Republique – mobile gaming revolution?

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, the first instalment of dystopian touchscreen stealth-survival game République has snuck onto the iTunes Store for $4.99.

There will be five episodes rolling out roughly every two months, and it is expected to hit PC and Mac OS in 2014.

Development studio Camouflaj consists of industry veterans with experience on F.E.A.R., Halo 4, and Metal Gear Solid 4. The team boasts “console-quality gameplay and graphical fidelity” on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. One of the main tenets for the design of the game was to bring a AAA experience to mobile platforms such as tablets and phones.

République was developed using the Unity 3D engine and features Faceware Technologies’ motion capture wizardry to create the believable character animations.

In République, players assist Hope, a desperate young woman struggling to escape from a secret, Orwellian state. Communicating using a stolen phone, Hope contacts the player and asks them to hack into the nation’s surveillance system, assume control, and guide her out of the clutches of the omnipresent Overseer.

Literary works such as 1984 and Brave New World, and current geopolitical events including global surveillance and Internet censorship serve as key sources of inspiration for both the narrative and the stealth-survival gameplay. Players expand their control over surveillance cameras and other network-enabled devices, growing into an active threat to the Overseer and his grip over his shadowy nation.

The first episode of the game has caught a lot of attention both for its potential and shortcomings.

Currently on Metacritic it carries an average score of 79% for iOS, but that doesn’t tell the full story. Below is a selection of review opinion from reputable publications.

Touch Arcade – 5/5 stars

Republique is risky. It’s a big budget stealth-action epic on iOS that is attempting to change the face of touch games forever. And it should… Republique is shaping up to be a masterpiece. Sure, there are more chapters to come, but based on what I’ve seen so far… faith is running high.

Eurogamer – 8/10

Republique ticks a lot of boxes, in other words, and the only criticism that really sticks is that there’s not quite as much challenge as you may like. With another four chapters to go, however, there’s plenty of time even for that to change. Fans of smart sci-fi and bold game design should jump aboard now.

Destructoid – 7/10

Like any episodic series, Republique‘s quality will be based on its offering as a whole, and not necessarily a single episode. Having said that, the game has the solid framework of a serviceable stealth title, but the story and cast haven’t sold me yet that this will be a tale worth telling. I’ll be waiting with bated breath to see if episode two is an improvement.

Republique

Pocket Gamer – 7/10

The first episode of Republique is a strong debut for an interesting stealth saga. But it’s also very simple and can become woefully repetitive. And just when you’re getting into the story, it ends and teases a second episode for 2014. Stealth fans should check it out. And those who backed the Kickstarter will get it for free anyway. But if you’re on the fence, it might be worth waiting until a few more episodes come out and make the game longer and (hopefully) more varied.

Edge – 6/10

It’s successful in the sense that here is a visually polished, well presented and smartly acted action game boasting both high production values and a decent, intuitive control scheme tailored to its platform. And yet it also offers several reminders as to why there are so few of its kind available on mobile formats.

AusGamers – 4/10

Despite the interesting setting and story that starts to emerge within this first episode, République is a stupendously dull, utterly uninvolving slog for most of its running time. If you’ve never read or seen a good sci-fi text, then perhaps the central concept will keep you amused enough throughout the runtime, but otherwise there’s just not enough here.