The Occupation Reviews
The Occupation is a taut investigative simulation and stealth thriller. It's infused with a realistic and multidimensional approach to mechanics, systems, and level design. This is a must-play for fans of Deus Ex and Dishonored.
There's a lot to love with The Occupation. It's got humanity, tension, and plenty of little touches that make finding that extra bit of information exciting without the usual violence you've come to expect from stealth games. However, its focus on no manual saving and real-time gameplay will be a dealbreaker. It's not for everyone, but anyone craving consequence and narrative in their stealth game will find a challenge worth facing.
The Occupation is a unique and intriguing investigative thriller, that is sadly ruined by a multitude of performance issues that see it never reach its full potential
The Occupation could, should and would be easily a gaming experience to recommend. Alas, the experience is tarnished with not just little, forgettable or mildly acceptable, bugs.
The Occupation is so many things I have wanted to see in a game, but I can't give it the love and adoration I want to.
Brilliantly conceived but sloppily executed, The Occupation's potential as an immersive detective sim suffers from too many technical problems to recommend it.
Despite being held back by pesky bugs, The Occupation is nonetheless an enjoyable and immersive game that handles weighty subject matter with aplomb.
The Occupation's fierce commitment to immersing the player in its credible world is also the game's undoing.
Despite that, if you enjoy uncovering the truth of a mysterious story, and don't mind replaying a game to uncover the full story, you'll want to pick up a copy of The Occupation when it launches on March 5th for PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One.
The Occupation is a charismatic mystery game, full of interesting game mechanics and writing that thrusts players into the midst of political turmoil.
The Occupation doesn't live up to its promises. After one hour of investigation, the player won't even try to understand what's going on anymore, as the narration feels way too elusive. Not to mention all the technical issues (framerate drops, glitches) and the bland art direction. It's a shame, given the interesting themes mentioned in the game.
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The Occupation's clever real-time investigations and immensely engrossing story are undone by its dedication to inducing tension by restricting saving, which is exasperated by uneven technical performance.
The Occupation has a politically charged story with a moral quandary you may not be able to answer due to the game's forced stealth.
When The Occupation works, it's a thrilling investigative adventure that allows the player freedom to explore and chase leads in a way that feels incredibly exciting. Frustrating controls can be overlooked, but unfortunately, the bugs in the game are incredibly persistent and capable of completely turning a promising experience into one that's too annoying to go on.
The Occupation structures itself in an interesting way, sets a unique tone, and toys with some potent topics, but lacks the depth or polish needed to live up to its potential. Like a disappointing newspaper article, you're left with more questions than answers and wishing somebody would do the subject proper justice. The Occupation is, unfortunately, pretty vacant.
Would I recommend The Occupation? Yes. If you like real stealth and a kind of nostalgia and have a good gaming session you can dedicate to the game. It will reward you well. If you are a gamer with not much time, I am not too sure. But I certainly wouldn’t let that put you off giving it a go.
The Occupation is bold, ambitious, and a bit of a mess. Its bugs and occasionally obtuse storytelling severely detract from the overall experience, and yet it will live longer in the memory than the average game. There's something fascinating here: a real-time thriller that puts genuine political power in the palm of your hands. But it's strangled by its own ambition, and that's as inevitable as it is unfortunate.
The Occupation tries to present itself as a political thriller emphasizing stealth. Sadly, it has neither the thrills nor the mechanics for both.
A superb, smart and taut detective thriller lay beneath the stack of technical and design issues that The Occupation has, it's just a shame that, in its current form at least, those shortcomings are at the forefront of the experience.
The Occupation brilliantly blends elaborate levels, breadcrumb-chasing, gotcha journalism, and a politically-charged drama to become one of 2019's most interesting games.