The Spy Who Shrunk Me

About

The Spy Who Shrunk Me is a single player action adventure game with a comedy theme. It was developed by Catland and was released on June 14, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"The Spy Who Shrunk Me" is a stealth-action game available on PC and VR, where players assume the role of agent Audrey Smoothspy. The game includes a variety of missions with new cutscenes, music, and voice acting, as well as new gadgets like the Spytacles. With the new DLC, players can experience the game in VR and face new challenges such as laser walls and security cameras. The game also offers improved performance and additional collectibles to find. In the new "Operation: Improbable" mission, players embark on a new adventure that takes them deep into an unknown location.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 82 reviews

gameplay13 positive mentions

stability6 negative mentions

The Spy Who Shrunk Me offers a unique and humorous take on stealth gameplay, featuring creative gadgets like the shrink ray that encourage experimentation and playful problem-solving.
The game's art style and voice acting contribute to its charm, with a colorful aesthetic and witty dialogue that enhance the lighthearted, campy tone.
Level design allows for multiple approaches to missions, providing a sense of freedom and replayability as players can experiment with different strategies and gadgets.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including issues with controls, AI behavior, and level design, which can detract from the overall experience.
Missions are relatively short and may feel repetitive, with limited mechanical variety and a lack of depth in gameplay that could disappoint seasoned stealth fans.
The absence of manual saves and poor optimization can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences, especially for players expecting a more polished product.

