The engine I decided to go with was Godot... and Godot takes a much longer time to prototype things than PGMMV did, especially if you've never used Godot before. That said, I'm getting the hang of things but starting fresh with an unfamiliar engine has taken its time.
I've managed to recreate some of the functionality that some of the enemies had before, but I've changed the 'escape' system to something a bit more interesting and less of a button mashing drag.
Rest assured, I'm still working on things and haven't given it up.