All Walls Must Fall review

All Walls Must Fall is a tech-noir tactics game by Inbetween Games. Join Susan and Fran as they dive into the secret agent club scene.

All Walls Must Fall takes place in an alternate universe in 2089, where the Cold War never ended. You take control of an agent, navigating them around levels while trying to complete an objective, whether that’s searching areas for contraband, assassinating a target or interrogating people for information.

What is interesting about All Walls Must Fall is how it treads the line between turn-based tactics and real-time strategy. In the corner of the screen is a time meter which is constantly depleting. The main way you’ll get time back is by exploring areas and basically being successful. The other way you use time is to hack doors and drones – useful for getting in to those places they don’t want you to find, and useful for staying alive when it comes to fights.

Time also plays a part when your agent is in battle. In a fight, time stops and you are given the opportunity to plan our your moves before executing them. Shield icons indicate where you can expect to find cover, and you will be warned if your agent will be hit by an enemy. If you screw it up, you can use your available time to rewind and try again, although it’s all too easy to quickly deplete your time and find that you are unable to make any other moves.

In this way, the game forces you to think quickly, but also smartly, in order to complete the objectives and get out alive.

A stealthy approach is also possible though, and you can make good use of this by bluffing your way into secret areas guarded by suspicious men with guns. If you’re clever enough, you can convince them that you’re a harmless repairman, or that you’ll make them sorry that they were ever born if they don’t let you through.

The thumping techno/electronica soundtrack befitting of the nightclub scenarios your agent navigates, and the stylish visuals complement the universe that the game portrays. Off you go, agent.

All Walls Must Fall is available on Steam. Check out @inbetweengames on Twitter.