I went into this game not knowing what to expect. The screenshots I had seen didn’t inspire me with much, but I am very pleased to admit how wrong I was in thinking this game could be a non-entity. Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones is so much fun. The plot feels a little lacking but it doesn’t really affect the gameplay, but what I gathered was this: Set in the PTI labs which seem to involve clones, some scientist finds himself second place in some ranking of employee of the month, mere points behind some other scientist named Colin. In some fit of competitive rage he sets out to kill another clone, and your journey throughout this laboratory and its tests begins.

As a stubby nameless clone, your job is to enter little tests á la Portal and reach the end, avoiding lasers, spiky pitfalls and robotic guards. If you die you’ll restart a few seconds prior to death but the main negative is that it can ruin your score (if you’re into that sort of thing), as each test has a leaderboard with times and “dying” will affect that. Just getting through the test was satisfaction enough for me, and when it takes me five minutes to complete the level it astounds me how the top players managed it in under 40 seconds. Whilst playing I got flavours of Super Metroid and Metroid: Zero Mission with its stealth and exploration, and indie hit Thomas Was Alone in how the lighting moved so smoothly and was broken by obstacles.

As you progress you’ll get some nice toys to play with, the Inflate-A-Mate blows up into a platform which you can use to boost yourself higher by jumping at the right moment, which can give you an almost-flying motion as you deflate and inflate in mid-air, once again feeling very Super Metroid. The Jackboy lets you hack into the robot enemies and make them do whatever you want, be it sit on a switch or use their lasers to open a door, you control them using the right analogue stick which can lead to some tricky multitasking moments. A nice lantern can be thrown around to activate light sensitive switches and the Me Too device creates a clone of your clone which mimics every action you make, as well as a few more. As you complete the eighth level of each section you can take this toy out into the main lab with you, in true Metroidvania style using your newfound ability to access previously unreachable areas. Soon you’ll be switching through your items several times in one room as  the difficulty increases and the tests get almost profanity-inducing.

As well as giving you instructions, the game loves to torment you, by saying things like “I Enjoy Watching You Sweat” and “Failed To Make The Grade” when you get vaporized again and again. This breaking of the fourth wall I found very refreshing, and after tricky laser sections I couldn’t help but be reminded of Portal, the flavour text even going off on a tangent about how they’re possibly going to lose their lunch privileges.

The gamepad takes its usual spot as map viewer, which is more than needed to make sure you know where you’re going; the laboratory is huge with multiple exits in several rooms. It’s enough to put   you off playing off-TV as you’ll be constantly pausing to check the map.

For those who wish to bring an element of teamwork to Stealth Inc 2, the option for two people to join forces in co-op. One player controls the Clone with either the Wii remote or the Pro Controller  and the second manipulates the surroundings on the gamepad. There are nice little moments where you have to work closer together than other co-op modes, such as a 3-digit code appearing on the screen when the Clone hacks into a terminal and they must tell the gamepad user the input it on their little screen. It's moments like these which makes you feel that although there are many clones out there in the laboratory which just flock together after being rescued, that you're not really that alone after all.

For the dedicated explorers there are costume and hat changes to be found in the environment, although your clone is a little small in a big screen (the majority of which is black borders sadly) you’d barely notice the difference. Stealth Inc 2 makes great use of the Miiverse, with the ability to post comments anywhere for everyone to read. Most of the ones I have encountered have expressed their love for the game or their dismay that they found the next test quite tricky, although some have left a hint or two.

If you don’t expect an epic story, but instead some good old fashioned puzzle fun, Stealth Inc 2 A Game of Clones is perfect. Even dying several times on one test I never gave up because I was enjoying it so much. There’s not too much meat on the bone which is a good thing in this case, as having too many more gameplay elements would spoil the whole thing, and if you feel you could do better, there is a level creator mode where you can make your own levels and upload them for everyone else to try and tackle.