Store Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/243970/

Invisible Inc is a turn-based rogue-like stealth game. Players have to control their secret agents to sneak past guards, open lockers & complete mission objectives. Fly around the globe to look for lucrative jobs, upgrade 

Elemental Tetrad:

Mechanics

The game is turn-based. Player & the computer AI take turns to make their moves. This gameplay mechanic is similar to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, an award-winning turn-based game, but with strong emphasis on stealth.

At every turn, each agents have a certain amount of Action Points (AP). Players can spend these AP to control their agents to move, peek, predict guard patrol patterns.etc. Agents can use a wide variety of gadgets & weapons to navigate through the map safely.

When it comes to dealing with guards, guards typically have 2 types of vision: peripheral & direct, which the cone of vision is noticeable on the round. 

Agents spotted directly by the guard would immediately raise the alarm, whilst being in their peripheral vision means that the guard would investigate your spot once your turn ends. which can be used as a distraction. Guards have 3 states: Patrol, Investigating & Hunting. The first 2 state would be oblivious to your presence (until they spot you), while the last state means the guard is hunting for your agents. 

Besides navigating the agents, all electronics have firewalls. Players have to use a hacking AI known as Incognita to break firewalls. Players can buy programs for the AI to bypass electronics such as cameras and terminals to steal cash, move pass areas without getting detected. etc.

Another mechanic to increase mobility is the alarm. At every 5 turns, the alarm level would rise, given the player additional threats such as activated cameras, increased firewalls & guards. Alarms can also be raised by killing guards, getting spotted by guards or cameras.etc. This forces the player to complete the objective and leave the mission as fast as possible.

Story 

The year is 2077. Big corporations took over the world, and a freelance intelligence agency known as Invisible Inc provides espionage services to these companies using field agents & a powerful AI, Incognita. 

One day, their headquarters was attacked, with most of their assets gone, except 2 field agents and Incognita. Their AI cannot survive outside a terminal for more than 72 hours, which within this time, the agency can infiltrate various corporate offices to upgrade their agents, before striking back to host their AI. 

Aesthetics 

The art style is primarily cyberpunk. This flows well with the weapons, gadgets, guards & drones used in the game, such as Cloaking Rigs to gain temporary invisibility & Buster Chips to hack devices, inspired by shows such as Ghost In the Shell & Psycho Pass. The field agents available are inspired by fiction such as Sherlock Holmes & James Bond.  One of the mechanics, Incognita, fits well with the cyberpunk theme as well.

Technology

Mouse/trackpad primarily, keyboard optional. The iOS version uses a touch screen which potentially makes the gaming experience even better since it makes the player feel more like a tactician commanding his troops on the battlefield.

Lens #1: Essential Element

The partial top-down view makes me feel like an espionage tactician when I play the game. Being able to see a guards field of vision, as well as agents being able to predict guard patrol patterns gives me a strong sense of control. The randomly generated maps gives me a strong sense of curiosity as to what lies beyond each room which i have not explored. The alarm mechanic also gives a sense of urgency, forcing me to rush the mission as efficiently as possible instead of being slow & steady.

Lens #2: Surprise

Every match & post match is a trove of surprises, shock & disappointment. In the match, I could never expect the kind of goodies I would find, such as a side mission, or a super powerful rifle that cannot be purchased in-game. Sometimes I get nasty surprises, such as a guard waltzing into the room when I least expected it. 

Travelling to a mission location takes time. After the timer hits every 24 hours, the difficulty level of missions would rise, followed by a new list of sites to infiltrate, each with a different objective, such as rescuing a captive, stealing credit, or simply gaining augmentations. 

Lens #4: Curiosity 

Similar to Lens #2. Every gameplay entrails a random set of challenges and architecture. Agents start off in an enclosed room. Outside the room is pitch black & players have to look into the unknown to learn about the map. Agents have to explore the map as the game progresses, piquing player’s sense of curiosity in the unknown area. Every door, while dangerous to open due to unseen guards on the other side, is tempting to open.

Lens #5: Endogenous Value

The endogenous value that this game offers is unique in the sense that it is a lack of one. It is more of a punishment rather than a reward.

Players are encouraged to be as stealthy as possible. By relying on distraction, stealing from guards & avoiding conflict, players will be able to complete the mission with maximised cash in hand & lower alarm levels to deal with. 

On the other hand, relying on brute force punishes the player. Knocking out guards means guards would wake up after a certain period of time and in order to keep the guard down, players would have to use an agent to “pin” the guard, thereby slowing down the game progression since that agent could have use that time to perform other tasks besides being restricted to dragging bodies. Killing guards is even worse as it incurs costly ammunition and causes the alarm to rise. 

Quite a unique reward system compared to other stealth titles since most stealth titles rely on points which makes stealth a choice rather than an obligation. In this game, players are obliged to play stealthily since playing using brute force will impair one’s game progress.  

Lens #6: Problem Solving 

The game offers multiple angles to solving problems. Agents can sneak pass, stun or even kill, in descending order of recommendation. However, sometimes there are complications in which the player will have make difficult decisions, such as killing a guard in order to ironically allow the game to progress faster. Players have plenty of options to solve a problem, such as momentarily distract a guard from a helpless agent using another agent making noise, or using an invisible agent to spearhead behind enemy lines. 

Overall this is a fun game with high replay value, something pretty uncommon in single-player games. Every match is based on a good combination of luck & player’s skill, and no 2 games are ever the same. Things that could be improved can include Endless mode, which once you survive sufficiently long, your team is virtually unstoppable and it gets stale.