Parents' Guide to Republique

In this episodic game, your mileage will vary, but it's well worth sticking with it to see how and why the game changes. For example, the first chapter is more of a primer to basic stealth play. This means getting used to using your environment to distract guards or cause diversions before moving on to the next area. Each room is truly a puzzle. In later episodes, such as the third one, you rely more on cunning in tandem with stealth -- the coolest part being when you turn the tables on the government and use intel you swipe from each guard to frame them in propaganda news reports that you create.

But the game, as it currently stands, is still a bit clunky. The controls combined with the camera angles can make navigation disorienting. This is somewhat alleviated by an improved map mode in later chapters, but gameplay can feel like you're playing a mobile game on a computer (which isn't surprising, since there is a mobile version). For example, you can click a specific point you want to go to, but Hope won't get the message, or there will be a delay in deciding whether you really can go there in that exact moment. Still, Republique's story and its easily digestible episodes (at about an hour or two each) make it a fun outing.