The game features a morphine mechanic which stops the surroundings, except for Violette, allowing you to get an easy kill or move from one area to the next unseen, but even if you use it after being spotted enemies will immediately turn their attention to your new location. Violette cannot attack and move at the same time, so if you are spotted and are in close quarters you simply have no options short of shooting them with a gun or trying to walk up to them and stab them once stationary.

When you’re sticking to the shadows and plotting your next move Velvet Assassin gains a lot of momentum as an enjoyable stealth game, and while getting spotted in such a game should be an inconvenience it is more so in this game because the game mechanics unrealistically work against you. Even the stealth aspects are unpolished at times, especially when looking at how enemies can spot you through solid doors or how the use of a disguise is often more problematic than it is worth.

The presentation of the game has a commendably noir feel to its World War 2 backdrop, both in tone and in its visuals, but unfortunately just as soon as that presentation begins to draw you in a rough edge in the game wants to push you back out.

In the end this is a game that most likely needed a bit more development time in which to iron out the kinks. There’s a good game in here, but its buried underneath psychic AI and strange game mechanics.

Questions or comments? We'd love to hear from you .

Comment on our forums!