You have ended up in prison and immediately you don't want to be here. You need to escape.
Escape Plan is a top down strategy style game with narative mechanics similar to Dwarf Fortress that together with interacting with the prison and it's residents you will find a way to plan your escape.
You don't know who is in here with you and what type of character they are. Who do you try to communicate with! Who to avoid and who to fight against! Also, who has a certain talent or skill that would be helpful in escaping. Finding out what type of Inmates ( as well as Guards ) are in the prison with you, effects how your escape pans out. Do you go for the stealthy escape or full on with your gang and fighting your way out.
Your inmates don't have many attributes. Only two. Threat level and intellect But the narrative will give you many different options depending on your actions. There will not just be one way but more than one way execute a part of your escape plan. You will not be able to jump ahead and say go straight in and make that phone call to bribe a guard or just create your ultimate gang by trial an error. Maybe there will be a narrative ( found out through other inmates etc. ) to find out some information such as one of your gang members wants a certain luxury item. Then you will go on your quest to get that item.
Find out about the characters that surround you through interaction and clues through the narrative that unfolds as you play. Your journey to the final escape location can be played out in many ways with many different types of communications and objects and locations etc. Not just one set route.
You can start of as any of the Inmates that has a certain skill set that effects the narrative So a Inmate with a pick pocket talent will give the player a different narrative than say playing as a thug with a high threat level but low intellect.
Controlling your character is by paths and choosing which locations to go to. But not directly controlling them by steering them around like other games. This makes the gameplay like a real prison ( I presume ! ) where you have your routines to attend ( canteen times and roll call etc.) and just have that little window to go somewhere else to slip buy the guards or get an object or to pick another route to avoid someone.
There is character interaction with just the following five choices. Talk, attack, follow, observe and avoid as well as selecting your route around the prison. Together with your prison routines and the guards keeping an eye on you the narrative mechanic with throw at you story lines about your fellow inhabitants and behind the scenes unlock your progress towards your escape.
With the five actions together and the narrative mechanic you can create at least the following situations. Instruct inmates, use decoys, create an escape team, create a gang, get objects, craft objects,crawl through ducts, stash items, use the telephone, get outside information from your visitors, bribe characters, climb ropes, pick locks, hack digital locks, use vehicles, oh, and of course . . . dig tunnels. Whether the guards and inmates allow you to do these actions is another matter. Some may even steal your objects or inmates tell other inmates about your plans etc. that will hamper your progress.
The way out is easy. Just create that escape plan.
