Midnight Protocol – Spotlight
Midnight Protocol is a game set in the future that uses just keyboard commands and no mouse to produce a wonderfully sophisticated and immersive gameplay experience. The game is set in Budapest in the year 2062, and the player assumes the role of Data, a hacker who was detained a year ago after being doxxed but was recently released due to a lack of proof. Data sets out with their companions Clover (a hacker educated by Data) and Snail (an information broker) to figure out how and why their identity was discovered.
Pros:
Immersive gameplay design
Interesting story
Nice visual style
Content rich
Cons:
A bit tough
No manual saves
Score – 8/10
The plot moves slowly, which makes sense in a game where the action takes place in a computer realm. Players that are familiar with computers will recognise a lot of the lingo, such as command, programme, SysOp, boot, and so on. The mix of leetspeak and textspeak in a subtle way creates a believable universe that isn’t overdone. Clover’s login is C10v3r, for example, and her nom de guerre is Clover. There are also some unusual terminology choices, such as using the term ‘deck’ to refer to the programmes chosen for a mission.
The player’s decisions determine the flavour of a given playthrough. Reputation can be built in three ways, each of which has an impact on the missions and programmes that become available. When it comes to Data’s accomplishments and hacking skills, a grey hat reputation will be required no matter what. White hat reputation is associated with making decisions that promote principles, whereas black hat reputation is associated with criminal or selfish behaviour. While I agree that the game is story-driven, the gameplay and mechanics remind me more of turn-based strategy games. The home console and networks are the two main locations of play.
Much of the tale progresses on the home console, through email discussions and intranet research, as well as mission preparation. Under Addresses, the Port Scanner can provide helpful information about a network, such as the types of nodes that will be present and the length of the trace bar. Because the player can only take a certain number of programmes (called a deck) on each mission, picking which programmes to take is an important component of the strategy. The gamer might use the leech programme to steal funds from finance nodes or the spoon programme to decrypt encryption nodes, for example.
Between the main plot and optional side quests, as well as Steam trading cards and 18 possible accomplishments, Midnight Protocol’s $14.99 price tag (at the time of review) is more than reasonable. One drawback worth mentioning is the inability to save manually, which makes it difficult to fully explore all of the options without having to repeat them. The makers have been responsive to making changes to the gameplay experience since the game’s release, so my fingers are crossed that manual saving will become available at some point in the future. Although I haven’t completed my first playing, I am enjoying my time in the Midnight Protocol environment.
