Republique Episode One: Exordium review: Espionage and voyeurism have never been so much fun!

Republique is a stealth game developed in the US by Camoflaj thanks to heavy kickstarter support. Republique was released for iOS earlier this month. Mac and PC releases are already in the pipeline.

The game is broken into 5 episodes costing $4.99 each, this is a hefty price tag but it fits the company’s goal to bring “AAA gaming” to iOS. There is an option to buy all of the episodes for $20, which is expensive but worth it.

A real touch screen game that wouldn’t be better elsewhere!

Now I know that touchscreen games have been going from strength to strength recently and more and more developers have been jumping on the iOS and Android bandwagon (I’m looking at you Square Enix), but more often than not iOS games leave me with a sour taste. This is because most iOS games would simply be better on a different device. Knights of the Old Republic, Final Fantasy, The Walking Dead and a whole host of other great games on iOS are more fun when played with physical controls. But for Republique, that’s not the case.

Republique is built for the touchscreen and feels perfect on an iPad. Selecting different cameras to view from, computers to hack and alarms to trigger feels fantastic and smooth. For me, Republique is the iOS game I’ve played that truly suits my tastes and doesn’t leave me wishing it was on a different platform.

You are the protagonist

One of the things I love the most about Republique is that it features a truly silent protagonist: you. You take the role of a hacker who takes it upon him/herself to rescue a girl from a place called Metamorphosis (not the most subtle Kafka reference). The protagonist is staring at a screen the same way you are and seeing exactly what you see.

When you update your in-game device, you get an update screen complete with Bios and when you get a phone call it appears on your screen in a suspiciously iOS-like manner! Little details like this make the game incredibly immersive, and I really got sucked into its world.

Intrigue, mystery, deception and emoticons!

The minute I finished episode one of Republique I purchased the season pass because I was absolutely hooked. The storytelling in this game is phenomenal, and it is a real example of showing-not-telling. The opening episode doesn’t give us much information about Republique’s setting. The game is set in a facility called Metamorphosis which is part-school part-detention center. Republique nails the big brother theme perfectly; constant surveillance, oppressive propaganda and redacted education are all explored during this opening narrative.

For me the thing I enjoyed the most was how little we know, seriously, how many times have we watched a cutscene or introduction sequence that boils down a history into a few out of the tin statements: “All was peaceful in the kingdom of Bulshitia until the Grand-Arch-Chancelor Naughtious unleashed a legion of bloodthirsty Wileatyerfaces! Now we struggle to win back the throne for the rightful heir Pompus Prickimus.” We have all heard this nonsense before a thousand times, and thankfully Republique goes the opposite direction.