An adequate but unexceptional top-down stealth game. You play Rob Loxley, a punnishly named spoiled rich kid who has found a Volume and is using it to FIGHT THE POWER of the government by starting up a video stream of him going through simulated environments and stealing from various places owned by Gisborne and his allies, a man who has conquered England via a coup and has a totalitarian regime which eliminates anyone who dares to defy him.
The levels aren’t too large, generally things you can beat in 5 minutes or less. There are 100 of them, and in total the game takes about six and a half hours to beat – or seven and a half to get all the achievements.
As the game is entirely composed of simulated environments, the game gets away with very but kind of repetitive graphics. The upside is that the very clean graphics make it very clear exactly what is going on – everything in the game is very clearly marked, including vision zones of enemies, shadows you can hide in, places you can duck behind vs walls which totally block line of sight, hidey-holes you can hide in, ect.
Your goal in each level is to collect a number of floaty diamonds, representing… a wide variety of things. They use the same thing in every level, missing out on the opportunity for different mission objectives.
Instead, all of the variation comes in the form of the hazards you face in the levels. New hazards are introduced on a regular basis, and while there aren’t very many enemy types, the game still manages to mix things up with a variety of environmental hazards to contend with or things which can help you hide or distract enemies.
The story of the game is passable, but only about once every five to ten levels do you get any sort of voiceover conversation – it is fairly minimal in that regard after the early game, which is rather disappointing, especially as you approach the end of the game. There are a few greater things which are hinted at, but unfortunately a lot of these plot points – such as the “king” Gisborne claims to work for – don’t really end up going anywhere in the end. One of the biggest problems is that the protagonist is the least interesting character in the game; both Gisborne and Alan (the AI who runs the titular Volume you’re using to do your simulated heists) are more interesting characters, and ultimately there wasn’t much of an emotional payoff.
Ultimately, this is really the problem with the game as a whole – it is competent enough, but it is not EXCEPTIONAL in any way. It is basically a bunch of reasonably enjoyable top-down stealth puzzles, but in no way does the game really excel. It is just kind of average all the way through.
If you’re in the market for a top-down stealth game, this is a decent choice. In the end, I can’t say I regret my time with this game, but it is pretty run-of-the-mill.
VideoGame Decent but unexceptional
An adequate but unexceptional top-down stealth game. You play Rob Loxley, a punnishly named spoiled rich kid who has found a Volume and is using it to FIGHT THE POWER of the government by starting up a video stream of him going through simulated environments and stealing from various places owned by Gisborne and his allies, a man who has conquered England via a coup and has a totalitarian regime which eliminates anyone who dares to defy him.
The levels aren’t too large, generally things you can beat in 5 minutes or less. There are 100 of them, and in total the game takes about six and a half hours to beat – or seven and a half to get all the achievements.
As the game is entirely composed of simulated environments, the game gets away with very but kind of repetitive graphics. The upside is that the very clean graphics make it very clear exactly what is going on – everything in the game is very clearly marked, including vision zones of enemies, shadows you can hide in, places you can duck behind vs walls which totally block line of sight, hidey-holes you can hide in, ect.
Your goal in each level is to collect a number of floaty diamonds, representing… a wide variety of things. They use the same thing in every level, missing out on the opportunity for different mission objectives.
Instead, all of the variation comes in the form of the hazards you face in the levels. New hazards are introduced on a regular basis, and while there aren’t very many enemy types, the game still manages to mix things up with a variety of environmental hazards to contend with or things which can help you hide or distract enemies.
The story of the game is passable, but only about once every five to ten levels do you get any sort of voiceover conversation – it is fairly minimal in that regard after the early game, which is rather disappointing, especially as you approach the end of the game. There are a few greater things which are hinted at, but unfortunately a lot of these plot points – such as the “king” Gisborne claims to work for – don’t really end up going anywhere in the end. One of the biggest problems is that the protagonist is the least interesting character in the game; both Gisborne and Alan (the AI who runs the titular Volume you’re using to do your simulated heists) are more interesting characters, and ultimately there wasn’t much of an emotional payoff.
Ultimately, this is really the problem with the game as a whole – it is competent enough, but it is not EXCEPTIONAL in any way. It is basically a bunch of reasonably enjoyable top-down stealth puzzles, but in no way does the game really excel. It is just kind of average all the way through.
If you’re in the market for a top-down stealth game, this is a decent choice. In the end, I can’t say I regret my time with this game, but it is pretty run-of-the-mill.