This Operation: Tango review may contain minor spoilers for the game’s missions and puzzles.
Operation: Tango is a pleasant surprise. Arriving this month as the PlayStation 5’s free PS Plus game, it delivers espionage thrills and a uniquely engaging co-op presentation. But you probably didn’t expect that. I know I didn’t. After all, this is developer Clever Plays second-ever game and it hasn’t received much fanfare.
Co-op games acquired a bad reputation over the last decade or so. And much of it was deserving. It was often viewed as a shoehorned option included to encourage online play because that’s what publishers thought was popular (*cough* Dead Space 3). So it’s great to see games being released that are designed FOR co-op and thrive because of it. Co-op really can be its own genre, and titles like Operation: Tango are testament to this.
Operation: Tango (PS5) review – Gameplay
Operation: Tango is all about close collaboration with your compadre. While it’s a spy thriller and has its action-packed moments, the focus is on puzzle-solving. It’s two-player – one of you acts as the Agent and the other as the Hacker. For this review, I played Operation: Tango with my Downtime Bros co-editor (and brother) Sam Harby. We split the roles 50/50 across the game’s missions, with us both having a go at being Agent and Hacker. As the Agent, you’re essentially the person on the ground. You’ll be the one infiltrating a secret facility, office building or base. Meanwhile, the Hacker provides remote technical support which enables you to progress through your mission.
You’re warned when you boot up the game that it’s best played without being able to see your buddy’s screen (there are no split screen or local co-op options, in case you’re wondering). And there’s good reason for that. Operation: Tango would be pointless if you could. Each player sees something totally different, and the way they experience the game is polar opposite. Agent plays from a typical first-person perspective. This mostly involves interacting with the ‘real-world’ environment and puzzles, and hiding from security patrols. Hacker doesn’t enjoy the same freedoms. However, he’ll usually watch Agent through security cameras, trigger environmental actions (locking/unlocking doors, activating elevators etc.), and input information into whatever system he’s attempting to hack.
Puzzles
As puzzle-solving is what you spend most of your time doing, it’s important to understand how the puzzles work in Operation: Tango. There are recurring themes to the puzzles – often guiding an object through an increasingly challenging maze or identifying shapes/patterns to unlock or trigger something. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, the object you’re guiding through the maze could actually be Hacker. Hacker will appear on Agent’s UI as a circle in a maze, but from Hacker’s perspective he’ll be lost in a virtual labyrinth and require Agent’s assistance to escape. I’d be remiss not to mention that Operation: Tango‘s puzzles are – for the most part – unique to the mission you’re playing (there are eight in total), so you won’t see the exact same ones again and again.
Obviously, a fair amount of patience is required with the puzzles and your partner. You might spend a good couple of minutes giving a detailed description of what you’re seeing on your screen, only for your partner to completely misunderstand it. That can be frustrating, but I found it highly rewarding to work together and ultimately solve the puzzles. Overall, they’re challenging but not too tough – difficulty really depends on your ability to cooperate effectively. Best of all, though, we had a laugh while we did it which was the real highlight of our time with Operation: Tango.
Is Operation: Tango crossplay?
Another bonus is that Operation: Tango is crossplay enabled. That means you’ll be able to play with friends no matter their platform. However, it’s currently only available on PS4, PS5, and PC (via Steam). Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions will be released ‘soon’ according to Clever Plays’ official website.
What is the Operation: Tango Friend Pass?
The Friend Pass enables you to play Operation: Tango for free, as long as the person you’re playing with already owns a copy of the game. That means all you need to do is download the Friend Pass on your chosen platform and you’re good to go.
Operation: Tango (PS5) review – Story
There isn’t much of a story in Operation: Tango and there are minimal cutscenes. Basically, you’re two super spies in-the-vein of James Bond and there are evil baddies doing evil cyber-crimey things. It’s fine for what it is, which isn’t much. But it didn’t need to be. This is a game solely focused on providing a fun co-op experience, and it does that really well.
Operation: Tango (PS5) review – Graphics and performance
The visuals in Operation: Tango won’t blow you away. Although the vibrant and varied colour palette is nice and the game has a cartoony charm about it. Unfortunately, Operation: Tango does let itself down in the performance department from time to time. I noticed a few frame rate dips while I was playing, and there were some obvious instances of lag (despite our strong internet connections). This was disappointing, especially considering Operation Tango‘s not-so taxing graphics. However, these issues were relatively minor all considered and weren’t game-breaking.
Operation: Tango (PS5) review – Our verdict
If it’s an exhilarating, funny, and occasionally challenging few hours with a pal you’re after, you’re in luck. I unfairly pre-judged Operation: Tango as another “meh” PS Plus freebie but it caught me off guard. While there’s a notable lack of plot and some frustrating performance blips, I’m glad I gave it a chance. If I hadn’t, I’d have missed out on what’s undoubtedly one of the more memorable co-op experiences of the year.
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Version played: PS5
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Featured Image Credit: Clever Plays