gameplay
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
59%
8%
The gameplay of "The Spy Who Shrunk Me" features a unique shrink ray mechanic that allows for creative stealth tactics, but it suffers from short missions, limited mechanical evolution, and inconsistent controls. While some players appreciate the interesting spy gadgetry and solid stealth mechanics, many criticize the bland level design and lack of polish, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite its potential, the gameplay is often described as lacking depth and variety, making it feel repetitive and underwhelming.
- “The shrink ray is definitely a unique gameplay mechanic which allows you to dispose of enemies or make yourself more hidden and able to move under/around objects.”
- “But overall, I still think The Spy Who Shrunk Me is a great indie stealth game with unique aesthetics and gameplay mechanics, surely worth a try.”
- “The spy who shrunk me's gameplay is most reminiscent of the Dishonored series, with various equipment the player can equip, such as traps one can place on the walls or floor that will launch enemies and knock them unconscious for a brief amount of time, 3D glasses that the lead character can wear to see through walls, a pocket watch they can whip out to stop time, a teleporter that mimics Dishonored's 'blink' ability, and the shrink ray seen in most of the game's promotional material.”
- “The level design is bland, lifeless, unfit for the mechanics, has no safe observation spots, no worthy teleport destinations, no miniature escape routes... Heretic's Ovum did it better in 1994.”
- “Although the concept is cute, the controls are wacky, the gameplay is inconsistent, and the dialogues are painfully slow.”
- “This is a janky spy-themed VR game with very outdated graphics, awful aliasing issues, and dull gameplay.”
humor
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by a playful, pulpy style reminiscent of spy comedies like Austin Powers and No One Lives Forever, featuring exaggerated villains and over-the-top gadgets. While many players appreciate the self-aware and energetic writing, some find the humor hit-or-miss, with certain jokes feeling childish or overly simplistic. Overall, the humor adds a fun, lighthearted element to the experience, though it may not appeal to those seeking a more serious narrative.
- “Rather than trying to mimic serious espionage thrillers, the game leans into humor, pulpy storytelling, exaggerated villains, and over-the-top gadgets.”
- “I kinda turned on the humor at the end when the main character monologues about the game being just long enough that it can't be refunded.”
- “The 'combat' in this game is also hilarious as well, much more Destroy All Humans-esque than I expected with how ridiculous and lowbrow it can get.”
story
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The game's story embraces a humorous and pulpy narrative style, featuring exaggerated villains and over-the-top gadgets, particularly the innovative shrink ray that alters mission dynamics. While the comedic elements and witty voice acting enhance the experience, some players find the story repetitive and superficial, with mission completion often feeling reliant on luck. Overall, the narrative combines stealth clichés with comedic moments, making for an entertaining, albeit short, adventure.
- “Rather than trying to mimic serious espionage thrillers, the game leans into humor, pulpy storytelling, exaggerated villains, and over-the-top gadgets.”
- “Voice acting leans into satire, giving Audrey a confident, witty demeanor that helps carry the story.”
- “Despite its comedic style, it does have a nice story.”
- “The story of the game is repetitive and somewhat superficial.”
- “It combines a lot of comedy and 'stealth' clichés in the story.”
- “Throughout the story, you get past Russian characters simply saying 'let's drink some vodka after we take a s***', this is what I call comedy...”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The graphics of "The Spy Who Shrunk Me" receive mixed reviews; while some players appreciate its charming, illustrative art style and effective use of lighting, others criticize the outdated visuals and technical issues like aliasing. Overall, the game is noted for its colorful aesthetic and solid performance on VR platforms, but it struggles with graphical fidelity compared to modern standards.
- “The art style of The Spy Who Shrunk Me is quite charming in an illustrative, sleek, Pixar-esque presentation, and when later levels begin to show off its nice lighting with alarms pulsing in the background illuminating your surroundings, it's quite a nice-looking game.”
- “Art style is on-point.”
- “Good graphics, solid stealth mechanics, good level design, runs well on Vive Pro 2 with wand controllers.”
- “This is a janky spy-themed VR game with very outdated graphics, awful aliasing issues, and dull gameplay.”
- “Graphics are also pretty bad and the settings didn't seem to make it look any better.”
- “There is just very little to it, and behind the at-a-glance okay visuals, it all falls apart.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with players reporting high GPU usage even on low settings, frequent frame drops, and overall unpolished performance. While some improvements are expected by the full release, current VR optimization is particularly poor, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- “Overall a good game, but I will warn that it is poorly optimized on a 1660 Ti; it was using 100% of my GPU even on the lowest settings, which look almost identical to ultra.”
- “This game is pretty cool, but the VR optimization is horrible.”
- “Performance will improve as the game reaches the full release.”
- “Overall a good game, but I will warn that it is poorly optimized on a 1660 Ti. It was using 100% of my GPU even on the lowest settings, which look almost identical to ultra.”
- “Don't get me wrong - this game is very unpolished, glitchy, and not optimized (and the game size is 20 GB).”
- “Optimization sucks, and even though my PC can run the game correctly with at least stable 30 FPS, there are lots of frame drops which is annoying (unless you like playing with 10 FPS).”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with users reporting various bugs and glitches, particularly with hit collision. However, some players have experienced no crashes or game-breaking issues during extended play sessions, suggesting that performance can vary significantly. Overall, while it has its flaws, many find it enjoyable, especially at a lower price point.
- “This is an extremely buggy mess.”
- “This game has mixed reviews on Steam and I can see why; it does feel a little buggy and temperamental in parts.”
- “While still early and a little buggy, this game brought back some fond memories of 'No One Lives Forever' and has its own cheesy sense of humor.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The music in the game is praised for its retro-futuristic vibe, effectively channeling the essence of classic spy cinema, which complements the bold visuals and exaggerated character designs. Overall, both the soundtrack and artwork receive positive feedback from users.
- “Bold colors, exaggerated character designs, and retro-futuristic architecture combine with a soundtrack that channels classic spy cinema.”
- “The artwork and music are good.”
- “The soundtrack feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “The music doesn't match the game's tone, often feeling out of place and distracting.”
- “While the sound effects are decent, the overall audio experience is underwhelming and forgettable.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Replayability is primarily influenced by the player's enjoyment of improvisation, with some users rating it as low as 8/10 for non-replayability. Overall, the game's replay value may be limited for those who do not engage with its improvisational elements.
- “Replay value largely depends on how much enjoyment you find in improvisation.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its vibrant, colorful aesthetic reminiscent of titles like Mirror's Edge, combined with a spy-themed setting that features charismatic characters and a lighthearted tone. Reviewers appreciate the humor and full narration, describing it as a love letter to similar games, contributing to an enjoyable experience.
- “I really liked NOLF, and this game is like a love letter, being a spy-themed game with a similar atmosphere, humor, and a colorful aesthetic with strong colors that sometimes remind me of Mirror's Edge.”
- “Paired with charismatic characters, full narration, and a not-so-serious atmosphere, the game has potential and is enjoyable.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development is enhanced by bold colors and exaggerated designs, creating a visually striking retro-futuristic aesthetic that complements a soundtrack reminiscent of classic spy cinema.