Agent A: A Puzzle In Disguise

 Switch
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 34 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 34
  3. Negative: 3 out of 34

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  1. bergcamp101
    Sep 14, 2020
    7
    Very decent game, with a nice plot, which makes it bigger and better, then just mediocre point and click puzzle.
  2. MindWanderer
    Jul 2, 2020
    7
    A decent point-and-click puzzler, but lacking polish. Agent A is supposed to be an elite counterspy, but their dialogue comes across as goofy and self-congratulatory, more like Roger Wilco or Guybrush Threepwood than James Bond. It's also missing a lot of punctuation. The overall effect makes it feel like the story and the dialogue were written by different people who weren't talking toA decent point-and-click puzzler, but lacking polish. Agent A is supposed to be an elite counterspy, but their dialogue comes across as goofy and self-congratulatory, more like Roger Wilco or Guybrush Threepwood than James Bond. It's also missing a lot of punctuation. The overall effect makes it feel like the story and the dialogue were written by different people who weren't talking to each other.

    Chapter 3 contains a broken puzzle: there's a laser puzzle where you're supposed to point the lasers at sensors, but I lucked into the right placement and the sensors just appeared out of nowhere. I'm not sure if the sensors are just invisible, or if the game forgets to check if you've made them emerge before checking to see if you've pointed them in the right direction.

    There's also decent amount of backtracking involved, especially in Chapter 5, which can be tedious.

    If you like the puzzle style of The Room or Myst, but the lowbrow humor of Space Quest or Monkey Island, this is a decent endeavor. Not worth the full price, but it goes on deep discounts often, and it's worth your time and a couple bucks.    … Expand
  3. RavenWraith
    May 12, 2020
    0
    This is a fun easy point and click type puzzle game. It took less than 8 hours to play through.
  4. drlowdon
    Jun 26, 2022
    7
    Agent A has been assigned to catch a dangerous enemy spy known as, Ruby La Rouge, and his investigation soon leads him to her secret lair full of puzzles.

    These types of games can be very frustrating at times, but aside from a handful of occasions, the puzzles here are all logical and possible to solve with a bit of thought. Add a layer of sly humour on top and you have a fun little    Agent A has been assigned to catch a dangerous enemy spy known as, Ruby La Rouge, and his investigation soon leads him to her secret lair full of puzzles.

    These types of games can be very frustrating at times, but aside from a handful of occasions, the puzzles here are all logical and possible to solve with a bit of thought. Add a layer of sly humour on top and you have a fun little five to six hour adventure-puzzle game that more than justifies it’s price.    … Expand
  5. jeffbizloc
    Oct 16, 2019
    8
    Agent A was a fun point and click game that I beat in about 6 hours.

    Game(s) like: The Room, Myst

    Pros:
    - Enjoyed the story/atmosphere of the game
    - The tap controls I really appreciated
    - The puzzles/clues were mostly well done

    Cons:
    - Felt like the puzzles could of been more challenging
    - Some of the game felt like just tapping to find the right area versus "solving"
  6. nusco
    Nov 11, 2020
    7
    It's easy to pigeonhole "Agent A" as yet another bland point-and-click adventure for smartphones. Aside from the nicer than average graphics, it sure looks like one of those hidden objects casual clickers with escape-the-room situations and fidgety puzzles. And indeed, this game is by no means short on fidgeting and room escaping–but it's also a competently made, charmingly designedIt's easy to pigeonhole "Agent A" as yet another bland point-and-click adventure for smartphones. Aside from the nicer than average graphics, it sure looks like one of those hidden objects casual clickers with escape-the-room situations and fidgety puzzles. And indeed, this game is by no means short on fidgeting and room escaping–but it's also a competently made, charmingly designed adventure that strikes a good balance between being too easy and frustrating. Its tongue-in-cheek 1960s spy story tone is perfectly delivered by the nice, clean graphics, that go a long way towards making the game a pleasure to interact with. Usually, hiding essential items behind pieces of scenery feels lazy. In this game, the graphics is clean enough to make them feel like legitimate puzzles.

