Velvet Assassin

 PC
User Score
6.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 117 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 117
  2. Mixed: 36 out of 117
  3. Negative: 30 out of 117
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  1. MarcusW
    Dec 10, 2009
    6
    On buying this game out of a whim I was greeted by what initially looked like a graphically and aurally solid introduction. However, from there it seems to sink ever so much. It tries to be almost akin to both Splinter Cell and they seem to have pinched the purplish hue of the character when in shadows from Ion Storm's/Eidos Theif. The plot is fine, but the gameplay could have used a On buying this game out of a whim I was greeted by what initially looked like a graphically and aurally solid introduction. However, from there it seems to sink ever so much. It tries to be almost akin to both Splinter Cell and they seem to have pinched the purplish hue of the character when in shadows from Ion Storm's/Eidos Theif. The plot is fine, but the gameplay could have used a LOT more development. It would have been nice to have thrown a loose bottle lying around to distract the enemy, but instead whistling seems to be the order of the day - which kind of really dampens any kind of realism to the game. What surprised me most of all is that this game was developed by a German-based company, and you don't see many german manufacturer's or producers of a game of this kind. This was a refreshing change from seeing something that would usually have been something the American game names would have otherwise produced (probably to greater effect having had more experience in the field). Some slight quirks will annoy the hell out of people, like a British person's inability to say english words properly (like Quay and route, both of which appear to be pronounced using the American format - with a British character?). Aside from some of it's - at times simply infuriating - poor moments, it is graphically well presented, the script will sometimes unnerve the bejesus out of you if you have far too much imagination, and the graphics are very good indeed, as is the pleasantly realistic voice acting on the the part of the German soldiers, any German script being much better spoken by germans themselves. But the gameplay is a big downer, and needs a lot of work. If they produce a sequel to this - which it seems like they will (and they'd better if you've ever seen the ending), it would be interesting to know if they make it even better - because it needs to be if I'm going to buy it!… Expand
  2. Scree
    Jul 26, 2009
    6
    As usual, this is a game that is nowhere near as bad as the critics make it out to be (let alone other players). I waited until this game was half price before getting it, because I did want it no matter what (I'm a sucker for female lead or co-lead characters) but $49 is a little too much to justify for almost any game. Anyway, the game does look great. Nvidia still doesn't As usual, this is a game that is nowhere near as bad as the critics make it out to be (let alone other players). I waited until this game was half price before getting it, because I did want it no matter what (I'm a sucker for female lead or co-lead characters) but $49 is a little too much to justify for almost any game. Anyway, the game does look great. Nvidia still doesn't include an SLI profile in their driver months after the game's release, so have to set that up yourself for SLI performance. The gameplay is a little shakey unless really accustomed to the whole sneak and stealth style. The story is just that, a story, basically a reliving of memories told by the hero. No idea why it's so criticized, I mean she's in WWII doing missions to bring down the evil idiots. Gee, I wanted Shakespeare!!! (nah, he sucks) So where this game fails for me is in the game saving. The whole checkpoint saving idea is stupid and simply offers only frustration. Can't understand why that is the trend today (even if on a console) -- if I want to save at any time I should be able too, we have the technology! Is it supposed to add to the challenge or do they think players will get a greater sense of accomplishment?! (2 rating points of for any game using this method, oh well.)… Expand
  3. elendiel7
    Jul 20, 2013
    5
    Velvet assassin is a third person stealth game, set in the ww2 era. You play as violette summer, who happens to be in a coma. She dreams about her past missions, all of which you get to play through as her. The game is no splinter cell, and it shouldn’t be approached as one.

    There wasn’t anything particularly interesting in this game. The visuals were crisp but bland and they didn’t fit    Velvet assassin is a third person stealth game, set in the ww2 era. You play as violette summer, who happens to be in a coma. She dreams about her past missions, all of which you get to play through as her. The game is no splinter cell, and it shouldn’t be approached as one.

