Level 22 (Xbox One) - Review

Level 22 is available now on Xbox One and is priced at £5.59.

Level 22 is a simple stealth game that sees you play as Gary, an office worker who has to sneak to his desk because if he's caught coming in late one more time he will be fired. And so you find yourself navigating the various floors of the office building to get Gary to his desk without being seen.

Now I'm a big fan of stealth games, I'm just not all that good at them. They often require a level of patience I simply do not possess. Saying that, I guess I'm talking about the more serious stealth games we've had recently, you know the type which see you spend half an hour navigating a level just to be caught at the last minute and have to start the whole thing again. Luckily Level 22 doesn't punish you too badly if you get caught, the checkpoints come thick and fast in this game. On the flip side of this though, it kinda takes away the stealth side of the game and makes it more about simple trial-and-error - because you never have to replay more than thirty seconds of the level, you'll take risks you wouldn't normally take when playing a stealth game. At times this game definitely feels like more of a simple puzzler than a stealth game.

That isn't to say it is bad though, not at all. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Level 22. The art style and writing is fun and the game can be quite challenging. There's just the right amount of collectables too, and there's even a reason for them!! Something quite rare in games these days, with some asking you to pick up 700 snotty tissues for nothing more than a 5G achievement. Level 22 instead asks you to collet your friends collectable figures for him, now that he is unable to enter the building.

Level 22 is a fun little game that certainly won't break the bank, in fact it is one of the cheapest offerings on the Xbox One Marketplace at the minute. It provides a lot more fun than a lot of the more expensive games out there too. If you're looking for a simplistic little game to kill some time with Level 22 is definitely worth picking up!

7/10 TRY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones (Xbox One) - Review

Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £12.99.

Stealth Inc. 2 is a platformer which sees you play as a cute little clone who has to escape a pretty sinister testing facility.

Much like Q.U.B.E, which I have just reviewed, Stealth Inc. 2 was quite clearly influenced by Portal. Unlike Q.U.B.E though, Stealth Inc. 2 incorporated the snarky attitude of GLaDOS to great effect. Gameplay-wise this game really plays more like a mash up between Super Meat Boy and a real stealth game, in that yes to complete the level you do have to exercise stealth, but fail at this and you will use just as many lives as you did on Super Meat Boy.

As much as Stealth Inc. 2 bills itself as primarily a stealth game, it doesn't necessarily play like one. I say this because the gameplay can be too fast and frenetic to truly feel like you are playing a game that requires you to take it slow and, well, stealthily. Don't get me wrong you SHOULD approach this game slowly, but with restarts being instant and deaths (at least for  me) being plentiful I found myself hurling my clone around the test chambers as fast as his little legs would go. And dying repeatedly.

When I eventually wised up, I got a lot better at not dying (shocker, huh?). When you stop delighting in hurling your clone to his death time and time again the games stealth aspects can really be brought to the fore. I guess what I'm trying (and failing) to say is that I wish the deaths hadn't been so instant. Pretty much everything can kill you instantly and you restart literally straight away. This mechanic WORKS in games where fast play is a must-have; where you have to get back in instantly otherwise you'll break your controller, but for Stealth Inc. 2 it kinda just removes from the actual purpose of the game, which is to NOT die but escape.


As you progress your clone will gain access to a multitude of cool little gadgets. These are given to you in dribs and drabs, allowing you to master the use of one tool before they let you loose with another. Each tool you are given will, obviously, help you in solving the test chambers to come, but they will also allow you access to previously unaccessible points in the facility. I found myself completely confused by the map however, and I am yet to actually backtrack on purpose (I have done this multiple times accidentally).

Graphically the game is beautiful, in its own way. It's dark and gloomy and awash with a particularly dank shade of green, but it works. The main problem I had with this was that I couldn't really see the screen very well on bright days, I have a huge bay window in my living room and the sun coming in just completely removed the use of my screen for this game. Usually I just have to up the brightness but I couldn't actually up it enough to make Stealth Inc. 2 playable. Luckily I live in Manchester so after our two days of sunshine it was back to the grey clouds we know so well and I was able to play Stealth Inc. 2 again.

You get a fair bit for your money in Stealth Inc. 2. After you've completed the main game there's a pretty robust level editor for you to test out your skills by creating new test chambers. I'll be honest and say this is something I haven't really tried much because this kinda thing just does;t float my boat, but it's there for the rest of you guys!

Overall I'd say Stealth Inc. 2 is a solid addition to the Xbox One games collection. It plays well and the puzzles are challenging enough to make you think, but not so challenging that you'll rage quit. The added bonus of a level editor makes this game slightly better value for money, but I still feel this game would have been more at home in the £9.99 price bracket.

7/10 TRY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of the review.