What you need to know
Reviewers are praising the Kickstarter crowd-funded stealth survival game Republique, just released for iOS mobile devices, as a "new benchmark in small-screen gaming". US-based developers Camouflaj have released the first episode, Exordium, as an iOS mobile app, with further episodes and releases for Microsoft and Mac OS scheduled for 2014.
Set in a totalitarian state known as the Republique, the story centres on a woman called Hope, born and raised in an oppressive facility called Metamorphosis. Hope contacts the player in an attempt to escape and bring down the regime that has imprisoned her.
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The players' mobile screen becomes their "window" on Hope's world, and can be used to hack into security cameras, scout areas and help guide Hope to safety.
What the critics like
This clever mobile game owes its pacing and puzzle design to /Resident Evil/, its stealth style and self-aware humour to Metal Gear Solid, and its world-building to Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, but still builds a remarkable identity of its own, says Mitch Dyer on IGN. Republique's first episode, Exordium, is a subtle, satisfying story-based adventure with strong characterisation in "a marvellous dystopian world".
Republique sets "a new benchmark for small-screen gaming quality", says Hayley Tsukayama in the Washington Post. The developers behind Republique have largely succeeded in bringing console-quality gaming to the small screen with stunning graphics, exciting game play and a story line that will grab you - good, sneaky fun.
Republique has a strong, interesting female lead, a story that is smart and funny, and "gameplay that takes full advantage of the iOS platform while still delivering the depth and variety you'd expect from a major console release", says Dan Whitehead on Eurogamer. It ticks all the boxes for fans of smart sci-fi and bold game design.
What they don't like
The game world is a well-constructed, if familiar, kind of dystopia, but its attempts at topicality are rather simplistic, says Edge Online. Though the dialogue is often smart and witty, the story has little new to say and the social commentary has "all the subtlety and searing insight of a Banksy artwork".