    There wasn’t anything particularly interesting in this game. The visuals were crisp but bland and they didn’t fit with the setting. The story was not interesting at all and because of that, you’ll likely not remember anything about it. The gameplay itself doesn’t really save this game either. It’s incredibly basic and often times repetitive.

    While this review isn’t comprehensive of the entire game, there isn’t much to say. The gameplay is boring, the visuals and story lack any depth and are uninteresting. The length of the game is fairly short, which is actually a good thing. I wanted to be finished with this game as quickly as possible. I wish I would have saved that money and gotten something else, but for $1.24 it was tempting. This is a average game, so expect a average experience.    … Expand
  4. hassenpheffer
    Jun 23, 2012
    5
    Caveat: I'm a big fan of stealth games. So that being said this review might come across as biased. Well, Velvet Assassin is the perfect example of a great concept poorly executed. There was little to no quality control done here. So here are the pros: Atmosphere. Great ambiance with the environments. The lighting is very nice and well balanced. Voice over work is good. Music osCaveat: I'm a big fan of stealth games. So that being said this review might come across as biased. Well, Velvet Assassin is the perfect example of a great concept poorly executed. There was little to no quality control done here. So here are the pros: Atmosphere. Great ambiance with the environments. The lighting is very nice and well balanced. Voice over work is good. Music os good but can be a bit over-zealous at the wrong moments. And now for the longer list of cons: Controls. She's difficult to maneuver and she moves slowly and jerky. The walking paths are littered with junk that can't be picked up or climbed over. She only climbs select areas and when she does they're in the worst places. Weapons. There are only four total including your default knife. Attack. She stabs like she has mono and the stabbing does little to no damage. She can't reload while running. Enemies. Apparently Nazis can shoot at you but things like doors and ropes stop them. Once a Nazi searches for you they stop after awhile and go back to their original paths even with the ground being littered with dead Nazis. Video. No one bothered to test the video or even patch anything afterwards. There are checkerboard glitches throughout but not enough to truly deter anyone from continuing. No saving: only checkpoints. Truly annoying. Pathing. Truly linear. You can't explore as much as the areas reveal but there are some hidden things here and there. Conclusion: It's not a total loss but with such frustrating controls and setup and video issues it's not worth playing at a high retail price. Get it cheap and uninstall it if it pisses you off...… Expand
  5. Shmilblix
    Jun 13, 2012
    7
    I must admit I've waited a long time before buying this game, having read numerous negative criticism and having decided it wasn't worth trying to test it. I was wrong. This game is actually quite good. The graphics are great, and the whole art direction is coherent and at the same time very "new", using sepia tones and dark, cold atmospheres are the same time. The gameplay is... well, II must admit I've waited a long time before buying this game, having read numerous negative criticism and having decided it wasn't worth trying to test it. I was wrong. This game is actually quite good. The graphics are great, and the whole art direction is coherent and at the same time very "new", using sepia tones and dark, cold atmospheres are the same time. The gameplay is... well, I don't know. old school? Simple? Yes, it IS simple. But while the beginning of the game has a definite emphasis on stealth, the ending is much more frenetic. In short, it doesn't get boring at all. The audio is so-so. The ambiance sounds are good, although the music sometimes gets too loud and can distract the player. But then again, It may be just my opinion, since I usually don't like music in games anyway. The voice acting ranges from good to downright awful, depending on the language : german acting is good, which is expected since it was developed by a german studio. The English acting (the hero) is average. It could be a bit better sometimes, but it's still bearable. The French acting is AWFUL. The story itself is the most original and the best part of the game, in my opinion. I've played a lot of WW2-themed games, and this one definitely portrays the atrocity of war the best. The scenario isn't a generic copycat of other mainstream games I won't name (it starts with a C, end with a D, and there's a o in the middle), and it definitely works great. My only regret is, as usual, the portrayal of the main character. I can accept the oh-so-tight pants that don't look practical at all or the sexy makeup (on a WW2 spy!). Those are clichés, alright. I'm used to seeing them on female videogame characters. But playing 1/5 of the game in a nightie... come on. Seriously? Alright, she wakes up in a hospital. So obviously she doesn't have her normal suit anymore. But give her clothes at some point in the game, damn it. The violence of the ending becomes ridiculous when you realize you're playing in a NIGHTIE. Hello, half-naked hot chick killing nazis. Can you keep your serious there? No. It's absurd. And the problem is, the game is stone-cold serious the whole time. The atrocities of war, everything. This game, right here, says "man always lose wars". You can't have both a very serious story and a ridiculously clichéd sexualized character.… Expand
  6. drakenseng
    Feb 12, 2013
    6
    its a very solid game. the gameplay is similar to that of metal gear solid, but just dont expect it to be the same. similar in terms of espionage and tactical uses of equipment. graphics are pretty good, but can get slow for no reason sometimes because of overuse of effects. story is about a spy agent deep inside the nazi controlled territories sabotaging things. i would also recommend theits a very solid game. the gameplay is similar to that of metal gear solid, but just dont expect it to be the same. similar in terms of espionage and tactical uses of equipment. graphics are pretty good, but can get slow for no reason sometimes because of overuse of effects. story is about a spy agent deep inside the nazi controlled territories sabotaging things. i would also recommend the game' the saboteur'. similar in some aspects but the other one is more with climbing around. overall a decent to solid game, but nothing really memorable to be honest.… Expand
  7. dajhorn
    Sep 21, 2012
    5
    Velvet Assassin is a generally good game that is like a remake of Thief, but with guns and Nazis.

