Infused with Occult Stealth
Call me strange but I love movies and TV shows that feature a number in the title.
For me, it immediately gives the story a “Here we go” feeling and a real sense of high adventure. You have Westerns ranging from the heroes of The Magnificent Seven to the villains of Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. And as a child, I used to love watching an old film called The Dirty Dozen, which was about the US Army’s worst convicts being put together as a team and sent into Nazi Germany on a mission during World War II.
Sumerian Six captures some of those exact vibes. It is set in World War II as a crack team is assembled to put an end to evil plans. Let’s go.
The Enigma Squad
Sumerian Six is a top-down stealth game set in an alternative WW II. It tells the story of the Enigma Squad, a special team of six members. They are a combination of scientists and commandos working to destroy the Nazis and put a stop to their pesky meddling with the occult. Off they go to infiltrate all manner of Nazi bases, including camps, castles, and underground bunkers.
The narrative has a bold, over-the-top Boy’s Own Adventure vibe to it, feeling like a mixture of James Bond and Indiana Jones. The writing and dialogue are fun, making the experience feel exciting and dynamic all the way through its levels.
The gameplay is presented from a top-down perspective, and you have six different characters to play around with. Each one possesses unique abilities, which we will get to in a minute. Stealth is very much the order of the day; if you are a player who prefers fast and furious action, you might want to look away now. However, for gamers who enjoy planning, real-time strategy, and finding interesting, varied routes through a level, this will be right up your street.
Mastering the Squad’s Toolkit
Your general objective is to get through an environment without dying and, ideally, without being spotted. There are various tricks each character can use to help on this journey. For example, one of them can teleport into the mind of a Nazi to take control of them. This is incredibly handy in situations where there doesn’t seem to be any viable way through; simply take control of a soldier and walk past everyone without a care in the world.
Another character, Rosa, can dissolve bodies instantly, which neatly solves that age-old stealth problem of disposing of a corpse before it is spotted. Meanwhile, Isabella can turn invisible for a short period of time. It is great fun figuring out how to best utilise all these different skills in your toolbelt.
Of course, there are also the basic stealth tricks that all the characters can employ, such as hiding behind objects, studying guard patrol routes, and using the environments themselves to slip by unnoticed.
Finding the Perfectly Paced Path
Be prepared to die a lot, though. In Sumerian Six there are a range of difficulties to choose from before you start, but even on the lowest setting, this game takes no prisoners. Save scumming quickly became my best friend; I would constantly reload to try again and find the perfect way through a tricky situation. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed doing this here, whereas in other games it might have frustrated me. The story and the core gameplay earned enough of my goodwill to make the repetition rewarding.
There are weapons to use, of course, and sometimes going loud is the best way forward. But this is not a shooter, with combat sitting there as just one of your options.
Sumerian Six does a great job with its top-down RTS world. When playing these types of games, I am always reminded of those highly detailed model cities or buildings you find in museums. It looks fantastic, and the cel-shaded design works extremely well. The audio design focuses heavily on environmental effects, with the musical score kept quite minimal. When the silence of stealth is broken by the sound of gunfire and explosions, it is highly effective. And the voice work is solid, and I got some serious WWII adventure vibes from the whole package, which proves it hits the mark.
A Thrilling, Thoughtful Ride
As I have gotten older, my tastes have changed, so much so that I probably wouldn’t have got on with this game in my younger years. Now, however, I absolutely love the thoughtful pacing of Sumerian Six. Weighing up every movement and action, knowing that one wrong step could mean the end of your life and the level, is thrilling. The more you play, the more it clicks, and the more confident you will get. This is a highly enjoyable ride, even if it won’t be for everyone.
But, as I said, I love games with numbers in them, and Sumerian Six certainly didn’t disappoint.
Important Links
Sumerian Six Deploys Tactical Stealth Action On Xbox Series X|S And PS5 – https://www.thexboxhub.com/sumerian-six-deploys-tactical-stealth-action-on-xbox-series-xs-and-ps5/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/sumerian-six/9nd6nq57wcpn
