If chaotic fun, fantastic aesthetics, and zany characters are your cup of tea, then Volition and Deep Silver’s latest game, Agents of Mayhem is a video game you must experience.
Agents of Mayhem is a single-player, open-world, action-adventure video game, available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC. It is set in the futuristic ‘city of tomorrow’, Seoul, South Korea and acts as a spiritual successor to the popular Saints Row franchise, sitting within the same fictional universe.
The game follows the hero organisation M.A.Y.H.E.M (Multinational Agency Hunting Evil Masterminds) and its efforts to prevent the evil supervillain organisation, L.E.G.I.O.N (The League of Evil Gentlemen Intent on Obliterating Nations), from destroying the world. Already, the plot of the game gives away the game’s themes and style, which focuses on being light-hearted and fun.
Played from a third-person perspective, players are able to choose a trio of characters to complete missions, from the game’s set of twelve different agents. Each of these agents have their own unique abilities and play-style, which allows for a more diverse gameplay. What I loved most about having a trio at my disposal was the ability to swap between each character throughout my mission, enabling me to experiment with different combinations and play-styles, while allowing characters who have taken damage to heal, before summoning them into the battlefield again.
The gameplay is reminiscent of another favourite of mine, Overwatch, especially in terms of the unique abilities each character possesses and the point accumulation system to achieve and use ‘Mayhem’ abilities, which are much like the ‘Ultimate’ abilities in Overwatch. In some ways, even the character designs look reminiscent of some of the Overwatch characters. For example, agent Hollywood reminds me of a young Soldier 76 and Hardtack strikes me as a cross between Reaper and Roadhog. These character similarities are subjective though and could stem from the fact that I’ve been playing far too much of Overwatch.
Movement within the game is incredibly fast, which prompted me to adjust my controller sensitivity in order to keep up with the pace. Chaotic explosions and carnage were present at almost every turn, which can lead to some motion sensitivity for those who suffer from motion sickness. However, it is this pandemonium which provides Agents of Mayhem with its level of fun and point of difference. Despite being initially heady, I found the incredible pace to be a fun challenge and reveled in the madness that ensued while battling evil henchmen.
While there are several main missions to complete, players are able to unlock side missions, new agents and personal missions, of which players are able to learn more about each agent’s backstory, something which I, personally am fond of. Being able to learn more about a character has always been an aspect of video games which kept me engaged and involved. Already, I’ve found myself particularly fond of the character, Hollywood, not for his ‘dashing good looks’ but for his rather ‘charming’ arrogance.
Visually, Agents of Mayhem is stunning. The game’s graphics is aesthetically pleasing and it’s 3D aspects appear similar to a Pixar animated film, while its 2D cutscenes provide a sense of nostalgia for fans of old 90s Saturday morning cartoons. In many ways, it is the game’s graphics and visuals that caught my attention and led to my interest in the game.
While I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the game so far, I do however wonder if the game would suit some multiplayer or co-op aspects, which are currently lacking. The utter madness of gameplay would make for a great game with friends, allowing for more interactivity and some interesting banter. Perhaps there are far too many multiplayer games like this out in the world that having a solid single-player experience is what will set Agents of Mayhem apart. Nevertheless, I am seriously loving the game and cannot wait to explore more and unlock other agents.
Agents of Mayhem certainly is a delightful single-player experience filled with entertaining chaos, challenging yet interesting gameplay and graphics which make me wish the game came with a bonus animated TV series. Think of the game as a single-player Overwatch meets Crackdown and Saints Row. For fans of open world, action-adventure games, Agents of Mayhem is highly recommended.
Agents of Mayhem releases this Friday, 18th August in Australia and New Zealand. Get your copy of the game on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or Windows PC here.
For a look at gameplay, check out our broadcast of the game on our Mixer channel here: www.mixer.com/AttackOnGeek