PC Review
Steam offers an interesting platform for PC developers to get their products out to the masses and Plain Sight is set to be something of a cult hit. Any game featuring ninja robots is automatically going to court the interest of a large group of gamers but Plain Sight doesn’t function solely on its quirky characters.
Similar in art style to better-known classics like Castle Crashers, Plain Sight’s cartoon-style of big-headed combatants offer us a visual prompt to be aware that this game isn’t going to take itself too seriously. It is essentially a multiplayer arcade combat game. The controls are simple, holding a left mouse button will cause you to lock on to your nearest opponent, releasing it will charge at that opponent.
The aim is to kill your enemies and gather their energy, becoming larger and glowing brighter as you do so. The bigger and brighter you become, the more tempting a target you are for the other players. In order to convert your kills to a high score you have to blow yourself up, hopefully taking as many enemies as possible with you. It’s that simple.
There are a plethora of peculiar and intricate maps to fight on from simple arenas to more complex shapes like cassettes with the tape pulled out. All surfaces are available for the player to run on and the spacebar can be used to jump from surface to surface.
Plain Sight isn’t the most complex game you’ll ever play but it’s not the most expensive either and what it does, it focuses on and does it well. Things can get intensely manic on the smaller, tighter maps and the frustration of having a kill streak upset by a sneaky assailant just as you prepare to detonate is enough to make you hunt for the perpetrator and exact revenge.
As with any multiplayer game, this is going to be a vastly superior experience with friends on the other end of your robot’s katana. Playing with strangers is alright for practice but it really will be a great “online party” game if you can gather a few friends together, don your headsets and get stuck in.
The mechanics and premise are simple but there is a charm to both the character and map design which should be enough to endear Plain Sight to those of you looking for an arena-style combat game which is easy to jump in and out of.
Pros:
- Simple mechanics.
- Quirky character design.
- Focuses on one thing and does it well.
Cons:
- There isn’t much complexity so it could grow tired quickly.
- Playing against strangers isn’t much fun.
Plain Sight is simple, manic and quirky. It won’t be the most complicated multiplayer experience of the year but it has the potential to develop into an underground cult classic and if you can gather a group of friends to play it then it becomes vastly more entertaining. It’s refreshing to see a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously and just focuses on being fun without shoe-horning in emotional exposition and narrative. Plain Sight just lets you play and that has the potential to bring out the joyous child in us all.
