Clandestine (Hands-On) (PC) Preview

The pleasing thing on first inspection of the Early Access is how well polished and functional Clandestine is. It is definitely an early build, which is apparent from the graphical presentation being a little rough around the edges in terms of the standards of 2014, and also that the animation is a touch tight, as well as some missing features when it comes to actions such as dragging and hiding bodies. However, bugs and crashes are very pleasingly scarce at this early stage.

Gunplay is very well executed and is slightly fresher than other games, with a desire to make firing off a gun a risk or reward situation. Stealth is very much the order of the day, as should be expected from a spy. Aiming at long range is intentionally difficult, and even aiming at short is a game of patience. The idea is never to let the player feel like some super soldier in the field, and it succeeds. Aiming also takes account of the cover system present, which again is very well executed, and pleasing because so many other stealth titles out there usually have endless trouble with finding a decent mechanic.

Also crucial for a stealth game is the enemy AI, and again this has clearly had plenty of focus from Logic Artists, as enemies felt like a tough challenge with a high level of vigilance to any sign of trouble or any suspicious activity. Something the developer was keen to emphasise was its desire for gamers to always have to feel like a spy using all their skills and training, rather than in past games such as Splinter Cell, simply learning the level and patrol patterns in a very game-like way. To that end, enemy placement and patrols are randomised each time the game is worked through, which certainly does a very good job at keeping people on their toes and ensuring the experience remains fresh.

The real unique selling point of Clandestine comes with the asymmetrical co-operative play in which one person plays as the spy in a traditional third-person action game perspective - highly reminiscent of Hitman or Splinter Cell - but, more interestingly, a second person gets behind the desk of an agency spy computer with the ability to take control of security cameras and mark out enemies on the map, shut down alarms, hack the security doors to find their password, as well as deploy agency assets, such as bribing guards or cleaning up bodies.

It should be noted that playing Clandestine solo, one player can also take on both roles at the same time, and this works fine and is fun to play, if a little bit clunky at times in terms of the amount of time switching between menus and jumping out of the action at crucial times. When Cubed3 sat down with Alex from Logic Artists to have a chance to demonstrate and play the co-operative experience, it was then just how brilliant Clandestine could be is shown. It is definitely a title that should have the "Two-Player Pack" on Steam, fully emphasised.

With two people working in tandem and using a mic, what is a purposefully difficult stealth game suddenly becomes incredibly pleasant, and not because it becomes too easy, simply because it becomes so enjoyable. The challenge will be, however, whether this enjoyment can be translated to the general player base when it comes to a whole mixture of people, some of whom may possibly be without microphones. This is a title that really requires communication and that is a risk for the developer to craft an experience whereby it may be so dependent on that. However, it seems like a risk worth taking considering just how much potential Clandestine could have at its best.

In terms of the roadmap as Clandestine develops, there are plenty of features to be added. Logic Artists has promised a story campaign of some kind, which is said to feature intriguing dialogue situations and general tracking of the player decisions that will later shape future missions, again in a way seemingly similar to HItman: Blood Money in that leaving a trail of destruction will have an impact on future assignments and beyond. It is very interesting to read the ideas being floated around for this campaign. If what has been mooted comes to fruition, this could be one of the deepest story experiences of its kind in this genre for many years.

Also to be revealed is the range of enemies that will be present for the player acting as the hacker. At the moment, hacking is a risk free activity with the hacker able to roam freely throughout the enemy network with no challenge. This is fine for demonstrating the mechanics of the game to an early access audience, but there clearly needs to be a significant challenge present for that part of the team, too, and it will be interesting to see what materialises in this respect in the coming months.