Stealth Inc: a clone in the Dark: Review
Stealth Inc: a clone in the Dark It is a PS3 and VITA indie platformer a year ago Stealth Bastard Deluxe. Developers from little -known Curve Studios created surprisingly thoughtful stealth mechanic. The new version differs from the original not only by the name, but also with small details in the design and architecture of levels. Also, a project from a host of noble and paying was transferred to the category of paid. Is it worth the game of the declared price or not – let’s figure it out.
They meet on clothes
Stealth Inc It is striking with simplicity of design. The picture is pleasant – but nothing more. The graphics are completely two-dimensional, any fashionable effects are completely absent here. Level design is also not particularly impressive: monotonous corridors in gray tones are the only thing we will deal with. Visual minimalism in the "old" style is designed to focus our attention on gameplay. The same goes for the plot.
Of course, from a typical representative of platformers-heads of dramatic narrative and unpredictable endings in the manner of Bioshock Infinite, you should not wait. Nevertheless, even in such a highly specialized genre, history can add an interesting taste to the game. A vivid example of this is the recent Fez. Stealth Inc Only sparingly reports that a certain company is engaged in the production of saggy clones, outwardly very reminiscent of the notorious Sam Fisher. We are instructed to engage in their testing. Each level is a unique test of clone abilities. More precisely, our intelligence.
Seeing over the mind
The fact is that the stealth is not represented here Professor Wins casino no deposit bonus in the cut, but in the most full and almost ideal form. Hide and seek Stealth Inc It does not look at all like Hitman: Absolution or even Mark of the Ninja. To be noticed here means to be killed. In the pocket we do not have a quick-firing machine gun or baton, with the help of which you can, without bothering, “turn off” an objectionable pair of enemy eyes-the main character’s inventory includes exclusively night vision points, and its possibilities are limited by the banal movement of the right and jumps and jumps. However, this set of funds is enough to create an exciting gameplay.
Each level is a system of corridors, doors and tunnels equipped with various observation devices. The premises of the game are filled with cameras and robots with a small field of view visualized in the form of a green cone. Hitting into it in a bright room causes a mortal laser blow, in a dark one – we will go unnoticed. To get past the enemy, it is not enough to get around him or not to show up on the light. Dark zones and alternative ways may not be at all. To achieve the final point, you need to find and implement the correct algorithm of actions, moving the blocks, opening the doors and valves, turning off the light. Gradually, the complexity of the puzzle increases, the number of elements included in the task increases. So, over time, we will come across surfaces, making sounds and attracting enemies, teleports, flying rabots-vitality and so on.
An attempt is torture
To convey the essence of what is happening, we give a typical example of local puzzles. The button opening the coveted door is located right in front of us. However, it is activated only when we are on it – you just have to take a step towards the door, how it will slam. So, instead of us, the button should crush something else. It can only be an enemy robot. But it patrols the floor above. Therefore, we must wait until he enters the elevator, and lower it. But the elevator control terminal is under direct camera supervision! To turn it off, you need to press a lever that, unfortunately, is located right in front of this robot.
Such tasks here are found everywhere. It would seem that this is a vicious circle, to find a way out of which is simply impossible. Sometimes you are tormented by the problem for about ten minutes. With every second you begin to believe more and more that solutions simply do not exist: a bug, developers’ mistake, virus, vision of vision, joke of the universe – anything, but the human mind is not able to find a clue! And you beat over and over again, trying to outwit the robot, but the result is only a terrible mess of the inside of the clone on the screen. On the twentieth attempt you will feel Archimedes, Exclamation "Eureka!", And your joy will not be limited. At this moment, you are imbued with deep respect for yourself and the game, realizing that unpretentious appearance has nothing to do with the genius of level designers from Curve Studios, who created a really smart and hardcore puzzle.
Games of reason
Yes, this is not a stealth with freedom of planning and movement. There are no alternatives, there is only one path to the ultimate goal, and the player’s task is to calculate the correct sequence of actions. Stealth Inc – A complex puzzle, which is not immediately possible to collect. Fortunately, the developers generously scattered the “checkpoints” at the levels, so that you can safely experiment without fearing for their own life. Yes, you will have to die often – intellectual work requires victims. However, if in Super Meat Boy we died due to insufficient dexterity, then here everything is to blame for the misfire of the mind. However, often and Stealth Inc It requires a huge dexterity from us-it is far from always possible to get through some narrow corridor with a dozen moving lasers.
And yet you need to die more often. The fact is that at the end of each level an assessment based on the speed of passage and the number of deaths is set. If you play online, you will immediately show you the results of other players and your place in the world ranking. In addition, for the rapidly passed tests, as well as the secret little things found, you will open additional locations and new types of clones that give some advantages (for example, the ability to go to invisibility for a couple of seconds). So after the first passage and thorough study of levels Stealth Inc From an intellectual test, it turns into a race, where the dexterity of the hands and speed of reaction comes to the fore.
In total, the game has eight campaigns, each of which consists of a dozen tests. If this is not enough for you, you can experiment yourself in level design. The game includes an excellent editor of cards, with which you can create your own masterpiece and puzzle friends.
It is believed that the games serve as a means of entertainment and relaxation from heavy workdays. CO Stealth Inc: a clone in the Dark The opposite is the contrary – hardcore puzzles, draining the brain and leaving corns on the fingers, will force you to take breaks and look for a moment of calm in the outside world. However, every victory will bring incomparable joy, and for the sake of this feeling you want to return to puzzles again and again.
Pros: ingenious in its simplicity of the mechanic;hardcore.
Cons: Lack of plot.
