Overview: A 2D puzzle platformer and sequel to Stealth Bastard Deluxe.*
*Stealth Bastard Deluxe was released on the PS3 and Vita as Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark. Consequently, the sequel is named Stealth Inc 2 (as opposed to Stealth Bastard 2).
20190727:
I played Stealth Bastard Deluxe a long time ago and so I was looking forward to playing Stealth Inc 2. While I had some fun, the biggest problem I had with the game was having to go through the overworld in between test chambers. At first it was fun, but then it became tedious. At which point, I went to the "Test Chambers" option in the menu and saw that the "Test Chambers" were available from that screen, but then I was left a little confused. Did levels only become available there after unlocking them in the main game? I'll have to test this out tomorrow.
Setup: Keyboard. 1920x1080, Fullscreen.
Gameplay Log:
In Test Chamber 2-3, after making various other attempts, I randomly thought to try the right mouse button and it worked! Pressing the right mouse button will deploy the Inflate-a-Mate beneath the player character's feet. Note that the tutorial level tried to teach this, but may have erroneously instructed the player to use the left mouse button instead of the right mouse button.
Steam Game Time: 3.0 hours
20190728:
Today I played some more and confirmed that the player unlocks levels in the "Test Chambers" section by first finding them in the Campaign mode. I'm not sure whether or not the player has to also beat the level once or simply attempt it. In any case, I consider the "Test Chambers" to be the core of the game, and having to spend time in between the core action is a considerable waste of time.
Gameplay Log:
Tip: Any level that has been played can be revisited via the Test Chambers.
I discovered that the Inflate-a-Mate can be released midair and the player can immediately jump off of it.
I discovered that the player can get a jump boost with the Inflate-a-Mate. [A later level explicitly teaches and requires this technique from the player]
Tip: Some things on the overworld cannot be obtained until later in the game.
Steam Game Time: 5.3 hours (total game time) / 2.3 hours (session game time)
Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Good story. While the story is presented alongside the Campaign mode, it didn't have to be. It could have been told as cutscenes between Test Chambers.
Neutral:
~ I feel as if the original game made more use of hiding in the shadows (i.e., stealth) as a puzzle element.
Cons:
- The Inflate-a-Mate is difficult to use simply because the player's cursor is not always on the screen.
- The Campaign mode map is a distraction and sometimes annoying
- Leaderboards can be improved*; in particular, the ability to see more than just the top 10 would be nice
*Dustforce DX (PC) (2012) is a great example of a useful leaderboard.
Summary:
I enjoyed the levels, but disliked traversing the map that connected them. Actually, this style of level discovery and/or selection is not uncommon, but the levels in Stealth Inc 2 are relatively dispersed compared to other games which use a similar style of level placement. Fortunately, levels played can later be accessed via the menu (though I was initially not aware of this).
Hypothetically, if the game was just a series of levels like the first game, then I probably would have spent at least two additional hours on the game due to the improved pacing.
Overall, the levels are fun, but the Campaign mode aspect of it annoys me. Some players may truly enjoy the slower-paced areas in between the fast-paced levels. Personally, this may have been the case if the developers had shortened the length to get from one level to the next.
20240425:
I tried loading the game up today, but my save file was not intact. I watched a video recording where it seems I had made progress up to 2.8. Looking at a person's 100% map (Steam Community), there are 6 sections each with eight levels. This means I had only completed under 33% of the game (campaign map not fully uncovered, levels not all S-ranked, etc).
20240426:
I managed to find the save file and recover my progress. However, I faced a number of obstacles:
1) the character felt like it moved really fast; I couldn't tell if this was a bug* or intentional, but if intentional, it's an odd choice
2) for some reason throwing the Inflate-a-Mate with the controller didn't work, I had to use the mouse
3) I didn't find any keyboard buttons to move the Inflate-a-Mate, in which case only the controller right stick could reposition it (though this wasn't necessary in the current puzzle)
4) the security room in the overworld was too difficult,** perhaps because I forgot the mechanics. eventually I discovered that inflating the Inflate-a-Mate midair could be used to destroy some blocks
5) I also realized that the character can not pass through the green; only the Inflate-a-Mate can
In any case, I find being stuck in the overworld of such a game to be a terrible blocker. As that is a repeated opinion, I think at this time I would rate the game overall at 2.6 out of 5. If the game didn't have the refresh bug, it'd be a 3.2, and if furthermore the game didn't have the Metroidvania overworld, it'd be a 4.0. Note that I like Metroidvania's, but I don't like the mixed experience between the Test Chambers and the Metroidvania overworld (a linear overworld would have been acceptable).
Rating: 2.6/5
Steam Game Time: 6.0 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.7 hours (session game time)
*Apparently, according to a Steam Review, it is a bug:
**The bug that caused the game to move quickly sure didn't help, but I decided to watch a walkthrough and apparently that is not the direction of the next zone.
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (PC) (2015)
Relevant Links:
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (Wikipedia.org)
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (Steam Store Page)
*Stealth Bastard Deluxe was released on the PS3 and Vita as Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark. Consequently, the sequel is named Stealth Inc 2 (as opposed to Stealth Bastard 2).
