Developer: Size Five Games
Publisher: Size Five Games
Rrp: £11.99 (Steam), £11.99 (Gog.com)
Released: 28th July 2015
Available on: Steam and Gog.com
Played using: An Xbox 360 Control Pad
In the old days life as a burglar was simple, you didn’t have to worry about security cameras, money in computers or robot guards. Nope, you saw a house broke a window in and took what you could. Soon the Police will be activating their newest piece of tech, an artificial intelligence code named ‘The Devil’s Basilisk’. This new A.I will make the job absolutely impossible, so it’s time to do the one thing the Police won’t see coming. We’re going to steal it.
Here’s a genre you probably won’t hear often, Steampunk Cybercrime, well that’s what The Swindle is. It’s also a 2D platformer, but less like Mario and more like Mark of the Ninja. The game is set in an alternative version of London in the year 1849. This is a world of Steampunk, so lots of brass, cogs and obviously steam.
In The Swindle you play as a master burglar (one who apparently outsources his work, but more on that later) and you have one hundred days to steal ‘The Devils Basilisk’ fro the Police. Of course that means you’ll need to break into the Police Station and before you can do that you’re going to have to start small and build up to it. In this case starting small means starting in the slums.
Each heist uses up one of your one hundred days, once you’re actually in the heist you actually have all the time in the world, unless you get spotted. The buildings that you perform the heist in are randomly generated which means that you’ll never see the same building twice, similar ones maybe but the same. Unfortunately this also means that sometimes it’s actually impossible for you to get all the money because of it being inaccessible.
Thankfully the individual heists themselves have no time limit so you can take your time… That is until you get spotted by a robot guard or set off the alarm in some way, then it becomes a race against the police.
At the end of each heist you are given the option to start another heist or return to the airship. No matter which choice you make your haul is safely deposited so it’s not a gamble. Once on the airship you can use the money you acquired to upgrade your burglar, get new equipment and gain security clearance to get to more lucrative, and tougher, locations.
There are plenty times where you will be trying to work out whether getting that last bit of money is worth it. It could be, you might be able to get past all guards and hack the computer safely. Thing is though you already have two grand in your pocket and if you get caught you’ll get nothing, so… Is it worth it? Judgemental calls abound. This is compounded by the fact that you also get a ‘Ghost’ bonus for completing a heist without being detected, and it’s not an insignificant amount.
Each enemy has a line of site, if you are spotted that sets off the alarm which everything turns red and the music becomes a lot more frantic. Once this has happened you need to make your way back to your shuttle and get out of there because the police will be on their way and those guys don’t mess around. Seriously, they have a flying ship armed with a machine gun that can literally shoot through the walls.
Being seen isn’t the only way to raise the alarm, failing to hack certain things also can do it or even hacking a computer that’s protected can do it. Another thing to note is that if the alarm is raised the enemies will start picking up the money they pass that’s in the floor and the computers will slowly transfer the money they have away.
There’s a great variety of enemies and all of them have their own eccentricities which you’ll only find out through trail and error. Most of their abilities are readily apparent, if you see a flying spotlight with a machine-gun attached, it’s pretty obvious what it’s attack is. Thankfully all of your opponents are robots so no worries about bashing over the noggin’ with a stick.
Your burglar dies in a single hit and once they’ve died they’re replaced by a new burglar who comes with all the upgrades the last one had, just not the experience.
This experience increases the amount of money you gain, the more successful heists your burglar has to their name the more money your going to receive at the end.
The thing to remember is that though this may act like a platformer if you treat it as one you’ll be for a world of hurt. Also if you are someone who sometimes gets left and right confused (like me) then you may find that game can cause some real consternation.
“Gahhh! I was so close.“ Words to the effect of these are things you’ll likely find yourself exclaiming, while playing this game.
I did find that there were times where the controls occasionally felt unresponsive. I’ve not been able to work out exactly why though despite changing all the setting I can and even changing control methods. It’s just that on occasion the jump button won’t work, it seems to be related to the angle of the surface you’re on but I can’t verify that.
Do you like roguelites? Then the chances are you’ll likely enjoy this title. Personally I’m not really one for roguelites but this one works for me. It’s challenging, fun and has a wonderful art style. Go forth and steal the world!
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Crypt of the Necrodancer
Rogue Legacy
Mark of the Ninja
