Skin Deep

I have never really been much of an immersive sim guy, but Skin Deep drew me in with it's aesthetic and its silliness. What I found was a game that allowed for those moments of hilarity, but also oozes with style and tells its story well. Also, the opening sequence is incredible.

Not what I expected it to be, but pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this game. Fun stealth and absolutely silly story. Loved it.

Skin Deep is a really fun little immersive sim. You play as basically an insurance commando who gets defrosted whenever space pirates take over a ship, and your job is to sneak around, rescue the cat crew, and somehow deal with everyone using whatever random crap you can find around the ship. And that's basically where the game shines. You're constantly improvising with the environment: making enemies slip on banana peels or soap, throwing pepper at them to make them sneeze, breaking windows and throwing stuff into space, messing with the ship's systems, finding alternative routes through vents, etc. You're almost always under-equipped, so figuring out some stupid solution to a problem is extremely satisfying. There aren't actually THAT many mechanics, especially compared to bigger immersive sims, but I think the length of the game makes that work. It ends pretty much exactly when you've figured everything out and before abusing the same tricks starts getting boring. It's short, focused, and doesn't waste your time. My biggest complaint is actually that I wish some of the ships pushed the concept further. Most are fun to explore, but I would've loved a few more levels with major twists that completely change how you approach them. The last ship in particular introduces some really cool unique mechanics, and I immediately thought "oh ♥♥♥♥, we're doing THIS now", only for the game to basically end afterwards. I really wish it had introduced ideas like that earlier and then built more levels around them. Still, it's hard to complain too much when what's here is this fun. The level design is great, the art direction has a ton of personality, the writing is funny without completely taking over the game, and all the little systemic interactions make messing around genuinely enjoyable. Just a very good, compact immersive sim that knows exactly what it wants to be. I only wish it had gone a little crazier with its levels before saying goodbye.

I have never met a NPC as obnoxious as the cats in the freaking tutorial of the game. Having a NPC repeating you every 10 seconds that there's "another key on the ledge" without telling you where, along with the quick scene shifts, I never got past the tutorial.

A pretty decent game. Maybe a bit too easy and repetitive, but I had fun with my playthrough, I guess.

Best Blendo game I've played. Has a very distinct style to it - simultaneously cool and earnest in its weirdness. I'm not sure why this world has cats everywhere, but somehow it works. Gameplay is pretty deep, with lots of room for experimentation. The last couple of levels in particular were a satisfying challenge.

I love how every ship has little gimmick to keep the levels from feeling repetitive and how humor is always present even in the serious parts.