No Sun To Worship

Nothing interesting in this game. Even this old graphics "magic" in-game looks roughly bad because of potato animations (sometimes broken with NPCs), very bad fonts choice and stupid AI. Also this game's have nothing about some "story" that mentioned in description of the game and have vibes of vibe-coding product with much of AI used.

Ahh, I really wanted to like this game. The aesthetics and style, the homage to Metal Gear Soild and Splinter Cell, but seems to me this is more of a concept or a demo than a complete short game experience. It's a bit baffling to me how the first three levels are harder than the last three? I would expect difficulty to gradually increase as the game progresses in each short mission, but it was the other way around for me. When replaying it on hard difficulty, I actually started from the last mission first and went backwards. Mission 2: Underground Lab, was probably the most unforgiving, I tried a couple of approaches, but that one guard being stuck in the back of the cave and barely moving for me to get to the last target, left me little choice to improvise so I was just waiting for that brief second for him to turn and hope for the best...which leads me to my next nitpick. There are no check points or quick saves. If die, you start back from the beginning of the mission. On normal, it's not that hard to move around and memorize the guard's patterns, but on hard, guards take you out in two shots and their AI at times is a bit unpredictable. On one occasion you're totally fine, on another they immediately turn and spot you no matter how careful you are, even when using the silent steps mechanic which I really like how it was implemented. The hold up mechanic sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. At this state, I can't recommend this game to anyone casually trying to pick it up, it would only lead to a frustrating experience and it does cross a bit into "git gud" territory. But if you're willing to try out your luck and want to experience a short unique take on stealth gameplay, go ahead and wait for a sale.

very short stealth game

This game is lame as ♥♥♥♥ bro. It's trying to mimic Splinter Cell. Just go and buy Chaos Theory when it's on sale.

I'm currently savoring a replay of Splinter Cell, having reinstalled it after enjoying this so much. It's a near perfect execution of what stealth action games should be. Constant, rising tension as you progress to the end of a carefully executed mission (6 bite-sized in all.) Moments of panic when an enemy alters their assumed routine, forcing you into another high risk maneuver. Also I haven't seen it mentioned but the ambient music beats just totally lock you in. That creepy bit with the strings and the oppressive pulsing synth... it borders on horror. And as with the rest of the experience, you've accomplished so much with so little. I'd love to see the dev create something more fleshed out in the future.

Took me less than 2 hours to complete and left me wanting, but I enjoyed my time with it. It's not at all harsh to say this feels like a demo and not a full game. The gameplay is standard but executed well enough: Splinter Cell-esque sound and visibility meters with certain floors making more noise, enemies follow regular patrols, bodies alert guards, rifle is loud but good at killing, pistol is silent and accurate. The movement controls were a little annoying at first but quickly became natural. The guards all have the classic stealth game amnesia (must be all the radiation poisoning...). The game has a few unique mechanics. Firstly, you can consume health to make your movement entirely silent, allowing you to run up to a target without alerting them. Secondly, guards and hostages you kill can be consumed and turned into health. Thirdly, if you aim at a target for a moment, they get a little mark on them, allowing you to see their movement through walls, giving good info on their patrol patterns. These mechanics certainly make the game stick in my mind, but because the game is so short, not much is done with them. Every mission, all six (boo) of them , has the same objective, get to x number of hostages, kill them, then escape through the exit door. Simple as. I just wish the game did more. As it stands, the backtracking portion of each level does not add much to the experience. It's very easy to completely clear out a level of guards, making the run to the exit door more of a brisk walk than a tense escape. The gunplay is fine enough. Reloads dump your old ammo, headshots kill light guards, heavy guards are immune (I think) so shoot them in the chest with the rifle instead. It's all servicable to a stealth game and works. This game allows you to move the camera from shoulder to shoulde with V which is very nice, but only when aiming. This camera shift stays even when you stop aiming with your gun, so if you're sneaking around and want to change the camera, you have to aim, hit V, then look, which is annoying. Unfortunately the gameplay is quite one note. Find opportunities to kill guards, then consume their bodies, then move on to the next. Repeat until all guards are dead (or at least the ones you feel like killing) and kill the hostages. This is a foundation of a stealth game not a full experience. There are a few token challenges like lock-picking, ledge climbing, holding guards at gun point, and cameras, but these honestly felt less like challenges for the player and more the developer stretching their legs to see what they can achieve, which is fine, but it needs to significantly contribute to the experience for me to give a ♥♥♥♥. The "story" and "lore" are placeholder. Something something nuclear war... something something aliens(?) something something kill hostage? Got it. Don't care. There isn't much of a tutorial, which left me a little confused at first, but you come to grips quick if you aren't in your approaching your twilight years (mid-thirties). The game certainly looks cool. I'm a sucker for slightly ♥♥♥♥, low-poly, pixelated graphics, and it never got in the way of the gameplay. The main character looks cool. Nothing more to say. Anyway, I can't be assed proof-reading this. Overall the game is a 4/10. Interesting and with a solid core, but nothing exciting is done with it. I spent the entire game thinking "okay, the next level will throw a curve ball" but it never came. I wouldn't reccomend if you're wanting a full, enriching experience, but it's fine if you're a stealth-game freak and want to see it because how many new stealth games are being made nowayears?

100% worth the sale price at 50% off. A really short, bite sized, almost tech demo of a retro PS1 stealth game - obviously reminiscent of Splinter Cell, Metal Gear, Tenchu, and other such stealth games. The "core mechanic", as it were, is a constant trade-off of health for silenced footsteps. Crouch walking is dead silent, but glacially slow - if you have an opportunity for a stealth kill that's just barely out of reach, you can gamble some health and silence your running footsteps. Any corpses that drop can be absorbed into your body for a regeneration of health, rewarding the cost of going for riskier stealth kills on armored guards - a decent push and pull of risk and reward baked into the core gameplay. Every stage has hostages to eliminate, and absorbing their corpses is a full regen - so it's generally worth the effort to play it safe and slow. Some mechanics such as holding up an enemy are a little underbaked, and you only really have two weapons - a rifle that sucks and alerts the whole world of your existence, but is the only way to win a firefight; and a stealth pistol good for long range headshots that you'll never have enough ammo for. Tutorialization is also pretty slim - I learned you can shoot out lights by reading other reviews, AFAIK the game never tells you to do this. A part in Level 2 tripped me up by putting a waist high wall that only told me I can climb it once I approached it. Of course, given that the game taught me about ladders in the first level, I had assumed a ladder was necessary to scale walls, and looked for alternative entrance. While a little jank and light on content (six levels, two types of guards), the price is well worth the admission for the experience and nostalgic feeling. A fun way to burn an afternoon.