I was fortunate to play the BETA for Operation Tango and enjoyed just a tease of what the game has to offer. Now with the full release on its way, I dove back into what the developers at Clever Plays have to offer. The Developers at Clever Plays certainly have an intellectual yet challenging game, and as I stated in the preview for Operation Tango, the saying “It takes two to tango,” is the best way to describe the entire concept of the game.

This clever cooperative-only, spy adventure, with its colorful game pallet, brings co-op to a whole new level. When communication is key, it does not matter whether you’re playing as an agent or a hacker; fun gameplay can be had by all.

On the surface, the premise may seem simple, but as you progress from mission to mission, you unfold an intriguing tale that is worthy of any spy movie. Going back to the overall idea of the game, you can either play as ‘The Agent’ or ‘The Hacker’ and are sent on a variety of missions to save the world from nefarious threats. Each mission consists of a variety of challenges that are required to be completed simultaneously to succeed, such as guiding each other through a series of obstacles in either a virtual world or avoiding security droids in an office building.

Building upon that high reliance on good communication is helping each other find clues and details in the world to overcome puzzles and gain access via the Hacker’s ability to navigate the virtual world to aid the agent’s efforts. During gameplay, it does like to shift focus between the two players, as no one player plays a support role for too long. As stated before, communication is key, and playing with someone that you can work well with is a challenge all in itself.

While the BETA only gave us the option of two missions, the first one called the ‘Viral Heist’ where I had to steal an item from a vault, and the second being ‘The High-Tech Target,’ tasked with breaking into a secure tech company building to steal sensitive data, the full game opens up too much more. Expect a variety of approaches to gameplay from both The Agent and The Hacker now. This time as I progressed into more of the later missions it gave me a greater feel for the core mechanics with sleuthing around and using technology to my advantage.

The main talents at your disposal such as helping the Hacker navigate a hacking scenario or finding and intercepting vital data to eventually help stop a speeding train felt straight out of a Mission Impossible flick.

The game’s controls are easy to navigate, especially with the keyboard and mouse, but the most important controller you could say is a microphone. Clear and fast responses between the players are the most imperative tool at your disposal because you cannot see what the other player is seeing. This makes navigating each mission that much harder. The intensity of the missions cannot be without a fine choice of animation, music, and world-building.

Being in a tense spy situation with the appropriate music is just the cherry on top. Not to mention the game’s art direction with its bright, colour blocked, cartoony art style, or the feel of retro espionage with a modern twist. I am such a lover of all things retro and classic spy/thriller genre.

In conclusion, Operation Tango creates a terrific atmosphere with its entertaining cutscenes, gameplay, and tense and suspenseful, immersive co-op experience. A slight downside is finding the right partner for the job which can be challenging but also only being able to play the game as a co-op can be difficult for some. To offset finding a fellow spy for your mission, the game does offer crossplay, and thanks to a friend’s pass, any of your friends can play with you for free. Just remember to bring a friend along for the heist, as definitely it takes two to tango!

Written by: Simon Hayward