When I first heard about Velvet Assassin, I was intrigued by the premise. Although WWII is quite possibly the most oversaturated setting ever (aside from your typical post-apocalyptic wasteland, anyway) a period stealth game with a female protagonist sounded like it could theoretically lend a fresh dynamic to the conventions of the genre.
The icing on the cake was that the heroine of the game, Violette Szabo, based on the real life British spy, seemed to have a morphine addiction (at least in the game—I don’t know how many liberties the developers took with her) though its design purpose was one for gameplay, and not necessarily character development.
Still, between its use of the setting and the potential for both substance abuse and a complex female character, Velvet Assassin was shaping up to be a moody, potentially killer entry in the stealth genre.
Sadly, my expectations were a little too high. Although the game isn’t terrible, the narrative complexity and deep stealth mechanics I was hoping for just aren’t there. Instead, we get a more streamlined approach to the genre, albeit one that shoots itself in the foot more than it should.
But first, let’s get to the good stuff: Velvet Assassin really nails the atmosphere. Although Violette is deployed on fairly typical behind-enemy-lines missions, the developers use of lighting, shadow and color really draw you in to the game.
German grunts patrol dark corridors and rooms lit only by industrial strength lamps, casting long, flickering shadows across the floor. The flashlights of alerted guards cut through the darkness to great visual effect. The color composition is often bathed in deep, rich color—blues, blacks, even oranges.
The result is an atmosphere that has more in common with Thief II and Silent Hill 2 (with just a hint of Doom 3—again, it’s the lighting) than Metal Gear, and although it’s not scary, it certainly is atmospheric enough to stand out from the glut of other period games.
Character models are similarly pretty solid, particularly Violette herself, though there are only a few different guises for enemy soliders. But as completely as you can be enveloped by Velvet Assassin‘s aesthetic feel, the game often forcibly yanks you right out with wonky or buggy mechanics.
Since the game’s stealth is streamlined, if you’re expecting to be able to drag guards off like Snake would, forget about it. Violette can’t brace up against a wall to change the camera, either, an interesting decision that’s not often used. It certainly makes the game more difficult, as does a lack of radar.
What can make the game really trying is the enemy’s detection system. In short, it’s not realistic. I’ve never tried my hand at programming this sort of thing, and I imagine it might very well be a nightmare. But when your cover is blown because a guard inexplicably saw you from behind a clear barrier, it’s a problem.
This is nothing new—it’s been a programming problem in stealth games dating back to the original Tenchu. But frankly, that was over a decade ago. It makes it that much more inexcusable.
This isn’t to say that these sorts of problems happen all the time. It doesn’t kill the enjoyment. But even occasional detection errors in this genre can be big detractors from the overall experience.
The other puzzling thing about the game is its juxtaposition of hard and easy. To build on the previous criticism, guards are often a little too cognizant for their own good when sneaking up on them, but the AI is terrible after you’ve been seen.
If I were a soldier, Nazi or not, and I saw some kind of saboteur lurking around, I’d either completely scour the entire area or call a superior for some kind of back up. I kind of get the feeling that Velvet Assassin may have been booted out the door before it was completely done, because your opposition does neither.
The only way to ensure a complete patrol is when someone finds a corpse. Once I even blew up a barrel of fuel, killing the Nazis around it—but the guards stationed 20 yards away? They didn’t budge.
Enemies just don’t react realistically a lot of the time, which makes the game feel like there’s something missing, even with its decent level-up system, morphine use (sort of like bullet-time) and enemy disguise mechanics.
And speaking of things missing, there’s the question of narrative. Or complete lack thereof. Although it’s framed as a flashback, with Violette lying unconscious in a French hospital, exposition is bare bones at best.
Far from the provocative and complex character study I was expecting, we instead get mission briefings and the occasional mid-mission flashback. So, so disappointing.
In the end, I liked Velvet Assassin, but I wanted to like it more. You may feel the same way, although if you don’t care about the atmosphere, you may be less inclined to try it.
Who knows? Maybe if it does well, we’ll see a Velvet Assassin Redux, with overhauled AI and a greatly expanded story. One can only hope. The idea seems too good to just leave in mediocrity.