Review

As a sequel to 2011's Stealth Bastard (renamed as Stealth Inc for a more delicate console audience) this does everything that a good sequel should. The basics have been kept the same but the scope expanded, replacing the original's structure with a more Metroidvania style of game. Whereas before it was one test chamber after another, now there's a whole facility to explore and it now feels like a much more substantial game.

The visual style is excellent, if unspectacular, and suits the game very well and the same could be said of the sound. Floating text appears over the background throughout offering instructions, advice and story. Some of this dialogue was hilarious too, adding to the fun, although I lost interest in the actual story long before it reached its conclusion.

As you progress you'll receive new gadgets allowing you to access previously unreachable areas and you're always given room to understand how to use them properly thanks to a well maintained learning curve. The test chambers too, get more and more challenging as the game progresses and getting an S rank for all of these should keep you playing for hours – the quick-restart option certainly helps here as well. At the time of writing, the leaderboards are glitchy meaning I can't properly track progress and I've also been prevented from reaching one of the game's collectibles due to an enemy not respawning but these are both things that could be fixed in an update.

With excellent controls and good puzzle variation keeping the game fresh throughout, Steath Inc 2 is one of the best platformers I have ever played and well worth picking up.

About the Review

Platform

Microsoft Xbox One

Developer

Carbon

Publisher

Curve Digital

Released

3rd April 2015