The Masterplan

The Masterplan is an open-ended heist game that is genuinely fun to play. It has some teething issues, but with continued support from its developers it can only go from strength to strength.

Starting at $2.15Buy now

Get on Steam

"The Masterplan" is a top-down strategy game that simulates heist operations in the 1970s. Players must plan and execute daring robberies, assemble a crew with unique skills, and manage resources to complete missions and earn rewards. The game emphasizes strategic planning and decision-making, with a variety of tools, weapons, and gadgets at the player's disposal. Tense stealth and action sequences provide a thrilling experience as players navigate increasingly challenging heists.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

61%

Audience ScoreBased on 357 reviews

story6 positive mentions

stability26 negative mentions

The game features a unique blend of strategy and action, allowing players to approach heists in various ways.
The hand-drawn graphics and 70s aesthetic create an engaging atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience.
The hostage mechanics and ability to control NPCs add depth to the gameplay, making each heist feel dynamic and rewarding.

The game suffers from frequent crashes, especially during missions, leading to frustration and loss of progress.
Controls can be clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult to execute plans smoothly during high-pressure situations.
The AI pathfinding is often problematic, causing characters to get stuck or take inefficient routes, which can hinder gameplay.

story
92 mentions
7 % positive mentions
90 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a protagonist who escapes prison during the Nixon presidency and returns to a life of crime with his brother, embarking on various heist missions. While the narrative provides a fun backdrop, many players feel it lacks depth and cohesion, often overshadowed by frustrating bugs and crashes that disrupt gameplay. Despite the potential for a more engaging storyline, the current experience is marred by technical issues and repetitive mission structures, leaving players hoping for future updates to enhance the narrative and gameplay.
- “The story I liked very much, and the levels and art style are addicting enough for multiple playthroughs.”
- “There is a story now intricately woven throughout the levels, little snippets of paper building the mystery of what's going on.”
- “Funny storyline, interesting setup.”
- “The story doesn't really matter, nor should it necessarily in a game built around putting your team together and pulling off unrelated robberies/heists, but the game begins with our protagonist busting out of prison during the Nixon presidency and returning to a life of crime with his brother.”
- “I played through the entire game hoping that the later missions would show me something new beyond what was in the first three or so missions, and never really got it.”
- “Unfortunately, there's not a lot of depth to this either and the customization ends up coming down to generic thugs with random names and sometimes just redoing missions over again to get the money you need to finance a tool you need for the next mission.”
gameplay
90 mentions
37 % positive mentions
53 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game is a mixed bag, featuring engaging core mechanics and interesting systems like hostage-taking, but marred by significant bugs, clunky controls, and frustrating AI behavior that can detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the strategic elements and diverse levels, many express disappointment over repetitive tasks and unresponsive mechanics, suggesting that the game feels unfinished and could benefit from further polish. Overall, it shows potential but may frustrate players due to its current state.
- “Great visuals, music, and simple and addictive gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is fantastic, really -- you take a group of four criminals to various locations and rob the place, using stealth, intimidation, or straight-up violence to clear out all the loot, only to put that money into better gear and more thugs to pull off even grander heists.”
- “The gameplay is quite fluid and there is no pause button, but there is slow motion which is essentially the same thing except that the game is still moving.”
- “This game feels unfinished and is very buggy as is, so while the core mechanics are great and fun, the game itself makes it hard to enjoy.”
- “Concept is super cool, but the gameplay is clunky, frustrating, and not so rewarding.”
- “The downsides are really all in the mechanics though; a lot of the game's difficulty comes from unresponsive controls and the clunky interface that doesn't do what you want it to do 'in the moment', leaving you frustrated when one of your goons runs off and tries to circle around the building when what you wanted him to do was directly in front of him.”
graphics
47 mentions
51 % positive mentions
43 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The game's graphics receive mixed reviews, with many praising the colorful, hand-drawn art style that effectively captures the 1970s heist theme and enhances the overall atmosphere. However, some players criticize the cartoonish visuals and report issues such as graphical glitches and unresponsive controls. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered appealing and vibrant, they may not meet the expectations of those seeking high-definition realism.
- “There is plenty to love in the game; colourful graphics, excellent music, and heist missions in various locations and some alternative ways to complete each of them.”
- “A great blend of action and strategy with good writing, gorgeous graphics and a nice soundtrack.”
- “Great cartoonish visuals and art style which really capture the 70s cop drama feel.”
- “Despite Marsh's glowing appraisal of the early access version, I was slightly put off by the busy cartoonish graphics (I prefer my heists minimalist and clean), so I didn’t play until I had the release code.”
- “Very unresponsive controls, awful graphics, dumb AI, and the game hasn't nearly enough content to justify $20.”
- “Whereas, if you are looking for HD clean realistic looking graphics, you won't find it here.”
stability
27 mentions
4 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
96 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with many describing it as "incredibly buggy" and feeling unfinished. Frequent crashes, graphical glitches, and AI issues detract from the overall experience, making it frustrating for players despite its enjoyable core mechanics. While some users note improvements in later updates, the consensus is that the game is still too unstable for a full-price purchase, and many recommend waiting for further fixes.