20190727:
I played Stealth Bastard Deluxe a long time ago and so I was looking forward to playing Stealth Inc 2. While I had some fun, the biggest problem I had with the game was having to go through the overworld in between test chambers. At first it was fun, but then it became tedious. At which point, I went to the "Test Chambers" option in the menu and saw that the "Test Chambers" were available from that screen, but then I was left a little confused. Did levels only become available there after unlocking them in the main game? I'll have to test this out tomorrow.
Setup: Keyboard. 1920x1080, Fullscreen.
Gameplay Log:
In Test Chamber 2-3, after making various other attempts, I randomly thought to try the right mouse button and it worked! Pressing the right mouse button will deploy the Inflate-a-Mate beneath the player character's feet. Note that the tutorial level tried to teach this, but may have erroneously instructed the player to use the left mouse button instead of the right mouse button.
Steam Game Time: 3.0 hours
20190728:
Today I played some more and confirmed that the player unlocks levels in the "Test Chambers" section by first finding them in the Campaign mode. I'm not sure whether or not the player has to also beat the level once or simply attempt it. In any case, I consider the "Test Chambers" to be the core of the game, and having to spend time in between the core action is a considerable waste of time.
Gameplay Log:
Tip: Any level that has been played can be revisited via the Test Chambers.
I discovered that the Inflate-a-Mate can be released midair and the player can immediately jump off of it.
I discovered that the player can get a jump boost with the Inflate-a-Mate. [A later level explicitly teaches and requires this technique from the player]
Tip: Some things on the overworld cannot be obtained until later in the game.
Steam Game Time: 5.3 hours (total game time) / 2.3 hours (session game time)
Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Good story. While the story is presented alongside the Campaign mode, it didn't have to be. It could have been told as cutscenes between Test Chambers.
Neutral:
~ I feel as if the original game made more use of hiding in the shadows (i.e., stealth) as a puzzle element.
Cons:
- The Inflate-a-Mate is difficult to use simply because the player's cursor is not always on the screen.
- The Campaign mode map is a distraction and sometimes annoying
- Leaderboards can be improved*; in particular, the ability to see more than just the top 10 would be nice
*Dustforce DX (PC) (2012) is a great example of a useful leaderboard.
Summary:
I enjoyed the levels, but disliked traversing the map that connected them. Actually, this style of level discovery and/or selection is not uncommon, but the levels in Stealth Inc 2 are relatively dispersed compared to other games which use a similar style of level placement. Fortunately, levels played can later be accessed via the menu (though I was initially not aware of this).
Hypothetically, if the game was just a series of levels like the first game, then I probably would have spent at least two additional hours on the game due to the improved pacing.
Overall, the levels are fun, but the Campaign mode aspect of it annoys me. Some players may truly enjoy the slower-paced areas in between the fast-paced levels. Personally, this may have been the case if the developers had shortened the length to get from one level to the next.
20240425:
I tried loading the game up today, but my save file was not intact. I watched a video recording where it seems I had made progress up to 2.8. Looking at a person's 100% map (Steam Community), there are 6 sections each with eight levels. This means I had only completed under 33% of the game (campaign map not fully uncovered, levels not all S-ranked, etc).
20240426:
I managed to find the save file and recover my progress. However, I faced a number of obstacles:
1) the character felt like it moved really fast; I couldn't tell if this was a bug* or intentional, but if intentional, it's an odd choice
2) for some reason throwing the Inflate-a-Mate with the controller didn't work, I had to use the mouse
3) I didn't find any keyboard buttons to move the Inflate-a-Mate, in which case only the controller right stick could reposition it (though this wasn't necessary in the current puzzle)
4) the security room in the overworld was too difficult,** perhaps because I forgot the mechanics. eventually I discovered that inflating the Inflate-a-Mate midair could be used to destroy some blocks
5) I also realized that the character can not pass through the green; only the Inflate-a-Mate can
In any case, I find being stuck in the overworld of such a game to be a terrible blocker. As that is a repeated opinion, I think at this time I would rate the game overall at 2.6 out of 5. If the game didn't have the refresh bug, it'd be a 3.2, and if furthermore the game didn't have the Metroidvania overworld, it'd be a 4.0. Note that I like Metroidvania's, but I don't like the mixed experience between the Test Chambers and the Metroidvania overworld (a linear overworld would have been acceptable).
Rating: 2.6/5
Steam Game Time: 6.0 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.7 hours (session game time)
*Apparently, according to a Steam Review, it is a bug:
"This game has a huge bug that the developers are just ignoring. The game speed is bound to your monitor refresh rate so it will either run way too fast if you have good hardware or way too slow if you don't." - no ff & mute if toxicThis checks out as my monitor was running at a refresh rate of 144 Hz, and switching to 60 Hz slowed the game down.
**The bug that caused the game to move quickly sure didn't help, but I decided to watch a walkthrough and apparently that is not the direction of the next zone.
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (PC) (2015)
Relevant Links:
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (Wikipedia.org)
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (Steam Store Page)
Date/Time
Saturday, July 27, 2019
@
20:45
Labels
__rating_2
,
__rating.6
,
2D
,
action
,
adventure
,
indie
,
platformer
,
single-player
,
stealth
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