Evotinction is a new sci-fi adventure with a concentration on stealth and also hacking as your character tries to undo the damage caused by a computer virus that has attacked a godlike AI that controls a massive research facility.
It’s also an indie game made by developer Spikewave Games, so we are not talking about a AAA title with a big budget. But with that said, Evotinction does a lot of things right and punches well above its weight in a lot of places. For example, the graphics are really good. At times, various scenes in Evotinction is almost interchangeable with Fort Solis, which had a much bigger budget. It looks great on the PlayStation 5, which is where it was reviewed.
So, let’s get into the review of Evotinction and see why this is one indie title that is definitely worth your time if you are the kind of gamer who would appreciate what it has to offer.
Plot: The plot of Evotinction is good, although there’s a feeling of rushing things along that starts right at the beginning and really doesn’t end until it is over. That feeling of being rushed actually fits the narrative of the story, although some gamers might like a little more time to enjoy this interesting world.
You play as Dr. Thomas Liu, an AI researcher and developer who is the co-director of the world’s foremost research lab. The lab is into almost everything and is aptly named HERE. Things for Dr. Liu immediately start going wrong at the start of the adventure. The good doctor has just finished having surgery performed on himself in order to act as a network node so he can tap directly into his Magnum Opus, the highly advanced AI system named MORE, which runs the research lab called HERE. People are trapped in the facility, and Dr. Liu needs the new implants in order to start finding and rescuing survivors. However, a computer virus that he names RED complicates things, and players will have to try and purge it as they go. So, right from the start things are bad for Liu, but they go downhill from there.
Gameplay: Evotinction is a stealth based title in the extreme. In fact, you will almost never engage in direct combat if you do things properly, which is both bad and good. The good part of that is that Evotinction feels a lot like Watch Dogs, one of my favorite series for out-of-the-box thinking.
However, as much as comparisons to Watch Dogs are warranted, especially given the hacking type sequences, Evotinction falls a little behind in some parts. For example, where in Watch Dogs you could chain your view through various camera systems, that’s not an option in Evotinction. Instead, you can only do so once, which is a real shame given how much that gameplay loop worked in Watch Dogs and later on in Watch Dogs 2 and Watch Dogs: Legion.
The stealth aspects also have some problems, although it works for the most part. The actual sneaking around part in Evotinction is never an issue in terms of control but dealing with the enemies you encounter is not fun if you mess up at all. They are highly unforgiving of any mistakes, and you are pretty much limited to only stunning enemies for true combat, and only then at short range when you use your stun gun, which is called an e-blaster. At least the capabilities of the e-blaster get upgraded over time to allow for better ranged shots.
Art: As previously mentioned, the art is pretty good, although it definitely isn’t bright and cheerful by any means. But the gloomy atmosphere looks great on the PlayStation 5. And while it’s definitely not quite up to AAA standards, it’s definitely a cut above most indie games I’ve played lately.
Music: The musical score is okay but for being a stealth title it’s pretty lowkey in general and kind of forgettable overall. Who needs a booming combat-oriented soundtrack when you are just sneaking around most of the time? The voice acting isn’t perfect. It’s kind of average, which for an indie game these days is actually pretty good because there is no bad voice acting to pull players out of enjoying the story.
Overall: Evotinction is a pretty fun stealth-centric game, though it can be highly unforgiving of mistakes, particularly at the start before anything has been upgraded.
For those who like: Stealth titles, hacking-type gameplay, and good art.
Not for those who don’t like: Unforgiving gameplay, a rushed narrative, or any of the above.
Developers: Spikewave Games
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam