Safe House (2018)

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I so wanted this game to be good.... Yet it's essentially unplayable. Even if the interface, (which lags like a turbo engine from the 70's), was fixed, what you're left with is an inane set of pointless and boring mini-games. Scroll, click, then match some letters or decode a message using an alphabet-shift (you need to write down) and you get some money. But why?! Why am I doing this simple and boring task?! You get no information from them, no advancement in the story...just some money to buy another room so you can play a different version of the same mini-game. I've had head colds that were more fun. This is supposed to be a strategy spy game...so where is the strategy? When do I get to make decisions, plan an operation, decide if someone is lying to me or not? If the answer is after several hours of 3rd grade letter puzzles, you've failed Intro to Game Design on day one. As a huge le Carre fan, I was looking forward to a cerebral espionage game that wasn't just another shooter in a tuxedo. Instead this game is nether; it's more Sudoko but less sexy and thrilling. DO NOT BUY, stick to Spy Party.

Lacks content

This little game is a gem! A real diamond in the rough. Even just for the 'endless' mode alone. The sound design is something to behold. I love a game that is set in that whole 'retro-noire' genre; and enough variety in the gameplay to keep you interested. It actually reminds me a little of Fallout Shelter in some ways; so just imagine that, but with spy-game elements. You get to build the 'rooms' within the safe house that you want, and you could be tasked with doing anything from shift-to-shift such as building a bomb, to accepting (or rejecting) a load of cargo into the loading dock. There is some element of 'story' to it and you can even send operatives (spys and spec-ops soldiers) out into the field to do missions and they may fail/pass depending on their skills and the mission difficulty. There's something about just turning off the music in this game listening to the ambient environmental effects. Not enough games can get sound design into the ballpark I feel; this game definitely does. Gets a recommended from me! P.S. The camera really isn't as bad as others make it out to be. Some the typos on the other hand...😅

(Full disclosure, I'm one of this game's kickstarter backers) So much potential in the concept, utterly squandered on barebones presentation and banal, if not utterly frustrating minigames. It gives me no pleasure to say that apart from the soundtrack, this game was an utter letdown. If you need a fix of mid-century spy thriller aesthetics with some compelling management mechanics throughout, stick to [i]Evil Genius 2[/i]. Sure, that's a big-budget production rather than a one-man crowdfunded effort, but at least it's a fun enough experience that does exactly what it says on the tin.

So far the only complaint I have is that it is not a very user friendly game.