Sumerian Six Review

When Mimimi Games closed down last year, they left behind a massive hole in a tiny genre. The real-time tactics genre (aka stealth strategy) is so niche that Mimimi essentially became the torchbearers after releasing one brilliant game, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. To prove it was no mere fluke, they went on to release two more. Filling the gap they left behind is no easy task. Enter Polish developers Artificer, whose newest game is so similar to Mimimi’s that you would be forgiven for assuming it was created by them. Sumerian Six is an isometric strategy title that uses many borrowed mechanics, wraps them up in a package that features Nazis and fun supernatural powers, and lets you loose across sprawling levels. The end result is a delightful entry that gets so many things right.

The story begins in 1944 after the discovery of a mysterious energetic substance called Geiststoff. Key scientists behind Geiststoff wanted to use it for good, but it proved too dangerous, so all but one abandoned it. The sole holdout, Kammler, went rogue and sought out help from Hitler’s Third Reich to get his project off the ground, promising a super weapon in return. Unlocking the power of Geiststoff is linked to a mythical creature associated with the ancient Sumerian culture, so Kammler’s occult research involves paranormal activity and a few human sacrifices. To stop him, a covert Enigma Squad was formed, consisting of eccentric scientists that helped discover Geiststoff and a few new faces. Across 10 missions through small towns, secret facilities and ancient ruins, Enigma must act from the shadows to take down Kammler, one Nazi at a time.

Half of the six-person Enigma Squad is from one family. Isabella is working undercover for Kammler when her brother, Sid, sneaks into a Nazi castle to check she is safe. Their father, Alistair, is also Enigma’s de facto leader, but he prioritizes mission objectives over safety. With three closely related members, there is adequate drama involving jealousy, responsibility, and trust. Sadly the other three squad members are left out in the cold after their introductions, especially the sixth member since he only joins halfway through the story. Fortunately they all have personality due to their funny little quips. With the help of some motion capture, good voice work, and surprisingly effective freeze-frame cutscenes, the 12-15 hour campaign keeps things interesting and builds sufficient connections within the squad.

Each squad member has a basic melee attack, be it a knife or bonesaw, but it is their supernatural flare that gives them an edge against the Nazi forces. Thanks to Geiststoff experiments or acute exposure, all squad members have special powers. One can transform into a Werebear, and swipe-kill Nazis like Mugen from Blades of the Shogun, although his larger profile means he is easily detected. Another can turn into a ghost, float near a guard, and scare them off into the waiting arms of another that can dissolve their body in seconds, which is always fun. Even Isabella can go temporarily invisible while her father sends out chain lightning that electrocutes multiple targets.

Many abilities are heavily influenced by Mimimi’s games, particularly Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, but the Enigma team seems to have more tricks up their sleeve. Skills have been jumbled and the team balance is good, with many ways to breach guard positions. This is what helps to make the game enjoyable; you can take your preferred character quite deep into patrol routes with their expanded skills, until teamwork is required. Unlike some of Mimimi’s games, that seemed to require exact placement and matching character action, there are typically multiple ways to progress. The downside of this sandbox flexibility is that the game feels less like solving a puzzle.

True to other games in the genre, specialist Nazis provide more challenge as you get deeper into the campaign. Officers cannot be easily distracted and never leave their post. Big Panzerwolf gunners cannot be killed with a simple attack, requiring either two attackers or a full Werebear transformation. Special emitters will disable supernatural abilities, forcing the Enigma Squad to go back to their sneak and stab routine. Even the teleporting supernatural Geist soldiers cannot be killed until a remote device is disabled, and this only provides a brief window of opportunity. These teamwork scenarios make good use of the Action Planner. It allows players to pause, issue tasks to multiple characters, and execute them simultaneously, helping enormously because precision timing is often required. Getting detected will set off alarms, bringing lots of heavy gunners to the area, and it is game over when a squad member dies.

With these tricky Nazis and counters, much of the game is still about weaving between vision cones and finding the weakest link. You will frequently hide in bushes and dash under the gaze of suspicious guards. Enemy sights usually sweep over several of their friends, so killing one will result in detection and destruction. Finesse is needed to identify blind spots, or gaps in patrols, or distraction opportunities, that give just enough time to kill, hide a body, and vanish before anyone can say Achtung! Sneaking about and eliminating guards is as satisfying as it gets for the genre. It is also made fun with hilarious abilities, like a spring-trap that launches curious Nazis into a chasm.

The ten levels are large sprawling affairs with multiple routes and scores of patrolling guards to pick apart. The starting roster is predefined on a per-level basis, and players will typically control 3-4 characters, with guard numbers and placement that is well tuned. Quick intros for each level give a nice overhead 3D view of the whole area, with major objectives and routes circled, which helps them seem less intimidating. Guards remain in clusters so setting off an alarm will not bring everybody to one location, and this also gives some breathing space between objectives. Alarms can be disabled, along with force-fields that halt progress. Some characters can climb vines or squeeze through openings, temporarily forcing them to become the hero while the others wait. There are also handy environmental traps, like rolling cars, faulty generators, falling cargo, and more, that do not set off alarms but make the surviving Nazis cautious.

One great thing about the levels is that they contain many XP crates that can only be opened by the associated squad member. Open enough and a character’s ability will improve. Then you can activate chain lightning from further away or fire a pistol without causing as much sound. Having these crates encourages players to fully explore the big levels, or at least zigzag through multiple pathways to collect them all. It also rewards players who typically clear whole levels anyway, adding more satisfaction to the conquest as their squad gets better.

From an aesthetic point of view, Sumerian Six looks nice. Levels have good detail, from the ancient Sumerian ruins to underground Nazi facilities, although sadly the isometric camera does not zoom down far enough to see it up close. At least the camera can be fully rotated, which is essential when it comes to navigating accurately through patrols between buildings. The interface and even the object highlighting is eerily similar to Mimimi’s games, and even actions feel the same, like when you pick up bodies or toss them off a cliff. The music choice is a little unusual for the setting. Somewhat like Desperados III, it uses heavy-metal flourishes when clicking on enemies, but this does not seem like a great fit for the covert action, although at least one level does have a nice track.

Levels load quickly and performance was generally fine at max settings. Character movement is somewhat clunky though; several times characters got stuck against each other or the environment. They even entered the wrong animation state and while this looked weird it didn’t seem to impact gameplay. Sound also cut out and crackled, especially in the second-last level where actions were muted. The game did have a few fatal error crashes, but it does autosave frequently which also helps to get through levels quicker.

Artificer has done a superb job with Sumerian Six. It takes the core mechanics from the Mimimi games, mixes it with the Nazis from the Commandos series, and spikes it with a fun supernatural element. The levels are large, fun sandboxes and it is rewarding to pick apart guard patrols and clear areas before grabbing XP crates that improve skills for subsequent missions. Each individual squad member has a good repertoire of skills, but tougher Nazis pose enough challenge and vision cones are still important to avoid. While the story is basic, it does an okay job at keeping the Enigma Squad on target. It is a pity that Mimimi are no more, but Sumerian Six definitely keeps their spirit alive.