Deceive Inc. is an online multiplayer game focused on staying incognito while working towards your objectives. Combining a hero shooter-style character with the stealth and reasoning of Among Us or the multiplayer of Assassin’s Creed with his cartoonish James Bond rapper. All these merges work very well, but it’s not as smooth an operation as you’d expect.
The game’s only mode turns you into an undercover cop to look just like one of the non-player characters roaming the map. Her three terminals, scattered around each level, must be disabled before heading to its true purpose: a package held in high security. Running away with the package means you win. Of course, you and her eleven others are competing to succeed in this mission. This means that, to all ends, you need to make sure others aren’t behaving suspiciously and keep yourself from being discovered.
There are more wrinkles that make this mode work. A simple level of permission allows you to enter certain areas undetected and use data points and key cards to explore further. A cleverly designed mode that works solo or in teams. Each agent has a unique weapon and passive and special abilities available, and leveling them up unlocks more options for that character.
Things go a little south once the action starts. When someone heads to the extraction point with a package, it becomes the focus of all players, and the firefight that follows is always nasty. The minutes creep meticulously and feel a little hollow.
Still, Deceive Inc.’s core is good. Guessing who your opponent is while trying to blend in is a tense and fun experience. It would be nice to have, and we’ll need more variety of maps and modes going forward. This is a solid starting point with a great premise. Hopefully it can evolve into something really valuable.
