‘Republique’ for iOS and Android game review

Republique is a stealth game that was released on iOS earlier late last year. The game was born out of a successful Kickstarter campaign. It features an episodic format that is gaining popularity these days and so far three out of the five episodes have been released.

The developers released the Android version of the game along with the third episode for both the platforms. I missed the game when it was released on iOS earlier but now that it’s out on Android it seems like a good time to take a look at it. So read on to find out more.

Gameplay

Republique is a third person stealth game that is played entirely through the perspective of security cameras. You get a call from a woman named Hope who has been taken prisoner. You get a call from her and being someone who works with the people who held her captive (but still intend to help her escape), you take control of the surveillance network and guide Hope around the building while avoiding detection.

When you enter the OMNI view mode, which lets you tap on security cameras and move them around. In OMNI view mode, you can see other cameras, which you can shift to, unlock doors, collect objects, identify enemies, disable security systems, and much more. Although you can jump from camera to camera, the game doesn’t let you wander too far from Hope’s current position.

When you finally decide to move Hope around, you close the OMNI view and then tap the area on the floor where you want her to move. Single tap will make her walk softly whereas a double tap makes her run there. If you tap near an object or a wall she automatically takes cover. You have to move her to a safe place so she does not get spotted. The corridors of the building are watched by the security guards and they have a habit of moving around, so you have to plan her movements accordingly. As long as their back is towards her or she is behind cover, they won’t see her and she can move around undetected. You can also use lockers to quickly hide her away from view. It’s important to walk softly and not run, as running gets the attention of the guards even if they can’t see you.

It’s possible to go about completely undetected, but on occasions she will get spotted. In this case, she can use the only weapons that the game provides. She can either use pepper spray, which temporarily incapacitates them, allowing you to escape, or use a taser on them, which permanently incapacitates them.

These are rare, however, so there will be times when the guards catch will hold of her and there is nothing she can do but go quietly with them. They guard will then keep her in a holding facility, which is easy to escape from since you can control the entire security system. These holding facilities also have chargers, which Hope can use to keep her phone charged and keep accessing OMNI view.

You can also purchase some abilities in the game through the points you accumulate by collecting objects while playing. These include being able to read the emails on computers you come across, eavesdrop on their voicemail, distracting guards, predict their patrol patterns, and see guards through walls.

The labyrinth-like structure of the building makes it hard to get your bearings sometimes and feel lost but thankfully the game always points in the right direction and if Hope is out of view points her location and lets you quickly jump to the camera nearest to her. You can also use the 3D map to move around the complex.

Being a stealth game, Republique has a deliberately slow gameplay, which relies more on patient, planned moves than run-and-gun style of gameplay. You will spend about 80% of the game waiting for the guards to walk away so you can move to a different position. If you’re not a huge fan of stealth games, you will find yourself yawning halfway through the first chapter when the novelty of jumping around security cameras wears off.

While that is subjecting, there are some things about the game that will bother anyone. Moving the security cameras around is slow and painful. They move around at a lethargic pace and are super annoying. Another issue I had is that the gameplay feels a bit repetitive. Most of it is the same hiding in cover, waiting for the guard to walk away, and then moving somewhere else. Granted, the different areas require different strategy and planning and can be quite tense at times, but you are essentially doing the same thing repeatedly.

On both iOS and Android, the initial purchase price will only get you the first episode, which is about an hour and half long. To get the rest, you will have to shell out $5 for each. Or you can get a season pass, which gets you all the episodes (2, 3 available immediately, 4, 5 when they release), along with developer commentary about how the game was made and different decisions were taken while making it. The season pass is $15, so you essentially get one free episode. If you liked the first episode then it makes sense to get the season pass instead of individual episodes.

Graphics and Sound

Republique is a fantastic looking game and looks great throughout. The facial animations in particular are very good. Unfortunately, most of the game are gloomy corridors, that don’t fully exploit the engine.

The sound features some really impressive voice acting from industry veterans such as David Hayter and Jennifer Hale. The one voice you’ll hear most in the game is of Cooper, the person helping Hope through the security system, but Cooper’s voice is masked and machine generated (it’s actually the ‘Alex’ voice from OS X text-to-speech). As for music, there really isn’t much of it in the game, and while playing you just hear the voices and sound effect without any music.

Verdict

Republique is a solid stealth game for the fans of the genre. Others, however, might be put off by the deliberate slow pacing of the game. The episodic nature of the game means you will end up spending a lot more later but you do get a lot of content in return. The game is not without flaws but it’s still an impressive package overall.

Rating: 8/10
Pros: Solid stealth mechanics, attractive visuals, engaging story, good voice acting
Cons: Gameplay feels bit repetitive at time, slow camera movements are annoying

Download: iOS | Android