The Occupation Reviews
The Occupation was on the right track. The developers were on the right track. Everything could have been on the right track. It just needed debuggers.
The foundations are present for a really enjoyable, unique game, and given more time, it could be. In OnlySP’s interview with White Paper Games, the team already outlined plans to tweak the game after release. If White Paper Games can fix these initial problems, The Occupation may yet be one of 2019’s best releases, just not upon initial release.
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 classic example of a concept with great promise but poor execution.
The Occupation it's an intelligent and ambitious game that could have become one of this year's surprises —and maybe it will, when it's properly finished.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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 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
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's fierce commitment to immersing the player in its credible world is also the game's undoing.
The Occupation tries to present itself as a political thriller emphasizing stealth. Sadly, it has neither the thrills nor the mechanics for both.
The Occupation has a premise that is really intriguing in theory. Trying to spy on a powerful entity and taking them to task with your questioning is the kind of experience that can be great in the game, and taking inspiration from current affairs makes it feel much more authentic. It's a shame that various bugs, even when updated to the most recent build, can make the experience feel lacklustre, and at times a frustration to play.
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.
The Occupation is an investigation game that tries to make every second count but is ultimately a missed opportunity.
The Occupation is an investigation game that tries to make every second count but is ultimately a missed opportunity.
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 is uneven experiment to create a nonlinear political thriller with unpleasant restrictions and not always clear motives of the main characters. Bugs, terrible interface, problems with choices in the second half of the game and annoying stealth mechanics cause disappointment.
Review in Russian | Read full review
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 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.
A staggeringly ambitious, gun-free immersive reality detective game set in an alternate 1980s Britain, whose admirable intentions are undermined by technical problems.
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.