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Volume by indie supremo Mike Bithell is a stylised single player top down 3D stealth game. In it you play a young thief named Robert Locksley who enters a decommissioned military virtual reality training simulator, with an intent to show the world that they can fight at the corporatocracy that’s taken over. Hunting him in the directory forests is scary and intense CEO Guy Gisborne, the games chief baddy. Aided by Alan the simulations AI, Robert must gain attention and notoriety by stealing from the rich and streaming his exploits for the poor. If you hadn’t of guessed it, the game is set firmly around the Loxley/Robin Hood lore – albeit refreshed and updated with heaps of modern day social political metaphors.

Protecting the worlds virtual trophies are a number of virtual guards. Killing these guards would be too easy and would set a bad example to those that are watching the stream, so Volume is 100% stealth. Getting around patrols skillfully and successfully is the real crux of the game. Each type of guard has a certain attribute that in close quarters can be difficult to circumnavigate however as they patrol up and down corridors, keeping them peeled for your feathery cap digital footprint, you quickly begin to understand how they operate and experiment with exploiting them. If you enter a guards cone of visibility they will take chase until they get bored or have time to lock on and shoot to kill your avatar (resulting in you having to repeat the area again from your previous checkpoint).

The Pawn is the most frequent enemy type to appear and with its limited field of view and really only has strength in numbers. The Archer on the other hand is very similar to the Pawn but has an even narrower vision but that site is greatly increased and can snipe you (naturally). Other types include the Hound which is a roaming CG canine with a full sensory arc to find you, or the Knight or Rogue class’ which are the most formidable in the game due to an even larger detection field and the ferocity at which they take chase.

Besides hiding in cupboards or under floor grates to skip past the bad folk, thankfully as you progress gadgets become available for you to utilise in your navigation of the game. A focused sound blast from the horn is particularly helpful as it can be bounced off of numerous walls to project a distraction to get the attention of those pesky guards, drawing them away from your objective. Playing on further into the game, you can unlock silent shoes for travelling faster and across alarm floor pads with making a ruckus, or even a Total Recall-esq running hologram.

One hundred levels are yours to play through, which encompasses the story that’s being told. Each map is thoughtfully constructed with hints of devious design to flummox or frustrate, but not so over the top to leave you scratching your head or searching the internet on how it can be achieved. The playing curve is presented well as when you hit later levels you can approach the game with different tactics as the game escalates in complexity.

Graphically the game is sharp, colourful and stylised. Simplistic to look at but enough so that you can easily discern height and depth of walls and objects that have no textures or limited shadows.

Voice work is exceptional with a nerdy line up lending voices. Popular English vlogger Charlie McDonnell uses his warm tones for the games Robin Hood hero, and Mike Bithell’s Thomas Was Alone narrator/funny guy Danny Wallace returns to voice of the Volume AI. Rounding things off is the award winning Andy Serkis, that fella who played Gollum and is in the new Star Wars film, who turns out a wonderful performance as Gisborne – and perhaps a little too well. Serkis’ gravitas does over shadow the other talent who appear and, this isn’t to poo-poo’s anyone’s delivery, he nails every line he has and steals every scene. An amazing thing for an Indie game indeed.

Finally the level creator and online community elements elevates Volume all the way to 11. After working my way through the 100 levels in the main game, I confidently jumped into some fan made maps and boy did this knock my confidence! While the core experience is incredibly well crafted and designed wall by wall as a full package, the custom maps are lethal and see you rely on exploiting and using the in-game tools in ways you’d not previously anticipating. New favorite maps are selected weekly by the team but already the game is seeing an unprecedented amount of talented people taking up the tool. Those that do want to take a crack at building your own Volume level can certainly do so as it is very simple to get started. Simply place the floor, walls an objective and you’re ready to go.

Volume is an exception Indie game and one of the best I’ve played. My only niggle, if I had to pick one, is that the story is compelling but easily missable for those that go out looking to purely solve some puzzles. For example each introduction to a level presents a bio for the owner of the antiquities that are to be borrowed. I can tell that these have been painstakingly put together but in a quest to complete “One more level” many may gloss of these.

If you’re a fan of stealth games like Metal Gear Solid and agree killing is too easy, then Volume is an insta-purchase recommendation from me. Alternatively if want something cerebral and a little taxing this is for you (or looking for a high-tech Pac Man) this is for you also.

Volume is available now for PC, OS X and PlayStation 4. A PlayStation Vita version has also been announced but no release date confirmed.

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