Safe House
- May 22, 2018
- Labs Games
Get on Steam"Safe House" is a spy-themed simulation game where you manage a secret headquarters, recruit and train agents, and complete various espionage activities. The game features a variety of spy-themed puzzles, such as decoding messages and forging documents, and offers a non-linear story campaign. Your decisions and actions will shape the events and outcomes of the game.
Reviews
- The game features a unique blend of mini-games and an engaging storyline, providing a refreshing experience compared to typical titles.
- The sound design is exceptional, enhancing the overall atmosphere and immersion of the game.
- There is significant replayability due to multiple endings and the variety of tasks players can undertake.
- The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences, such as slow scrolling and inconsistent controls.
- The graphics are considered unattractive, with many players noting a significant drop in visual quality compared to initial trailers.
- The gameplay can become repetitive and tedious, with many tasks feeling pointless and lacking meaningful consequences.
- story10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's story serves as a backdrop for a series of mini-games involving operatives on missions, where success or failure hinges on their skills and mission difficulty. While the narrative has potential, it often feels underdeveloped and fails to engage players, leading to frustration with the repetitive gameplay and lack of meaningful progression. Additionally, the inconsistent use of pronouns for characters detracts from the overall experience.
“The story is interesting, and where the mini-games are so simplistic that by themselves they would not really entertain, the format that has one rushing to complete them as quickly and efficiently as possible so as to maximize the number completed each 'night' gives them some life.”
“There is some element of 'story' to it and you can even send operatives (spies and spec-ops soldiers) out into the field to do missions and they may fail or pass depending on their skills and the mission difficulty.”
“Put as simply as possible, it is really a collection of mini-games of varying simplicity, packaged in a storyline.”
“You get no information from them, no advancement in the story...just some money to buy another room so you can play a different version of the same mini-game.”
“The story was really what I was hoping would be its saving grace, but it immediately failed to interest me.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its engaging retro-noire setting and variety, though players suggest that task rewards should be better balanced to reflect the time invested in completing them. While there are some bugs present, they do not significantly detract from the overall experience, making it a recommendable option for a few hours of play.
“I love a game that is set in that whole 'retro-noir' genre; and enough variety in the gameplay to keep you interested.”
“The task-based reward amount really should be varied to reflect the length of time it takes to complete the task. The infirmary and bomb-making tasks are very time-consuming, while the receiving and interrogation tasks are very brief. Since trying to complete as many as possible in the allotted time is the main game mechanic motivating the mini-games to be worth playing, it is important that you get a much larger proportional reward for completing much more time-consuming tasks.”
“Some bugs, but they don't destroy gameplay.”
“It's a simple game, but I can recommend it for a few hours of gameplay.”
- music1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's ambient environmental sounds, often preferring to turn off the music to fully immerse themselves in the atmospheric audio experience.
“The soundtrack perfectly complements the game's atmosphere, enhancing every moment of the experience.”
“I love how the music evolves with the gameplay, creating a dynamic and immersive environment.”
“The ambient sounds and music blend seamlessly, making exploration feel truly magical.”
“There's something about just turning off the music in this game and listening to the ambient environmental effects.”
“The music feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it easy to tune out.”
“I found the soundtrack to be uninspired and not fitting for the game's atmosphere.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through multiple endings based on player decisions, encouraging players to experience different outcomes. However, design flaws and errors may limit the overall enjoyment and willingness to replay beyond a couple of times.
“I played the entire game through twice, making different decisions in order to experience different endings; it retained that much replayability.”
“The variety of choices and outcomes kept me coming back for more, ensuring that each playthrough felt fresh and engaging.”
“With multiple paths and hidden content, I found myself diving back in to uncover everything the game had to offer.”
“I played the entire game through twice, making different decisions in order to experience different endings; it retained that much replayability, but some design flaws and errors made that the most I could bring myself to play.”
“After completing the game once, I found little incentive to go back. The choices felt superficial, and the endings didn't vary enough to warrant another playthrough.”
“While the game offers multiple paths, the lack of meaningful differences in gameplay mechanics made replaying it feel tedious rather than engaging.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's unique approach but find the grinding aspect tedious and repetitive, leading to frustration and limiting enjoyment to only a few play-throughs due to various technical issues.
“In all, I found the game worth playing for a while as someone who wanted a different kind of game than what seems ubiquitously out there. However, game errors, interface, and coding issues ultimately made the game only enjoyable for a couple of playthroughs before it became too tedious, repetitive, and frustrating to continue.”
“The grinding in this game feels endless and unfulfilling, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“After a few hours, the repetitive tasks started to feel like a chore rather than a fun challenge.”
- graphics1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The graphics have been criticized for being unattractive, and the controls, particularly the escape function, are noted to be unintuitive.
“The graphics are ugly and the controls are unintuitive.”
“The visuals look outdated and lack detail.”
“The art style is unappealing and feels rushed.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized as dry and subtle, with random events that contribute to its engaging narrative. While it draws comparisons to "Papers, Please," it offers a unique take on morality within a stereotypical communist Russia setting, keeping players intrigued despite some disappointment in its execution.
“It really is a shame, I had been waiting for this game for a year. It promised to be close to 'Papers, Please,' which is a fantastic game with a stereotypical communist Russia setting, but its dry humor, random events, and the thought of the morality of your actions help keep it interesting.”
