply take off without them, retracting the loading ramp and sending them falling to their death. The detailed animation is a nice touch, and certainly makes for a laugh.

What I didn’t like was the amount of ads that popped up. While most of these could be closed with a simple tap on the X sign, one was a video that played for 15 seconds, and could not be skipped. I understand that the Hong Kong-based developer, APGO Limited, has to make its money somehow, but I think sticking to just pop up ads is enough.

I’m definitely not skilled enough to lead my passengers to safety, but according to the developer, the game simply restarts itself when you do actually manage to. So, not much replay value there, but think about it—in the first place, can you actually complete the game?

Escape 1000 km is available for free on the App Store.