    Pity about the terrible grammar in the text, that's about the only sloppy part of the game. It would have been so easy to hire someone to fix the punctuation. But that shortcoming aside, Agent A is a good enough casual game to appeal to dedicated gamers, and probably a perfect family adventure to play with pre-teens. Seriously, for a game that's often on sale at 1 buck on the eShop, you cannot ask more from Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise. I, for one, will certainly buy a sequel.    … Expand
  7. Wilcze
    Feb 14, 2020
    9
    Brilliant combination of engaging 60's spy movie setting with challenging puzzles.
  8. fhaaruk
    Apr 25, 2021
    7
    Excellent, short puzzle game with very clever mechanics. It is a little annoying to play with the joysticks so I’d suggest just using touch. However, double tap feels unreliable so I ended up using B button to go back. Game has a fun little story and each puzzle feels new and interesting. One big annoying factor is sometimes you have to go back and forth a lot which can get tedious,Excellent, short puzzle game with very clever mechanics. It is a little annoying to play with the joysticks so I’d suggest just using touch. However, double tap feels unreliable so I ended up using B button to go back. Game has a fun little story and each puzzle feels new and interesting. One big annoying factor is sometimes you have to go back and forth a lot which can get tedious, especially given no fast travel between scenes so. Superb game for its price if you enjoy puzzle games. If you manage to get it on sale, it’s a steal! Only negative points for its control’s clunkiness and long times for going scene to scene which slows the game down and adds artificial length.… Expand
  9. Kassetflip
    Jun 23, 2020
    9
    Sharp, graphics, smooth animation, mellow soundtrack, funny dialogue, amazing pace and puzzle. Best point & click in a while.
  10. Anzipex
    Nov 27, 2021
    10
    An excellent game with an interesting story-line and setting. Puzzles are not so difficult, but at the same time they are varied. The whole family played the game, they really liked it. The game reminds old school point and click games that I played on PC in my childhood. I would love to see sequel someday
  11. JAG7
    Jan 31, 2022
    7
    It’s a good game but some of the puzzles are not that obvious to find what to do or use the items for. Had to look for a guide a couple of times, which made the experience a little frustrating. You’re also running around too much. I wouldn’t say the best but it’s miles away from the worst. Just a good time.
  12. MetaMcCritface
    Apr 15, 2021
    8
    In this point-and-click puzzler nice artwork meets humorous storytelling. I liked playing it with the whole family because it's not to dark to play with kids in school age.
  13. Chimerat
    Jul 8, 2021
    8
    Good puzzle game with a few minor issues.

    There were a few sections that I nearly went to a guide for, but I did end up figuring them out on my own. (Just remember that there's a bit of pixel-hunting to do to ensure nothing's missed if a scene is changed.) All characters are voice-acted well enough, except for the main character. There are loads of Bond-tier puns as well.    Good puzzle game with a few minor issues.

    There were a few sections that I nearly went to a guide for, but I did end up figuring them out on my own. (Just remember that there's a bit of pixel-hunting to do to ensure nothing's missed if a scene is changed.)

    All characters are voice-acted well enough, except for the main character. There are loads of Bond-tier puns as well.

