Finished on Expert, default build! Retail release impressions

[Snows]

WOW! What an amazing game this became. The new art, music, and voices all served to make Invisible Inc an incredibly polished product! 

 

The first three days went about the same as usual. I started out with a fresh game and rolled in with Decka... Decker and Internationale (two of my favorites anyway). I was a little disappointed to realize a few hours into my run that Decker no longer has the Speed augment. I always used to pick him because that extra bit of free AP always felt invaluable. Internationale was the star of the show, and I was pleased to find her amazing wireless detection untouched in this build. 

 

I picked up Shalem and Nika along the way, after few complications. I had to skip a couple safes due to power restraints and troublesome daemons, and one of my squad was killed and revived at some point... but overall it was a smooth ride. 

 

And then the finale happened. OOOOOH MY GOD. What a fantastic way to end the game. A total of three of my agents were killed in action during this mission. And boy was there action. Let the spoilers begin!

 

Around turn 20 or so, things really went bananas. The majority of these guards are impossible to knock out! I had one Disruptor III between the four of my agents, and only Decker had the armor piercing augment.

 

Things were getting pretty hairy. The security room was in the far lower left of the map, so I had to leave Decker and Monst3r alone to work on that. Both guard spawn rooms were close to there, so enforcers were piling in trying to get at them. Meanwhile I had my other 4 agents dancing around pillars and trying to keep everyone subdued. It was complete insanity.

 

I managed to run deckard back up to the very red room and planted the most CLUTCH shock trap III, knocking out all but maybe 3 guards. I had a close call with them, but Monst3r's handy Armor Piercing 3 pistol recharged at the exact moment I needed it. 

 

I think the mission probably lasted about 40 turns. Incognita ended up running out of dialogue lines! Deletion! Deletion!!

 

The final cutscene felt very meaningful, but maybe a little short. There wasn't much fanfare, that's for sure. It felt like maybe there are multiple endings? Perhaps there is a different success state in Expert+?

 

I was a little underwhelmed by the final results screen. I was hoping to have a more detailed score breakdown, showing how my net worth was calculated. Other stats like guards disturbed/KO'd/killed would have been cool to see. I would also be very excited to see a scoreboard. If not for everyone, at least for myself. I had no way of looking back at my progress aside from the screenshot I took. 

 

 

Overall, the vibe and tone of the game was very successful. The way the tiling and guards look unique for each corp really sold that they were unique. 

 

The difficulty had a very exponential curve. It felt easy for a little while but during the last mission I was sweating and clutching my mouse with a white knuckle grip. It really felt great to conquer difficult situations that- at first glance- seem impossible. 

 

Ultimately I was very pleased to see how this game turned out. I've been a long time fan of Klei's work, and this game has become a whole new being since its early prototype.