This was my first game of its genre, and what a first impression it has made! The character skills complement each other in various interesting ways, the enemies are challenging, but the absolute highlight is the level design. Each level is a carefully assembled and massively large area populated by a seemingly insurmountable multitude of enemies – but look closely enough, and you'll find the small holes in their security, the crucial gaps in their interlocking lines-of-sight that allow your heroes to slip through and chip away at their armies one guard (or sometimes, three or five) at a time. This way, the large levels become series of little manageable stealth puzzles, each as rewarding as the last. The exhileration I felt when perfectly executing a simultaneous multi-kill of an entire group of guards after several minutes of planning just never got old. And indeed, you get all the time you need. There are speedrunning achievements for every level, but if you want, you can take hours trying different approaches and finding your ideal way to deal with the next little group of enemies. Nothing is ever on a timer, the guards will repeat their patterns patiently until you've worked out your plan. This game is real-time, but it's not hectic – and quick-save and quick-load are always there for you. Real-time tactical games had always seemed overly daunting and punishing to me, which is why I had shied away from the genre before. This game made me fall in love with it.
