Liberated – Review (Switch)
A playable comic book is a concept that has been seldom experienced in video games. Melding provocative static images and film noir with engrossing gameplay is no easy task, but one that developer Atomic Wolf have taken upon themselves with Liberated. Telling a story of terrorism, oppression, and a near future Orwellian society, Liberated serves up a captivating experience poised to stick with players long after the end credits roll.
Liberated takes place in a dystopian future where surveillance and social monitoring looms over all of a society. The bombing of a school resulting in countless young lives lost have provoked the government to institute an inescapable system of oversight and policing. Every aspect of civilian life is closely followed and subsequently rewarded or reprimanded. A citizen credit score rewards good deeds such as volunteering, donating blood or even recycling. In contrast, the system reprimands bad deeds such as non conformity and concealing your social media identity. This is done because ‘loose threads can easily cause a tear in the fabric of society.’
A clandestine resistance group known as the Liberated rises up in the shadows of big brother. The Liberated carry out attacks on police and other government oppressors in an effort the maintain liberty and cripple social surveillance. I’ll admit that early on the Liberated felt too similar to resistance groups like Dedsec from Watch Dogs or Dead Society from Mr.Robot. But what helps to separate Liberated from being a simple derivative is the duality in its narrative.
Throughout the game’s four comic issues, you play from multiple perspectives. Taking control of protagonists such as simple non-conforming citizens, to veteran police heroes and members deep within the Liberated ranks is what separates the game’s story and make it unique. As a player, you learn to sympathize with both sides of the debate – how surveillance protects society and prevents further tragedies or how it serves to oppress and rob us of our freedoms. The story does, however, somewhat suffer from a crowded roster of side characters. It got confusing at times trying to keep track of all the cast and where their allegiances lie. Luckily, this didn’t detract from the enjoyment too much.
Gameplay in Liberated is a bit of a mixed bag. The game certainly pushes stealth but going loud is often the most practical approach, whether you like it or not. You take control of a number of playable characters from a 2D side-scrolling perspective. Moving through a set of derelict but diverse environments, your goal is generally to reach a target, whether it be a computer to hack or an area to plant a bomb. Enemies from either the police, armed forces, or Liberated fighters can either be killed, snuck up on and subdued or, in some cases, avoided altogether using the game’s limited stealth abilities.
The problem is – enemies often appear on screen so quickly that you rarely have a chance to hide and take cover to avoid detection. It was a bit frustrating as I would’ve preferred a stealth approach in many cases and it felt all but impossible to bypass conflict. In any case, the gun play is simple and satisfying enough to keep gameplay stimulating. Using the right stick you control your aim while left stick controls movement – making it feel a lot like a twin stick shooter from a side scrolling perspective. Quick but careful aiming is rewarded by headshots which provide a one hit kill for any enemy not wearing a helmet.
Varied and diverse hacking puzzles are also incorporated into gameplay. These range from having you crack a four digit code to unlock a terminal to completing closed circuits or routing power to nodes to open a door. I loved how it wasn’t one hacking mechanic that just got harder with each new encounter. Rather Liberated throws at the player a number of different hacking minigames to keep the mechanic fresh, exciting and challenging.
Quick time events are also peppered throughout the game’s comic panel cutscenes. These help to keep you engaged between gameplay sections as they can trigger at any moment. A quick press of a button can mean the difference between seeing one event play out over another. In the first issue of the game, the protagonist Barry Edwards is fleeing from a member of the Liberated who is chasing him down. By hitting the quick time prompts, the chase is extended, seeing Barry evade his captors. The end result is the same whether you hit the prompts or not, but the added interaction with seemingly static cutscenes was thrilling.
Given that Liberated institutes a black and white ‘film-noir’ aesthetic, it’s impressive that the developers were able to make each new environment feel unique and interesting. Each setting marries the tone and somber emotion of the film Sin City with the evocative static artwork found in the comic that inspired it. The game plays out in destitute and depressing near future settings such as warehouses, alleyways, and police headquarters that each have their own sense of personality. Skillful use of fore and background elements in addition to weather and lighting effects certainly help to give the game a distinct visual style despite their lack or vibrancy and color.
Despite Liberated‘s comic book style, I found myself playing through the game more like the way I would watch a TV series. I played through each one of the game’s four issues a night just like I was watching an episode. I would go to bed thinking about what I had just experienced, how it linked to previous events, and how mysteries would unfold in the following issues. That is the sign of an strong and engrossing narrative that won’t soon be forgotten. Even with gameplay that, on occasion, left something to be desired as well as a slightly crowded cast of characters, Liberated comes easy to recommend with sincere hopes for a sequel.
Liberated launches on June 2nd for the Nintendo Switch.
*Liberated was given to the reviewer by the publishing company but this fact did not alter the reviewer’s opinion*
