Forgive me, but I’m going to sound like an entitled brat for a moment – it’s been an unacceptably long time since we got a new Splinter Cell game. Sure, there’s apparently a remake of the original in the oven over at Ubisoft, but it’s been 11 years since we got any Sam Fisher action. Luckily, there are plenty of stealthy substitutes that can give entitled brats like myself a fix, and the latest, Intravenous 2, gives the formula a top-down twist.
Following on from its predecessor, which was a “love letter to Splinter Cell,” Intravenous 2 doubles down on its stealth game action in a very literal way. There are now two protagonists that you can play as – Steve and Sean – the latter of which has a cool, Quantum Break-style bullet time ability.
While you can absolutely stealth your way through the top-down levels by sneaking up on guards, moving only in the shadows, and crawling through vents, you’ve always got the option to go loud too. The gritty, room-by-room clearing that games like Hotline Miami nail features heavily in Intravenous 2.
There’s an impressive amount of depth to your arsenal as well – 29 weapons, which can be given different ammo types and modifications like suppressors, and 17 gadgets. Very nice.
The game also boasts multiple endings, which gives it some replayability factor, and a banger of a soundtrack. While things will remain quiet while stealthing, punchy tracks will kick in as soon as you’ve been fully detected, which is the perfect audio cue to remind you to start shooting bad guys, like, right now.
Intravenous 2 is out now on Steam, and there’s an introductory discount of 10% too, taking it from $19.99/ £14.99 down to $17.99 /£13.49. You can grab it here.
For more intense indie games and triple A titles, check out our best action games list which is full of amazing recommendations.
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