    All-in-all a fun game. The ending leaves things open for a sequel.    … Expand
  14. ochjago
    Nov 22, 2021
    7
    Nothing extraordinary, but nice to play. The riddles could have been more difficult at times and some of them less obvious - if you want to be nitpicky :)
  15. fteo
    Jan 25, 2022
    7
    Easy but clever game with nice vibe and aesthetics. Better to play handheld and using the touchscreen. There are some times that it felt that it made me run around the map on purpose, but overall it was fun. It is kind of short in length but I wouldn't want it to be longer.
  16. Monkeylime
    Jul 25, 2022
    8
    A really enjoyable point-n-click game with just the right level of difficulty to keep you interested. It's a fun story, with stylised graphics and suitable 'secret agent' music. I played through it in a few hours, then again with my 9 year old grandson 'driving', with me giving a few hints when it got tricky (i.e. didn't have the patience!) for him. There's a few points where you mightA really enjoyable point-n-click game with just the right level of difficulty to keep you interested. It's a fun story, with stylised graphics and suitable 'secret agent' music. I played through it in a few hours, then again with my 9 year old grandson 'driving', with me giving a few hints when it got tricky (i.e. didn't have the patience!) for him. There's a few points where you might have to search around a bit to progress, but it's fine if you leave it for a bit and come back to it later, the solution often comes to you while you're not playing. Recommended. particularly when on deep discount, as it often is.… Expand
  17. Gumdrop
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    Definitely one of my favourite puzzle games of all time. There's a good mix of puzzle difficulties here. Some are really easy, while others make you think a bit more. Although I wouldn't say any are particularly challenging. But that's part of what I liked. For me, it's a fun puzzler that I can play through and enjoy the scenery and the story. I don't particularly want super difficultDefinitely one of my favourite puzzle games of all time. There's a good mix of puzzle difficulties here. Some are really easy, while others make you think a bit more. Although I wouldn't say any are particularly challenging. But that's part of what I liked. For me, it's a fun puzzler that I can play through and enjoy the scenery and the story. I don't particularly want super difficult puzzles. In other games, yes, but I don't think they would have worked in this one.
    It's designed in such a way that it's not difficult to remember where you saw the thing where this thing I just picked up works.

    It's not the longest game. I pretty much played it in one session. Took me around 5 hours without walkthroughs. I'm not sure if it could have used an extra chapter or if that would have made it outstay its welcome.

    Even though it's a totally different kind of game. It reminds me of the NOLF {No One Lives Forever).

    Overall, a really enjoyable game.    … Expand
  18. I_C_Saltzberg
    Feb 20, 2023
    4
    Two major problems:

    1. Too many of the puzzles are simply about remembering strings of numbers. And that's just lazy and boring. The mechanical puzzles are nice, but few, and at a beginner's level. 2. No map with teleportation between rooms. And this game is in dire need of one. I made a mental note of a puzzle with a bird in chapter five: an otherwise easy challenge that becomes    Two major problems:

    1. Too many of the puzzles are simply about remembering strings of numbers. And that's just lazy and boring. The mechanical puzzles are nice, but few, and at a beginner's level.

    2. No map with teleportation between rooms. And this game is in dire need of one. I made a mental note of a puzzle with a bird in chapter five: an otherwise easy challenge that becomes infuriating because of the constant back-and-forth. Add to this the "smooth" transitions between areas and you find yourself performing a chore, not a challenge.

    The art is fine, though. It may not have the daring of Day of the Tentacle or Sam and Max: Hit the Road, but a similar confidence in how it twists trees, rocks and buildings in a consistent style.

    Too bad, then, that Agent A's personality makes little sense. His comments often try to mimic a suave 1960s movie sleuth, but they often spill over into those of an overexcited TikTok influencer, especially so when the sentences lack punctuation marks. ("Boy Havok must pay well" is an example.)

    So, a game where most effort (and/or skill) went into the esthetics, while the actual gameplay as a whole is rather disappointing and sometimes frustrating.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

98
#98 Best Switch Game of 2019
90
#90 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Gaming Age
    Nov 21, 2019
    75
    If you want anything more than a few nice-looking puzzles, you won’t really find that in Agent A. It’s a fine little puzzle game that you can fly through in five hours or so, but if you expect anything more than that you’ll be disappointed.
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  2. Switch Player
    Oct 25, 2019
    70
    With its humorous spy theme and its satisfying, varied puzzles, Agent A is great fun. Admittedly, it’s currently cheaper and probably more at home on mobile, but it’s still a solid point-and-click addition to the Switch library.
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  3. NintendoWorldReport
    Oct 7, 2019
    85
    Overall, Agent A: A Puzzle In Disguise is a clever and straightforward adventure-puzzle game. It’s much more accessible and condensed than something like Myst or The Witness, but it’s easy to complete over the course of a few evenings. Unfortunately, the Switch port seems to have done away with the challenges and achievements of the mobile versions, so there isn’t really any reason to replay Agent A after completing it. Regardless, I can highly recommend assisting Agent A in her mission as it’s a fun distraction that doesn’t overstay its welcome. This review will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Agent!
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