Volume Reviews
Volume is a witty, addictive stealth adventure that fans of the genre will not be disappointed.
Volume has an intriguing story and fun stealth techniques, but the game's repetitive mission structure and easy-to-evade enemies keep it from being one of the genre's standout titles.
This game is not bad by any stretch, it just might not hold your attention for long enough to get through it all. A little more variety in the game and the way you play it would go a long way.
Volume's strengths are primal but simple, at times feeling like a Crossy Road-style time-passer with a cyberpunk sheen. It tries but ultimately doesn't say much of modern society or governments beyond the elementary. Indeed, it is the modern videogame incarnate, warts and all.
Fans of stealth games will definitely find plenty to enjoy here but others may find themselves left cold by a game that seemingly refuses to acknowledge that less can be more.
Volume mixes familiar stealth controls and perspectives with a bevy of intriguing, new mechanics. While its enemies won't really hound and hunt you - and the checkpoints provide more than enough support - Volume is a nice, low-fi experience for both casual players and hardcore stealth fans.
Indeed: such replayability (or maybe extendibility? Is that even a word?) might be Volume's greatest virtue, but only for those willing to overlook its flaws. If I were to summarize Volume's design elements in a word, it might be appropriate: the sharp, low-polygon virtual reality aesthetic feels appropriate for any virtual reality stealth game; David Housden's dramatic, electro-orchestral score feels appropriate for any futuristic espionage thriller.
Volume makes full use of its updated setting and, in doing so, tells one of the freshest Robin Hood tales in decades—maybe even centuries.
Bithell's wonderfully witty scripts complimented with Wallace's performance is a match made in heaven; I just wish I could love it all when mixed together with the game mechanics
Volume deserves credit for being fresh and accessible, but after a couple of dozen levels or so, it starts to grow repetitive. It was easy to pick up the controller and play, but without a lot of new innovations and a middling storyline, it was also entirely too easy to take breaks and move onto something else.
Volume isn't without its flaws, but the highs that it's able to hit completely squash the minor gripes players might have. One of the best pure stealth titles in recent years, Mike Bithell and his team have not only captured some of the storytelling magic that made Thomas Was Alone so special, but they also managed to capture the best parts of a genre that sees a great deal of failures.
Volume is one of the most engaging and fun stealth games in years.
Keep in mind that Metal Gear Solid VR Missions wasn't even that great of a game.
Volume is a fun stealth/puzzle game that could have really been something special if it weren't for some glaring design flaws and a weak storyline. Still, its appealing mechanics and sheer amount of levels help turn it into a decent insight into cybernetic heists
Stealth hasn't felt this good, this pure, since Mark of the Ninja. Volume is tightly-designed and lovingly-crafted vivacious fun.
A stealth game built to satisfy the central tenets of the genre in the most discrete, distilled, trimmed-down way possible. Certainly well-crafted, but simply not that engaging.
Mike Bithell has done it again. Volume is an incredibly entertaining and smart stealth puzzler that will test your brain, even if it doesn't challenge it too much. It's a simple, but extremely effective game that will pose questions in an appealing story without forcing an answer on you. There's an extremely easy to use but effective level creator included to add hours of gameplay through playing through other fun, user-created levels.
Even with its flaws, Volume is a hugely enjoyable puzzle game, wearing its influences proudly on its sleeve. Near-perfect pacing, a wonderful soundtrack and deceptively simple gameplay, Volume will have you creeping back for more to try and top the leaderboards on as many levels as possible, and maybe even create a few more as well.
However, such considerations are minor, and there's an awful lot of pleasure to be had from Volume. Its uncluttered gameplay emphasises the puzzle-solving aspect of stealth, the level design is brilliant, the gadgets are sometimes clever enough to make you chuckle out loud and the whole experience is both surprisingly meaty and absorbing to the point of distraction. It may not be as wildly inventive as Thomas Was Alone, but it's a wonderful homage to what constitutes the very essence of stealth games.
Really cool art and a great score pair to ensure that Mike Bithell's latest is worth a shout – but we'd advise proceeding with caution, because there are still kinks to be worked out.