Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise is a puzzle adventure game that plays like a more modern take on classic adventure games. While it takes a lot of inspiration from older adventure games, the developers clearly wanted to avoid “moon logic” puzzles. This makes the game a lot more accessible, but also lowers the difficulty quite a bit.
Graphically, Agent A is heavily stylized. There are some moments where you can tell the graphics don’t have a lot of detail, but usually they work just fine. The visual design of the game helps make most of the puzzle objects easy to see and understand. There were a couple times that I got stuck because I didn’t look closely enough, but in general, the graphics were good.
The game’s sound design is weaker than the graphics, primarily due to the voice acting. There isn’t much of it, but when it comes up, it usually isn’t great. On the other hand, the soundtrack is quite good and fits the game’s aesthetic perfectly. The sound effects in Agent A are also well done, although they aren’t as important or noticeable as the music.
There is a fairly substantial story in Agent A, but it never managed to suck me in. It’s intended as a lighthearted spy plot, complete with double agents and an evil spy agency, but it all feels generic and cliche. It’s an overly predictable story that does a good job of driving you to the next puzzle, but isn’t interesting on its own.
Gameplay is Agent A’s strong point thanks to well designed puzzles and traditional point and click game mechanics. The game is far easier than old-school adventure games, but it retains enough challenge to be fun. I probably would have enjoyed it more if they made it more difficult, but as a casual adventure game, it works well. There are a couple instances of annoying solutions or items that might be hidden in the room a little too well, but it never approaches the absurdity of games like Gabriel Knight 3.
Overall, Agent A is a laid-back adventure/puzzle game that tries to modernize the genre. It is a little rough around the edges and could have used some complexity in its puzzles, but it’s great for what it is. If you’re looking for a pure puzzle game I would still recommend games like The Room or Baba is You over Agent A, but Agent A is by no means a bad game. It functions as a solid second tier game. Most people won’t love it, but a lot of people will like it. Definitely give it a try if you want to play a fairly easy puzzle game or if you’ve played a lot of the great puzzle games and don’t mind one that is only good.
