While we continue to wait for a true RPG sequel to the early Paper Mario games, many indie developers have attempted to fill the void, and while nobody has quite managed to recapture their magic, Escape from Ever After feels like the closest anyone has gotten yet. It’s got some quirks, but it does a great job of offering an approachable, funny, and brief take on the lighthearted RPG format many fans crave more of.

It follows the plight of Flynt Buckler, a fairytale hero who arrives at the castle of the dragon he’s destined to defeat in his story, only to discover the beast’s lair has been appropriated by a corporation. Flynt is then politely but firmly recruited into a low-level job in the company, kicking off an adventure in which he travels between various books, fulfilling tasks for his corporate overlords while searching for a way to overthrow them.

It’s a cute and clever story driven by surprisingly strong characters and witty, lighthearted writing. Not every joke lands quite as well as intended, but Sleepy Castle Studio is clearly making a game more targeted towards adult audiences and the humour generally hits more than it misses.

Gameplay follows the format established by the more RPG-forward Paper Mario games, wherein you navigate a world that rewards exploration and light platforming prowess. Every party member has their own special field ability and these are often utilised and combined in clever ways for the many puzzles to solve throughout the environment, which feels densely packed with interesting things to do and goodies to find.

Familiar turn-based combat integrates some light timing-based commands for variety. Timely taps or releases of a button can lead to both more damage output and increased defence, which means that success in battle is reliant on both dexterity and raw numbers. As you defeat enemies, you slowly level up the whole party at once, with equippable Trinkets offering you some additional ability to distinguish their stats and abilities further from each other. It’s a strong system, though the timing windows can sometimes feel just a bit wonky, leading to some missed inputs that feel unfair.

Aside from the timing windows, the only real complaint I have is that there isn’t quite enough of it. It wraps up after about 20 hours and while that’s decent value for your money, it feels like this game ends just as it’s getting really good.

The visuals do a great job of combining charming 2D characters with simple but effective 3D environments that contrast nicely with their flat forms. Playing on the Switch 2 is especially nice, too, as you can opt for a performance mode that ratchets up to a smooth 60fps with no obvious hit to the resolution.

If you’re at all a fan of the more RPG-focused Mario RPGs, you owe it to yourself to play Escape from Ever After. It may be over a bit too quickly, but the writing, charm, and gameplay mechanics all come together to make for something you won’t want to miss.