- “So far, this version is already extremely polished and it runs great without any problems.”
- “This game feels unfinished and is very buggy as is, so while the core mechanics are great and fun, the game itself makes it hard to enjoy.”
- “I don't see why developers decided to release it and remove the 'early access' mark as the game is really buggy.”
- “The game is fun but it is highly buggy; I was able to play the beta a lot without it crashing and now I can't even get it to start up.”
music
22 mentions
50 % positive mentions
36 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received largely positive feedback, with many praising its catchy and thematic soundtrack that complements the retro aesthetic and evokes the feel of classic heist movies from the 70s and 80s. While some users noted issues with music volume and repetition during specific gameplay moments, the overall consensus highlights the soundtrack as a standout feature that enhances the gaming experience. Additionally, the studio-recorded quality of the music adds to its appeal, making it worth purchasing separately for fans.
- “There is plenty to love in the game; colorful graphics, excellent music, and heist missions in various locations and some alternative ways to complete each of them.”
- “Both the art style and the soundtrack faithfully recreate the feel and the atmosphere of classic heist movies and TV shows of the 70’s and 80’s.”
- “The soundtrack consists of some smooth songs that have a jazzy feel that reminded me of old school heist movies.”
- “This game was a waste of time and it's disappointing that such an interesting concept and a game I looked forward to messing around with ended up being poorly made. If anything, I only paid 5 bucks for the game and soundtrack; hopefully the soundtrack is at least okay.”
- “Sometimes it's content to lag like crazy or just drop the music down to a whisper, but sometimes it'll just crash to the desktop (especially if you pause it).”
- “Turns out there isn't an options menu; you can toggle fullscreen on and off, you can toggle music on and off, and you can see what the controls are. You can't even rebind the controls if you don't like the defaults.”
grinding
8 mentions
25 % positive mentions
13 % neutral mentions
63 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mix of tediousness and engagement, with some appreciating the challenge while others criticize the repetitive tasks and cumbersome controls. The need for constant clicking and interaction can lead to frustration, though certain mechanics, like slow-mo, help alleviate some of the tedium. Overall, while grinding is seen as necessary for progression, many players desire improvements in variety and efficiency for a more enjoyable experience.
- “Save scumming is a big part of the game for the sake of speed and making the learning curve less tedious. It would be nice if there was an iron man mode that killed all crew members if you quit after the cops show up.”
- “In a sequel, I'd like to see a wider variety of places to hit so you're not farming the same convenience and jewelry stores during the early to mid-game.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The game requires you to click every time when you want to equip something and to interact with every character around the environments, including yourself. This might sound easy at first, but when you pull out an item or drop something you need, a simple hotkey to activate things could've been used, and it gets tedious.”
- “Lassoing your units and setting them to perform tasks is not only tedious, but an exercise in frustration when you are attempting to click and it doesn't register.”
optimization
6 mentions
33 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players report smooth performance and enjoyment, others experience significant issues, particularly on larger maps, leading to crashes and sluggish controls. Solutions have been suggested, such as adjusting user settings, which have reportedly improved performance for some users. Overall, the optimization appears to vary widely depending on the gameplay context.
- “I had a few crashes, but besides that it runs smoothly and is a lot of fun.”
- “The game right now runs just fine, now with better performance and no more crashes ;)”
- “This game has some serious performance issues on long, large, busy maps (aka the late game ones).”
- “The longer the mission goes on, the worse the performance gets, ultimately ending with a crash to desktop if you take too long on a busy map.”
- “Fun but crappy controls and sluggish performance (in a 2D game!).”
humor
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its humor, featuring a funny storyline and quirky setup that adds to its charm. However, players note that technical issues, like lag causing characters to behave erratically, can detract from the experience, and some mechanics, such as instant police aggression, can lead to frustrating moments.
- “The game is a funny little indie game.”
- “Funny storyline, interesting setup.”
- “There are of course quite a few bugs and issues such as if the game lags it causes the characters to fly across the screen, which is hilarious until it screws you over.”
replayability
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers a decent level of replayability with its current content, particularly due to the varied approaches to completing heists. However, players express a desire for more levels and additional modes, such as an ironman mode, to enhance replay value further. While some find the current gameplay limited, the potential for improvement in future updates is promising.
- “This is a very well-made game, even for early access. I have high hopes for this game and definitely recommend picking it up now, even though there are only 4 heists, because they are highly replayable as you can approach them in many ways and possibly improve on your last run.”
- “There is already an acceptable amount of levels to master with a solid amount of replayability, but more levels would be excellent!”
- “Overall, an ironman mode would make this game much more replayable.”
- “Maybe 1 hour of gameplay currently with no replay value yet.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its authentic recreation of classic 70s and 80s heist movies, enhanced by a fitting art style and soundtrack. Players find the environment engaging and enjoyable, contributing to the fun and challenge of planning robberies and heists.
- “Both the art style and the soundtrack faithfully recreate the feel and atmosphere of classic heist movies and TV shows of the 70s and 80s.”
- “Great atmosphere, fun, challenging, and I like to plan robberies and heists.”