Before Hitman was turned into an always-online "service" instead of a proper game, it was fun. Absolution is the best example what they could have done with a decent business model, but they didn't. The hide in crowd mechanics, the way you can stash bodies, it is Hitman prime. If you thinking about buying the presently sold always online version, get this instead and enjoy the game even years later. The missions in this won't be gone, because they are not like "limited time offers"
As expected from a small dev team, the game has a fair bit of minor issues that don't effect the gameplay, like in cut scenes sometimes Robo's movement noises missing, or the cop cars constantly have their reverse lights on but that is the only reason why it cannot be 5 stars. The story is solid for what you could expect a B movie, and it has the ability to tackle deep topics, dark themes, and still have cheese to have fun with. If you want to support devs that respect the source material and making games with a heart, buy it. If you are tight on the budget, just wait for a discount and then you can be sure you'll get a good bang for your buck.
It is a very unforgiving tactical game much like SWAT3 and SWAT4, and most recently Ready Or Not is. But it is done with a GTA1 top-down perspective. This should be mandatory game for understanding covering angles, and working as a team because the view angles and the "fog of war" showing blind spots quite effectively, stressing the importance of situational awareness. With that being said, the game does appear to cheat, and some mechanics are clunky, like unreliable melee, superhuman reflexes and aim from the opposition. But when you complete a level it really gives a sense of achevement. And all this in solo mode, I have not yet tested online co-op, but I hope it is just as much fun.
Honestly, when I picked up the game I expected something like Firewatch, maybe something like Harspace:Shipbreaker, where we would get to do tasks while having conversations on radio with the NPC characters. A narrative driven blue collar space worker story, but it isn't like that, but regardless it was an enjoyable game. Without spoiling anything more than what is in the description it was a really good short game with a narrative that does a deep dive on big concepts that was unexpected. There have been a bunch of situations in the gameplay that never gets addressed in the narrative, but voice acting is great, and the environment has a neat retro futuristic looks, much like Alien Isolation. I wished the manually performed tasks would have had a bit more tactile minigame feel to them, like in Alien Isolation, but since those were barely in the gameplay, I guess it wasn't worth the effort to develop further for a short narrative, so in the end it makes sense, and can't fault the developer for it. If someone ever played Hardspace: Shipbreaker, or for that matter the mentioned Alien Isolation, you'll see how the story could fit easily into their backgrounds. (you'll know what I mean when you finish the game :P) In terms of enjoyable, narrative driven, short story game experiences, on the last day of 2024, this game takes the cake. Well done! (would be up for a sequel)
Never figured I would have this much fun, but I do. By day 10 I actually know the street that is "my beat" to patrol, Know the major factions, know who belongs to which crew by looks, know when there is something suspicious happening behind closed doors and beating every ticket and towing quota. Funny thing is I start to care more about the characters of these pixel citizens more than the whole crew of Starfield, and that is immersion in old fashioned pixel graphics and text bubble dialogues. This is the feeling that is missing from a lot of cop games. I hope to see more from the same developer crew.
The best I could describe this game is a puzzle game with the art style and spy antics of the Incredibles. Through the game there are different kind of puzzles to deal with, from focused and self contained to movement based, to ones where the player has to keep in mind a bunch of elements and items across multiple locations to mix and match them in order to come up with a solution. It also means that the game doesn't get flat and provides a variety of challenges. Personally I prefer self contained puzzles, that focus on one location or device to contend with, but regardless I had great fun with this one. I hope to see the sequel!
The story feels like an excuse for the puzzles and brain teasers, but the star of the show are the artifacts and mystery objects along with the packages they come in. I had fun with this, mind you I bought on black friday, but if it would have been full price, I would be somewhat disappointed about how short it was. From installation to finish in about 6 hours. Might pick up the sequel on discount too when it is out.
