Geometric Sniper

Developer: YAW Studios | Publisher: YAW Studios | Release Date: 2020 | Genre: Action / Casual / Indie | Website: N/A | Purchase: Steam

Andrew is a sniper with a tragic backstory. After a mission goes south and he loses someone important he was supposed to get some time off but instead ends up being assigned to a secret division instead. This division is tasked with carrying out assassination missions for the good of the country, but in between all the killings, Andrew will also have to deal with the ghosts of his past. While this sounds very dramatic, it does feel a little over the top for what is essentially a 2D hidden object game.

Like other hidden object games, the objective is to find items that are usually obscured in the clutter. Geometric Sniper makes use of black-and-white line art for the visuals, which players have to scan through the circular scope of a sniper rifle. In “Adventure” mode, players are given a briefing before each mission, which highlights the target that is supposed to be assassinated or in some cases protected. Assassinations are the easiest as players must simply memorize the features of their target and then scan the crowds or buildings to find and eliminate them. Protection missions are a little harder as players must locate their target and then figure out where the danger to them is coming from. Usually, this will be an enemy sniper lurking in the window of a nearby building, but often they won’t be visible until it is almost time for them to strike.

Geometric Sniper also throws a few other curveballs at players to prevent the game from being too easy. Due to the simple geometric shapes of everything the characters usually all look very similar, especially in crowds. This means that players have to pay close attention to the smaller details of their targets before starting the mission. Once the mission begins there’s no way to take a second look at their target. Suddenly it’s easy to start questioning whether the target had a round, square, triangle, or octagonal head, or if they were wearing a hat, sunglasses, or other accessories. Getting it wrong usually results in some innocent lookalike getting killed by accident, which fails the mission and costs players points. Missions can be retried as many times as players want, but the locations of targets and objects are semi-random, so don’t bank on finding them where they used to be in the previous attempt.

The Adventure mode is set across twelve days, which means twelve relatively short missions for players to complete. After completing an adventure level players also unlock a corresponding “Find” mode level that is set on the same map. Here the goal is to locate a certain amount of hidden objects before the time runs out. This mode is closer to a traditional hidden object game, but players must still make sure that their aim is accurate as they only have a limited amount of bullets to use on shooting at the objects.

There is also a type of speedrun mode where players must find a small hidden Eiffel Tower object hidden on each map. Finding it moves players to the next map, but the timer keeps ticking until the last map is completed. Finally, completing all of the Adventure mode missions unlocks the “Elite” mode, which is the same thing, but without the ability to zoom in or stabilize your aim. Overall, it’s a decent amount of modes for such a budget-priced title and should provide most players with an afternoon’s worth of entertainment at least.

The line art style of the game allows for a lot of detail, but levels are generally small enough that players always feel like they have a chance to locate their targets. The only color comes from the red blood splatters after shooting a target, but this can be disabled in the options for the squeamish. It can be nerve-wracking to scour the environment for the target while knowing that time is running out and the mission could fail at any moment. However, it is a little annoying that some targets only show up until later, especially when having to redo a level. It is also a pity that only two of the levels in the game provide players with alternative solutions to eliminating their targets instead of simply shooting them in the head. The missions range from shooting someone who is holding a hostage to taking down multiple targets before they escape and even preventing a bomber from detonating a bomb at a music concert. As expected, all levels are set outdoors, but there’s a decent amount of variety when it comes to the environments.

Like the visuals, the audio in Geometric Sniper is very simple and most levels only have ambient noises like birds or indistinct conversations. However, the lack of music doesn’t really impact the game and makes some levels feel more suspenseful. The game does feature some very dramatic music between missions, though, along with a journal where players can find out more about Andrew’s backstory. The controls are straightforward and using a mouse to scroll around the environments works well. Players can zoom in or out for a closer look as well as hold down the Spacebar to steady their aim for a few seconds. As mentioned earlier, this only works during Adventure mode and note Elite mode.

Geometric Sniper is obviously never going to compete with a serious sniper game, but considering its price it is definitely a nice distraction. Getting all of the achievements is an enjoyable experience that can be done in an evening or two and the inclusion of rankings will keep some players coming back for more. The game can be frustrating at times, but the missions are generally short enough that repeating them a few times doesn’t feel like such a chore. Typically hidden object games are quite relaxing, so kudos to YAW Studios for finding a way to inject some excitement and tension into the formula.