Invisible, Inc. (PC) Review

Initially, Invisible, Inc. seems like a fairly standard squad-based strategy game, mixing an XCOM-style futuristic theme with a more personal Fire Emblem-style character system. The basics are indeed the same as many of these TBS games. Instruct the characters to move or perform actions, using up their action points (AP) in the process. Once all their AP is used up, control is handed to the computer, which calculates all the enemy's movements and actions. AP is then reset and the process is repeated.

The game opens with a short tutorial, which quickly introduces these concepts, and many gamers will feel at home quite quickly. Before complicity can set in, however, Invisible, Inc. starts showing its unique tricks. The first is giving control of an AI on the player's team. The AI, called Incognita, can be called on to assist the team at any time. Simply by hitting a button, Incognita's unique view of the area appears, highlighting all the electronic devices she can affect. This might be unlocking a safe, enabling a replication terminal, or turning on a gun turret.

Unlike the human team members, the AI doesn't have action points, but rather "power" that is used up by any action. Power is regained for Incognita by the human characters taking over enemy computer terminals. It can thus be assumed, perhaps, that processing power is being talked about here, rather than electricity - Incognita can't be hooked up to any old power socket. Using the AI's limited power strategically, as well as seeking out new sources of power, is often the key to success. Which safes should be unlocked? Which alarms should be turned off?

After these basics are established there's a stylish animated opening cut-scene that sets up the game's universe and starting characters. While it sadly does not go heavily into world building, what's there should appeal to people that love sci-fi, or those that enjoy games of "spot the trope."

Essentially, Invisible, Inc. is about a team of augment-enhanced people fighting for freedom in a world run by mega corporations. This team starts small - just two people strong - and they vary depending on what options were chosen when the game was started. The characters that can be picked fall into a wide range of sci-fi and spy film archetypes, each with unique abilities. One consistent character is the boss of the operation - "Central" (whose real name is probably something like "Dench" or "Judi"). She leads the team, and the backstory between her and the AI make up part of the plot.

After the opening mission, the game branches, allowing various missions to be picked from a world map. Each mission is procedurally generated - a fresh level made on demand no matter how often the game is played. Objectives vary, but normally these missions involve stealing valuables or information, the end goal all being to prepare the team for a final mission - one that will come in 72 hours no matter what.

This ticking clock creates a sense of urgency, which is reflected in the missions themselves, thanks to Invisible, Inc.'s second trick; the security level system. The longer each mission is played, the more this security level goes up - meaning the facility being raided gets progressively tougher to sneak around in. The more attention the team draws, the quicker security will be ramped up… in turn, making it harder to avoid drawing further attention to the team.

This creates a sense of urgency, and tension increases as each mission goes on longer. It is almost the reverse of many other squad based strategies, which typically start hard and become easy towards the end of the mission - often having a cleaning up phase that involves casually strolling around picking things up. In Invisible, Inc. that luxury isn't there. Guards will keep coming. Cameras will keep coming online. Automated defences will start going around. This all contributes to the feeling of accomplishment when a mission is successfully completed, though, despite attracting the attention of a small army of guards.

The most intense and fun situations might be when a mistake is made, in fact. When someone is shot, there's time for someone else on the team to drag them to safety, making a nice dynamically-created scenario of saving their team mate. It's at this point every tool at their disposal must be used against the guards to create distractions and obstacles to prevent them capture.

Invisible, Inc. is, more than anything, a game about making decisions about priorities. It's about choosing where the team should go next, what they should try to steal when there and how they should manage their limited time in order to do so. The choices matter; there are always consequences. Not just to victory or success, but to what options will be open for the team in future, and thus how well they will be prepared for that dramatic final mission.