The Occupation Reviews
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.
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 has a politically charged story with a moral quandary you may not be able to answer due to the game's forced stealth.
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 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.
Review in French | Read full review
The Occupation is a charismatic mystery game, full of interesting game mechanics and writing that thrusts players into the midst of political turmoil.
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's fierce commitment to immersing the player in its credible world is also the game's undoing.
Despite being held back by pesky bugs, The Occupation is nonetheless an enjoyable and immersive game that handles weighty subject matter with aplomb.
Brilliantly conceived but sloppily executed, The Occupation's potential as an immersive detective sim suffers from too many technical problems to recommend it.
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.
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 a unique and intriguing investigative thriller, that is sadly ruined by a multitude of performance issues that see it never reach its full potential
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 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.
A great idea executed in a mediocre way. If you can deal with the lack of polish, there is an interesting game here.
The Occupation merges the political thriller into a video game in a fantastic way, but the slow burn of politics and its drama seeps into the gameplay and makes the title more tedious overall.
The Occupation is one of the most unique games in recent years, and despite some weird issues and shortages, it is still one the best in the Immersive Sim genre. Its solid narrative and smart design will keep you engaged form the start to the very end and even after you beat the game, you'll still want some more.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Freeform investigation with multiple outcomes is scarcely as good as it is in The Occupation, so it's disappointing to see it paired with clunky stealth and an unwillingness to give players enough time to find the game's best-kept secrets.
The main problem with The Occupation is that it hides all the good things (i.e. great concept, strong narrative) under a layer of wrong design decision, bugs, glitches and awkward controls. I had high hopes for this one, but in this state I would not recommend The Occupation to just anyone.