As a stealth game, Volume succeeds in being a complex puzzle made with the simplest and easiest mechanics. Every gadget and tactic fit together so well, you are able to move past each obstacle fairly easily if given enough careful contemplation. It is always suitably challenging and never frustrating.

 

Volume is a reimagining of the tale of Robin Hood set in the near future where AIs run England under a dictator, Gisbourne. As Rob Locksley, you are streaming a video feed of yourself completing VR simulations of security systems the rich (evil) have installed in their mansions. As the people of England watch on, they then take it upon themselves to copy your methods and steal from the evil, rich people. You want to inspire the poor to take back what is theirs and start a revolution.

 

There are 100 levels to complete with new mechanics, abilities, and enemies being drip fed at a consistent and appreciative rate. Once you have mastered one, a new one is thrown into the mix to keep things from becoming stale. Also, each mission can be completed in between 1 – 2 minutes, and so the ‘one more mission’ appeal is not so much in spades as it is in truck loads. Within the missions, the abilities you use are specific to each level. You need to find and claim abilities within each simulation, forcing you to utilise abilities as they are given to you. This creates a variety of puzzle, requiring you to become skilled in each method of thievery.

 

Whist each level is fun to complete by its own merits, the second half of the 100 missions are much stronger than the first. By this time, almost every mechanic has been introduced to you, but Volume keeps coming back to the basic abilities you learnt at the beginning. The abilities introduced at the far ends of the game work incredibly well together, and the latter half of the 100 levels shine because of it.

 

Where Volume falls is the over-used checkpoints. Throughout missions, checkpoints are littered everywhere and this makes failing a mission too trivial, as you won’t get punished almost at all. It allows you to trial and error your way through the game without much thought or care, and takes the risk out of each attempt. In some cases, checkpoints are so poorly placed that they leave some enemy evasions irrelevant. If you are seen by an enemy, he will chase you and catch you 90% of the time. But as long as you manage to run through a checkpoint, there isn’t much bother. You can haphazardly throw yourself in-front of an enemy as long as the next checkpoint is close (there is always a nearby checkpoint) and always effectively skip this part of the mission.

 

This problem has been patched with a new game mode that removes the ability to use checkpoints if you have been seen, thwarting the above criticism. However, the main game mode still holds this burden.

 

Volume’s puzzle mechanics are solid and fun, but what pushes it beyond a good puzzle game is the story. The quiet, left-wing politics that slowly question your own ideologies make Volume a thoughtful experience outside of the puzzles too. Are Rob’s methods of encouraging the poor to put themselves in harm’s way justified? There is also a burning question of Rob’s background. He is the son of a high ranking official in Gisbourne’s court. Does this make him a hypocrite or a saviour? Is he a false prophet simply sending the poor on suicide missions?

 

The political drive of Volume is engaging and relevant to today’s economic society. The world itself feels like a satirical stab at the world humans could create in the near future. 24 hour surveillance monitor the people every day, AIs are used to pretty much run the entire country, and the rich become richer whilst the poor suffer from austerity measures. Volume constantly questions your political stance, whilst quietly and angrily explores a world of division and oppression.

 

Throughout missions, you can find excerpts of diaries, conversations, and newspapers from various inhabitants of this new England, giving small insights into this dystopia. These small extracts flesh out a vague timeline of Gisbourne’s rise to power just enough to create the suitably dark undertone that Locksley fights. They are fascinating to read and give another reason to continue through the 100 levels.

 

Conversations between characters also help to build the world. Andy Serkis and Danny Wallace both play their characters excellently. Wallace’s performance is a particular highlight, delivering comedy naturally, but also being suitably inspiring when the moment calls. Rob Locksley is voiced by Charlie McDonnell who does well at playing our hero as a hapless and ideological young man. When the time comes to make a stirring speech about freedom, however, McDonnell fails to conjure the conviction he needs. His performances can feel a little wooden in these places, as if he is reading his lines for the first time.

 

The voice acting outside of this is very good, however, and the rest of the cast make up for McDonnell’s occasional underwhelming performance. Along with the clever gameplay and great setting, Volume gives a great puzzle experience with a challenging and relevant political drive. The simplistic design is accessible to novice puzzle players, but each mechanic is layered on top of each other so well that the more adept will be satisfied too. And with the level editor and the ability to share levels with the community, can the fun ever end?