    Unfortunately, the ending is bad and out of character with the story. There is a final battle where you must defeat waves of enemies, and if f you played as stealthy character, then you won't have enough health stars to finish.
  8. ChristopherS
    May 9, 2009
    7
    It is a pretty decent stealth game -- a lot like thief set in world war 2. The mechanics are totally unoriginal, but still satisfying except in one respect: the consolized save game system sucks! The checkpoints are seriously WAY too far apart. They should either put them MUCH closer together or just let u save whenever u want, PC style. It enraged me and almost made me stop playing when It is a pretty decent stealth game -- a lot like thief set in world war 2. The mechanics are totally unoriginal, but still satisfying except in one respect: the consolized save game system sucks! The checkpoints are seriously WAY too far apart. They should either put them MUCH closer together or just let u save whenever u want, PC style. It enraged me and almost made me stop playing when I had to redo rather long sequences AGAIN and AGAIN. As far as the setting, World War 2 is rather tired. However, I have yet to play a WW2 stealth game, let a lone one based on an actual historical character. I find the story and the setting compelling and new IPs should be encouraged. I gave the game a 7. If they had done the saves better so I don't have to do the same thing 300 times, I'd have given it an 8.… Expand
  9. julian_zizzle
    Aug 14, 2011
    7
    On this game, the story was good, characters were ok, stealth system was fine. But what makes me give this game a 8 is the weak intelligence of the AI. They were responding to noises when i walked over the broken glass pieces and were starting to search for Violet when they found a dead body, these were the good ones but it was not enough. For example while you were escaping from a NaziOn this game, the story was good, characters were ok, stealth system was fine. But what makes me give this game a 8 is the weak intelligence of the AI. They were responding to noises when i walked over the broken glass pieces and were starting to search for Violet when they found a dead body, these were the good ones but it was not enough. For example while you were escaping from a Nazi soldier and entered the doors that took you to previous or next rooms in the game, just because that you closed the door, the nazi soldier was could not be able to follow you. I mean you are already in a lair of German soldiers, the soldier who was trying to chase and kill you cannot proceed through the next room so you can save yourself just by changing the rooms.… Expand
  10. pretty_ugly
    Nov 8, 2012
    7
    This game might be a tad too linear for my liking but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. It's like the Hitman series but set during the 2nd world war. You go around killing nazis, stealing documents and just causing havoc on the enemy front. The graphics are really nice and the controls smooth and fluid. I recommend picking this up if you have some time to kill.
  11. MeritCoba
    Apr 19, 2016
    5
    If you wonder how or why Violette Summer became the Velvet Assassin and why she is called that way, don't hold you breath while waiting for the explanation: you choke before it is explained. She is who she is and that is how it is.

