Calvino Noir exudes atmosphere, but lacks balance

Each week, we ask members of our App Army for their feedback on the latest and greatest releases on mobile.

One top pick this week was Micro Macro Games's stylised, stealthy thriller adventure, Calvino Noir.

Let's see what our App Army had to say...

Calvino Noir is beautiful.

Yup, I'm loving the game's mood so far too.

There's something poetic about Calvino Noir. The music is wonderful, and compliments the playstyle and graphics to a tee.

One frustration though: when you are controlling more than one character, there is no way to select both characters at the same time. This gets a little tedious when you are having to change between characters to move constantly.

I also have issues with the guards. Despite playing the role of a character that can take out guards, they are far too sensitive - it's almost impossible to take them out.

So acts two and three are in-app purchases? Seems a tad much, don't you think?

That's a bummer.

Calvino Noir reminds me of CounterSpy, only with less action. Some passages are quite tough though.

I'm stuck in the distillery with alarm bells all around me. No matter what approach I takeI seem to lose every time.

The game is a thing of beauty, but the time it takes to restart after dying is far too long, and it's spoiling my enjoyment.

I'm sorry to say I'm not really enjoying this. It's not terrible by any means of the imagination though.

At the moment it feels like a grind. The guards seem to spot you no matter what you do, which means that on certain levels you're going to end up dying a whole lot.

Also, as Olivier mentioned, the load after you die is far too long. The game looks amazing, but at the moment it's let down by the story, controls, and AI.

Calvino Noir is pretty addictive, with a really interesting atmosphere, and an immersive soundscape.

However, when you're having to manage three characters the control system becomes too difficult, making the game a task.

The set up is interesting, always leaving you wanting more, but the load times are too long. The game sometimes bugs out for no reason when you approach a checkpoint too.

I finished the first act, but you have to pay $3.99 to unlock the second act. Calvino Noir has an interesting history, and a wonderful atmosphere, but why does it have these IAPs?

That's disappointing to hear you have to fork out money again to continue playing.

Isn't there a combined package though?

Yes Muneeb, you can buy acts two and three for $6.99, saving you a dollar, but you still have to pay for the first act too.

How long did it take you to get through the first act?

My first playthrough took four of five hours, but I could probably finish it within two hours now that I know what I'm doing.

I don't mind paying that price for 5 hours or more gameplay. I like Micro Macro Games, so I'm happy to pay that for Calvino Noir.

Calvino Noir's not a bad game, but it's not the excellent game I expected. The scenario is interesting, as are ways you can approach each task. The quiet, slow atmosphere is pleasant too.

Its film noir style is certainly immersive, exuding charm, and making you want to come back to the game despite its difficulty and bugs.

Calvino Noir's a great adventure, but at the end of the day... it just doesn't feel finished.

This is one of the most immersive and atmospheric games I've ever played. The animation's smooth and the scenarios thrown at you are very moreish.

Calvino Noir can, however, get pretty confusing at times, especially when controlling multiple characters. In a weird way this makes the game more fun and challenging, for me at least.

I've also been experiencing some annoying crashes that took all the immersion away. Hopefully that be fixed in a future update.

Overall the game is beautiful, and I'd heartily recommend it to fans of This War of Mine.

As the game has gone on, I've found myself enjoying this more and more. The graphics are simplistic, but they really compliment the music and style of the game.

At first I thought this was a game to sit down and relax to, but as time went on, it was apparent that Calvino Noir is a game for the patient-minded.

The difficulty of the guards is one of the most frustrating parts to the game. It has, at times, caused me to put the game down and stop playing out of frustration.

However, I think is more of a game for those who enjoy sneaking around, avoiding guards, rather than sneaking around and taking out guards.

All in all, a good game that can grip you with the style it has to offer, but people expecting something a tad more fast-paced may be left disappointed.

It took me some time to actually get into Calvino Noir. To be completely honest, it never really gripped me.

The first guard alone, while easy, took me a number of attempts as I was just too impatient. It can be very slow at times, and therefore it's not for me. I love the art style and weather - the torch effect in particular look awesome.

I think the biggest problem for me was that I played This War of Mine just before playing this, and that was much more up my alley.

The App Army have spoken! If you'd like to sign up, please have a gander at our App Army application article.