Volume Reviews
A mostly well designed, methodically thought out puzzler that ends up being too easy due to early checkpoint issues.
Fun, not-too-hard stealth puzzles that look great, wrapped up in a humdrum story with a boring protagonist.
Volume may suffer from a few issues of poorly designed AI and easily exploited level design, but I still found a great number of challenging rooms with an intriguing story to match, and plenty of room to master. The added bonus of being able to show how to complete a room by livestreaming a game about streaming how to complete a room… is just icing on the meta cake.
On the whole, there's very little wrong with developer Mike Bithell's sophomore title. It's one of the strongest efforts in a genre that seems to facing an identity crisis.
Thomas Was Alone creator Mike Bithell bypasses the difficult second album hurdle with a simple, elegant and carefully paced stealth puzzler.
Volume has anger to go with its beauty and wit
Story and gameplay with depth, as well as volume.
In many of the later [missions], bigger and more multi-path, I was reacting instinctively, taking risks and having them pay off, finding a groove. There was flow and joyfulness. The good game at the heart of all the frequently irritating bluster and padding shines through.
Because the challenge stays reasonable enough throughout, Volume's stealth systems remain satisfying and, most importantly, a consistent echo of the game's narrative.
A satisfying and exciting experience from start to finish
Coming off the back of Thomas Was Alone, Volume is a much more ambitious and expansive project, and there's little sign of this being a difficult second album. It can miss the mark in a few areas, depending on how you play, but this is a clever distillation of the classic stealth genre wrapped up in an excellent retelling of a classic English legend.
Volume is a strong game that is not without its flaws, but finds a nice home in the class of stealth games this year has already offered.
Volume's tight mechanics, smart visual vocabulary, and level-editing tools combine to create something that is as much a puzzle game as it is a stealth title.
Volume is a fantastic experience that I highly recommend to any stealth-game lovers. It's a unique twist on the Robin Hood story, and while the game's main storyline might not have been as strong as I hoped, I think it is definitely a great follow-up to Bithell's success with Thomas Was Alone.
Early-game issues aside, Volume is an entertaining and addictive mix of Metal Gear Solid and Trials.
[T]he atmosphere, voice acting and plot had me coming back for more even when the puzzles overwhelmed me.
An inventive stealth game that strips the genre down to its basics.
Volume has a carefully considered set of mechanics and it will certainly appeal to those who love stealth action and are interested in completing each of the levels as quickly as possible, moving smoothly and without having to get saved by the checkpoints.
At times, Volume may fly too close to its Metal Gear Solid roots - creator Mike Bithell has unashamedly noted 1998's stealth 'em up as a distinct source of inspiration - but what it lacks in immediate originality, aesthetically at least, it makes up for in innovative, engaging, and challenging level design. To brand this a clone would be more criminal than Gisborne's corporatocratic rule.
Volume is not a bad game. But it still leaves me wanting for something more out of it.