SpyGame

Spies are obviously not as flashy as James Bond was depicted in the books or the movies, since it’s not a good idea to drive an Aston Martin when you have to attract as little attention as possible. In fact, they must appear as regular and as normal as possible, which means that it’s much more likely for an office worker to be an actual spy, and much less likely for the loud guy at the blackjack table to be one.

SpyGame is a pretty simple stealth game that’s based on avoiding the enemies and making your way into heavily guarded buildings without raising suspicion. You shouldn’t expect Hitman-like gameplay, nor dream of MGS cutscenes, but the experience can get pretty exciting every once in awhile. There are also many bugs and inconsistencies, but this is an indie production, after all.

You play the role of a British spy trying to unravel some kind of plot between the KGB and the CIA, which means that things are about as serious as they can get. The whole thing takes place in Vienna in 1967, and you are constantly reminded that any mistake could unleash a third World War. It’s a bit overdramatic and tacky, but the atmosphere is a more intense because of it.

The whole gameplay revolves around being able to stay out of the enemy’s line of sight, which is displayed as a red cone in front of them. The instant you step into it the game ends, so you really need to make sure that doesn’t happen. However, you can basically stand face-to-face with an enemy and avoid being seen, because the cone does not take that bit into account.

The sound makes no difference as well, so you can run around behind a guard’s back and never worry about being heard. It kind of breaks immersion, but that doesn’t mean you cannot have fun with the game. The graphics are pretty uninteresting as well, and the lighting is pretty bad, but at least the level design is decent.

While there are certainly much better stealth games out there, SpyGame can still provide you with a few minutes if fun if you have the patience to put up with its flaws. It can also prove to be pretty challenging, at least sometimes.