Incognita
Version: Alpha Update 3 (23/10/13)
Klei Entertainment
http://www.incognitagame.com/
For the uninitiated: Incognita is the next game by Klei Entertainment – the guys behind Don’t Starve & Mark Of The Ninja. You play the part of a shadowy agency tasked with breaking into a secure building and stealing the secrets within. You are not alone though as you have the AI called Incognita monitoring the building and allowing you to hack into secure networks for your own gain, but be quick before they discover your location and send a team in to take you out. The game features procedurally generated maps meaning you never really know what you are going to face when you get out the lift onto the next floor and will have to react to what appears in front of you.
Current Playability: Surprisingly for only being in the 3rd Alpha, the game is very playable. You begin with a pre-made team of agents (a stealth expert and a hacker) and attempt to work your way higher up the building, cracking safes and stealing data (and cash of course). They have recently implemented a visible line of sight for guards who now don’t try to murder you immediately (previously they shot on sight without stopping to ask why you were there). There is currently no sign of an actual campaign, but I’m assuming that will come in time. I was informed that in a previous Alpha build there was an issue with the level generation that would cause badly made maps, but on my numerous playthroughs I have never experienced a badly designed map (although I have come out a lift to find a camera pointed directly at me with a couple of guards pointing their rifles at my head).
In my opinion, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game is the mainframe. Throughout the game you will find terminals which you can hack. Each hacked terminal will give you a CPU point that you can use each turn. You can use these points to hack open safes, disable security cameras, turn off laser walls or create distractions. I have frequently found myself spying a safe that needs 3 CPU points to unlock with a camera overlooking it for another point. At one point, I only had 1 CPU point to my name meaning it would take me 4 turns to get that safe open so I sent my other agent out exploring and found another terminal not that far away. After hacking that, it halved the time needed to get that safe open and I escaped the floor before the removal team arrived.
Worth Purchasing?: As of writing this article, Incognita is 15% off at $16.99 (£10.49 straight currency conversion via www.xe.com). With the procedurally generated maps, the game has a lot of re-playability as you work to get higher up the building before you lose your agents. The agent pool is currently limited but they are working on the creation of a female agent which should appear soon. The game works well at creating a sense of tension and not knowing as you sit there eyeing up a safe that could take 2 turns to crack but the guards will arrive next turn and soon start charging towards you. I can see people getting bored as you are just doing the same things in each floor currently but this should change as the Alphas continue.
Next Game Update: Klei seem to be operating a 2 week update schedule indicating that Alpha 4 will be out on 6/11/13
