Invisible, Inc. functions on three levels, and each level is fascinating in its own right. At the ground level, you control a group of cyberpunk super spies, outfitted with augmented abilities, some future-tech gadgetry, and a weapon or two. Here, the game is a stealth-based roguelike that requires the player to make analytical decisions based on limited data (and in the process, attempt to gain more data.) Even simple problems lead to complex (and fun) instances of resource management.
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In the second layer you manage "Incognita," an AI that can subvert enemy security and give you access to more information about the level and game state of the ground level. But many of these things are locked up, protected by firewalls which themselves are patrolled by corporate "daemons," and suddenly you're back to planning.
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If layers one and two are about tactical decision making, then layer three is where strategic thinking comes into play. In between corporate infiltrations, you spend the credits you’ve captured on stat and gear upgrades for your agents, and then decide where to head next.
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It goes and goes and goes like this. Each challenge in front of you reflects so many previous decisions, and so each choice you make has weight. It also means that when you get it right, you feel clever as hell. Can’t find the power supply to get through the laser grid? Knock out a guard and drag him through it: His security clearance will deactivate it and let you pass through. Have one agent trapped in a corner? Have another sprint loudly down a nearby hallway to grab enemy attention. These little moments bubble up because the game has been seeded with them by its design. They aren’t scripted, but emerge from set of well configured rules and are then brought to life by a visual style that draws as much on Alphaville as it does the animation work of Genndy Tartakovsky.
