Recent reviews by Clout Mask Replica

A wild and imaginative game with some pretty fun melee combat. I was a big fan of Zeno Clash back in the day, and while I was skeptical of this game's switch to third person, it plays really well and the combat feels great. the world is colorful and fun to explore and there's more to find than in Zeno Clash, which went mostly level to level. The world of Zenozoik is really interesting and no matter what form, I hope to see more of it someday.

A fantastic little arena FPS with seriously fun movement mechanics. Difficult but rewarding, killer soundtrack, killer visuals. Simply delightful

This game is a seriously impressive immersive sim that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in stealth games, rpgs or imsims despite its flaws.

You play as a journalist who has been assigned to interview several employees of the company behind a controversial new law about to be passed in England in 1987. The twist is that you have exactly one hour in real-time to explore the building and gather information before your interview, while avoiding the watchful eyes of the security guards and pencil-pushers. The main mechanics of this game have all the stealth/imsim staples; collecting tapes and door codes, alternate routes through vents, guards who say things like "I know i heard something...", albeit in a more compact space. The Occupation adds one crucial twist, however. Once you run out of time in a chapter, you're done and have to progress the story. You've got a schedule to keep after all, so you have to work fast. You can't save mid-chapter either, so save-scumming to try and get a perfect run through isn't possible.

The real-time mechanic combined with the lack of saves that elevates this game beyond what would be a well-made but otherwise brief immersive sim. As someone who's used to reloading stealth games upon being seen or reloading a conversation to get the optimal dialogue options, being forced into work quickly and live with my mistakes was actually quite thrilling. An hour feels like a lot of time, but ultimately when it came down to the wire I'd panic and have to choose which of my leads to chase down within the limited time frame. The fact that the game forces you to commit to how you spend your precious hour makes it feel much more like an experience than a game to be "solved". The rigid rules and commitments required of this system may not be for everyone but those who chose to engage with this game on its own terms will be rewarded greatly.

It's not without its problems, of course. Occupation falls into the stealth game trap of "Let the player get into areas using vents" in a way that is egregious even for the genre and at times feels like it makes exploration trivial. Systems and concepts are introduced and then never expanded upon. Object interaction feels obtuse at times, having you use a combination of button presses and mouse holds to open doors or containers. Its a bit rough around the edges but I think this is a case of ambition pressing up against budget more than anything else, and White Paper is certainly punching above its weight class.

I'm writing this after one full completion of the game, and I'm excited to go for a second completion. The game also provides you with a chapter select after you beat it, so you can explore specific chapters again and root out all the secrets. Unfortunately I think a buggy release prevented this game from getting the appreciation it deserved at launch, but hopefully imsim fans and people looking for a unique experience will give it a shot.

OH ♥♥♥♥ SON ITS FREE