Review | Spy Drops (PC)

Save the World From Terrorists

The last few years have seen a boom in indie titles aiming to recreate the feel of classic PlayStation games. Many of these games take players back to those nostalgic days with familiar stories and aesthetics. However, they also incorporate lessons learned over the past 30 years to enhance gameplay and narrative design. While most of it has been regarding horror games, some have ventured into other genres, as is the case with Spy Drops.

Spy Drops attempts to capture the essence of a classic PlayStation game, using Metal Gear Solid as its foundation. On the surface, it looks impressive, but underneath is a hot mess regarding its narrative direction and gameplay experience. While it attempts to be a homage to the era, it also disregards what made the classics stand out and the lessons learned.

72 Hours to Save the World

Dice Uprising, an eco terrorist group, has taken over a military base and is threatening to wipe out all digital records and communication unless their demands are met. They are demanding $1 billion from every fossil fuel company in the world, and it needs to be paid in 72 hours. In response, Spy Drops has deployed Agent Ripley to stop them. Her mission is to take out Dice Uprisings leaders and save the world from total collapse.

At face value, the story seems generic and uninteresting, but this was typical for 90s action games and movies. Back then, it was common for plots to revolve around terrorists or rogue Russian generals planning something catastrophic. The fate of the world often rested on the shoulders of a covert government agency or lone spy. Even the plot of Metal Gear Solid can be summed up like this: the only difference was that it had nuanced characters and a depth of emotion.

Unfortunately, Spy Drops lacks any real depth or sense of nuance. I’d be fine with a story that pays homage to that era, but the weak writing and voice acting don’t help. The plot and dialogue feel like they were generated by AI, with several noticeable issues throughout the screenplay. The voice acting seems like it’s trying to emulate the style of that era, but it ultimately feels like someone was just phoning it in.

Prepare for the Mission

Spy Drops gameplay borrows heavily from Metal Gear Solid, while its setup and structure draw inspiration from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Combat follows the standard stealth-action formula established by Metal Gear Solid. Players are deployed into each level solo, often with little to no equipment. To progress, stealth is essential, as detection should be avoided at all costs. This means evading enemies and surveillance cameras while using the environment to your advantage. When necessary, combat becomes a last resort. If engagement is unavoidable, players can choose to either kill enemies or knock them out.

Level progression has Ripley selecting from a variety of missions before being deployed into the combat zone. Prior to each mission, players choose their preferred loadout along with any required gear. This includes weapons, ammunition, health items, and special tools. Additionally, players can boost Ripley’s stats using the XP they’ve collected.

Whispers of the Enemy

Spy Drops does a great job of capturing the surface-level appeal of Metal Gear Solid. Its retro-inspired visuals and anime-style character design are what initially caught my attention. The game perfectly mimics the look and feel of the PlayStation era while blending in some modern gameplay elements. Many of us look back fondly on that era, but it’s easy to forget those games had their flaws. I also have to commend Spy Drops for being a retro-inspired title that isn’t a shooter or survival horror game. It’s a welcome reminder that the original PlayStation era offered far more genre diversity than people often remember.

Mission Failed

Spy Drops is a game that grabs your attention with its visual design and obvious inspirations, but once you look beneath the surface, the flaws become clear. While most indie developers aim to recreate what made those classics memorable while applying modern design, this game seems to ignore much of what the industry has learned over the past 30 years. Besides what was mentioned about the story, the game is janky in both controls and gameplay function, while also having poor level designs.

I rarely have to criticize a game’s control layout, since the industry has mostly standardized an ideal setup. Spy Drops, however, ignores that in favor of a convoluted scheme that’s both confusing and frustrating to use. The silver lining is that the controls can be customized to create a more manageable setup. Even so, the gameplay feels janky, with noticeable input delays and occasional lack of response from the controller. This turns moments that require quick thinking and fast reactions into a test of patience.

Even if you overcome all those annoyances, it doesn’t take long for the game to become repetitive. This applies not just to the missions, but also to the level design and overall map structure. In no time, you’ll figure out the layout and start to lose interest. Making matters worse, the maps are poorly designed and severely lack variety. At the same time, several gameplay elements are either poorly utilized or don’t function properly. Chief among them is the map, which fails to provide useful information such as the next mission objective or nearby enemy positions.

Perfect Performance

Spy Drops tries to capture the surface-level feeling of Metal Gear Solid without understanding what made it a landmark title in 1998, or why it’s still considered one of the greatest games. At the same time, it fails to implement key design and gameplay elements while lacking the needed polish. With so many indie titles looking back to the past for inspiration, this is a reminder that not all aspects of it need to be recreated.

Disclaimer: The publisher, through a PR representative, provided the game used for this review.

This review is the critique and thoughts of one writer. If you want to see how other critics felt, then check it out on OpenCritic.

8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides insight into the gamer community of the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Stan Rezaee is the founder and Editor of 8Bit/Digi. He is a journalist and gamer from the Bay Area who has been writing about the medium for over five years.