Undetected is 2022’s most 1998 game.
When a pencil-pushing, no-nonsense general immediately started on with a mission briefing over scenes of the hero, Tenoch Kaan, sneaking through the jungle to his deployment point, I knew Undetected. It really doesn’t start taking over 30 seconds for proper nouns like “Raptrix units” and “Perpetual Energy Station” to be thrown around.
Here is where the good stuff is. Don’t even tell me what Raptrix implies n’t yet involved. It sounds intriguing. Give me this same minimum necessary context. Someone in a heavily fortified complex also needs to be revived, and I’m the only one who can do it.
Except for that Undetected’s Metal Gear Solid-inspired setup (which is not to be confused with last year’s MGS parody game UnMetal(opens in a new tab)) is actually worth listening to. I had to watch it twice before recognizing that the general had been actually briefing the bad guys on me, a former corpo spy who defected to an “extremist” organization in 2063 to fight the corporate rule of the United Mexico-American Federation. Tenoch Kaan is not really a military dog; he’s the guy Solid Snake would just go after.
Undetected’s first few levels continue to defy logic for a faithful Metal Gear Solid ode. For one item, the “no murder” switch is always started to turn on. My silenced pistol is more of a launcher of Bank robber distraction tools than just a gun.
Rubber bullets are the default ammo, that is useless against guards but perfect for trying to turn off light switches. Guards can be managed to knock out together with sponge bullets, but you have to hit them twice, and I’ve found a total of four. I haven’t found any good bullets yet, however, the inventory screen promises that these can momentarily blind guards, enabling me to slip by. I’ve thrown a few stink bombs, which are largely smoke bombs. but those who appear to be literal fart cans (or, heaven forbid, something worse). I respect the potentially polarizing decision to go tasteless and odorless. In most stealth games, guns are an easy solution to almost every problem, and Undetected wants you to sneak.
And I did it in MGS1 fashion. That means you can run right past guards as as you remain out of their line of sight. Rather than a minimap, Kaan can scout ahead to his robot eye, zooming out your view so that the access to a full becomes the map. I like the cool virtual space effect, but it was sometimes difficult to differentiate the guards from the foliage. I presume it is sensible to forfeit a traditional map that offers inordinate feedback. The problem would be that Undetected does not have enough feedback. Kaan is now almost invisible when he’s in a shadow (you can tell it’s working because his arm lights up),
It’s intriguing to see which facets of MGS Undetected MGS Und Undetected, understandably, embraces old MGS mechanics that I’d happily replace with modern conveniences. A crouch button, for instance, would be helpful, as would tiered alert statuses that permit me to disengage into the darkness if a guard spots me. Some things never seem to change. I at first committed to ghosting through rooms as the tutorial suggests, but I eventually noticed that dodge rolling straight into unaware guards is a quick and easy way to knock them out and cheese past an encounter, just like in MGS1.
I’m going to allow Undetected a little more time to see where it goes. I’m hoping for more story right presently finally arrived at the facility where I think the bulk of the game will take place, so fingers crossed that a bug-themed war criminal will try to hinder my progress soon.
