Invisible, Inc. review
:: EXCELLENT ESPIONAGEPrice: $4.99
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPad Air 2
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Invisible, Inc. is a stealth-based strategy game that creates an amazing sense of tension through its intelligent design and dystopian future aesthetic. When the original PC release of the game came out in 2015, it was met with pretty positive fanfare, and for the most part, the mobile version is just as great.
Spy game
Invisible, Inc. looks and plays like a lot of turn-based strategy games but with the twist of being stealth-based. Your team of spies have some impressive skills, but their goals don't revolve around killing. Instead, the focus is more on staying out of sight to achieve your goals and resorting to knocking out or killing guards only when it seems absolutely necessary.
Although the stealth focus changes a lot of common approaches taken in strategy games, Invisible, Inc. still takes cues from a lot of excellent games to make everything click. Specifically, things like XCOM: Enemy Within's mission structure, Dungeon of the Endless's focus on character, and a lack of hit percentage stats on attacks like Banner Saga games are all here in Invisible, Inc. The resulting mix makes the game feel immediately familiar, while also challenging strategy veterans with its sneaky gameplay.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it
Your mission in Invisible, Inc. is to save your decaying AI after being raided by an evil megacorporation. The ultimate plan is to locate the enemy headquarters and reupload the AI to their computer system.
You start off with a team of two spies, each with their own unique traits, and a few days to gear up for your headquarters infiltration via missions. Missions all fall into a handful of types, like rescuing captured agents or hacking into fabricators to outfit your team with new gear. Each level is procedurally generated to make sure no two scenarios feel quite the same. After completing the game, you'll earn unlocks like new programs or team members to give you new options to consider in subsequent playthroughs.
Mission compromised
In the port from PC to mobile, Invisible, Inc.'s gameplay remains completely intact, but there are currently a few minor issues with the game on mobile.
The most prevalent of these issues is that certain visuals seem to disappear from the screen intermittently, namely guards as they are being dragged and danger zone indicators. Neither of these are especially huge deals, but with a game that's already as visually dense as Invisible, Inc., it's noticeable.
The other issue with Invisible Inc. is its mobile performance. Although it runs well, Invisible, Inc.'s battery usage is incredibly high, which is a bit of a bummer considering it is such a perfect game to play on a long flight. There are also some long load times in the game, but these are infrequent enough that they don't seem especially frustrating.
The bottom line
Invisible, Inc. is a fantastic combination of unique and tried-and-true strategy mechanics that feels endlessly replayable. The minor technical issues in this mobile version are only slight blemishes on what is otherwise an extremely polished and fun strategy game.