Preview | Midnight Protocol

LifeisXbox’s Midnight Protocol preview | A little while ago, I got my hands on an exclusive preview for a new upcoming game called Midnight Protocol. This tactical narrative-driven RPG by Belgian developer studio LuGus Studios uses unique keyboard-only controls. In this preview, you get a few hours of playtime, and wow, Midnight Protocol is unlike any other game I ever experienced.

A little about Midnight Protocol

In Midnight Protocol, you assume the mantle of a prominent hacktivist, ‘Data’, who recently got doxxed (meaning (someone revealed identifying information about someone online) and has been targeted for blackmail by a shadowy branch of government. Now, you’re hacking into servers, beating security systems, and discovering encrypted secrets while you try to find answers to why and how you got doxxed.

How does it play

The gameplay takes a bit of concentration, simply because it’s not what you’re used to. Everything goes by keyboard while you take on the role of hacktivist Data. I honestly never thought this would be my kind of game because I’m not familiar with all those technical terms and because the look and feel of Midnight Protocol are entirely different than what I usually like in games. However, the game explains everything very thoroughly so I never had any problems navigating the field, or playing the game. And if you’re not familiar with hacker vocabulary, you can check out the terminology, a tab offered in the main menu of Midnight Protocol. Besides this, there is also a manual explaining everything you need to know in case you got lost in the tutorial. Or you can just type in the ‘help’ command and you’ll be back on track in no time!

Features

In Midnight Protocol, you’ll be spending most of your time in your Email and Addresses. In the Email tab, the protagonist will be chatting back and forth with various people. You’ll never really type anything yourself here though; dialogue is already chosen for you, and you can either autocomplete messages by pressing ‘tab’, or you can randomly write on your keyboard, and the game will complete the message bit by bit. The Addresses are your missions. You’ll always get a small summary of what you can expect of said mission, and sometimes they have certain requirements, like needing a ‘trojan’. Before diving into a mission, it’s thus very important to have the right programs in your deck, and if you don’t own one, you’ll definitely find it on the Black Market.

The graphics take some getting used to, since this is clearly not your typical game. However, for what the game offers, the graphics are doing their job splendidly.

A bright future

I am honestly impressed how Midnight Protocol managed to catch my attention, even though I was a bit overwhelmed and unsure at first. It’s an interesting approach to a game, and even though I’m sure this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I’m also convinced a lot of players will appreciate this concept by LuGus Studios. Safe to say I’m very much looking forward to more of Midnight Protocol!