    This sort of reflects a game that does things in a half-baked way. Oh sure, I liked it in one way, but I also found it nothing remarkable in other ways. A    If you wonder how or why Violette Summer became the Velvet Assassin and why she is called that way, don't hold you breath while waiting for the explanation: you choke before it is explained. She is who she is and that is how it is.

    This sort of reflects a game that does things in a half-baked way. Oh sure, I liked it in one way, but I also found it nothing remarkable in other ways. A pro in stealth games will probably feel disappointed because while it does have stealth, it is certainly made for the impatient and the clumsy among us, like me. So you can sneak past your guards in full view -say five feet in front of them - as long as you do it in the dark. Oh and kill them to in front of them too as long as you back stab them from behind in that same dark. Nobody will notice. Just like they won't miss all their buddies disappearing one after the other. You can actually upgrade your sneaking to the point that you can overtake a patrolling guard from behind. It gets to be a walk in the park that way. Just with corpses littering the grass that is.

    But don't do something to alert them. They hunt you down relentlessly as if they know where you are, but can't shoot you unless they get close enough to do so. They got x-ray eyes and are highly sensitive. In fact they almost home in to you and the only way is to sneak away from them long enough so the timer gives up and they let you of the hook.

    But once they are aware of you they will shoot at you, even from the other side of the map right through obstacles and never give up until you or they are dead.

    However at some point during the game you will not worry much about the enemy anymore because once you upgraded enough and are armed with a proper weapon(not that whimsy silenced gun) there is only the lack of bullets that keep you from going on a killing spree and decide World War 2 that way. Think Inglourious Basterds. Oh yes, and then that wacky way of fighting. Because to be able to shoot, you need to get into a special mode. Which is, frankly, unhandy because you can't pick up things or kill someone from behind. For that you have to get into another mode again.

    This kinda reflects how the game is. It is a bit of sneaking, but not well done. It is a bit of fighting. Not well done either. It has a kind of story, that has okay graphics, is told using a scrapbook, it is nice but just not captivating enough. It has missions, that have nothing to do with each other, because they are not related or do not seem to build towards something. They are in that game together because Summer is doing them.

    Velvet Assassin is therefore a nice diversion that you might pick up when digging around in the bargain bin, but it isn't a good stealth game or a good fighting game. In fact it isn't good in anything in particular. It is a collection of unrelated missions done with lackluster game play held together by a flimsy story that is nice to look at but not something that will stick with you. Maybe 10 dollars/euros at best. More would be waste of your precious money.    … Expand
  12. Sablcious
    Feb 1, 2014
    7
    A nice third-person stealth game based on a real life British-Hungarian WWII assassin. The atmosphere of the game is what probably stands out most. The level design is unfortunately very linear and the gameplay overall is 'okay'. The protagonist is appealing, in that she's a 'she'! Recommended for WWII / historically theme game fans.

Awards & Rankings

75
#75 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
61
#61 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 29
  3. Negative: 6 out of 29
  1. PC Gamer UK
    35
    A depressing and shoddy misfire of a World War II sneak-'em-up. [July 2009, p.84]
  2. GameFocus
    76
    The strength of this game is the visceral experience. It all feels very real and can be very tense, much like the enjoyable tension you feel in a good scary movie. This is all very good, but some poor choices in game design sometimes pull you out of the experience which is not so good.
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  3. Absolute Games
    50
    Forget about clever puzzles and “social stealth”. Instead of presenting various solutions to a problem, Velvet Assassin will beat you on the head with a stick and point to an “X” on the map.
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