Despite my dislike of stealth games, I was looking forward to Velvet Assassin. I'm rather fond of strong female leads, whether they are in comic books, movies, or games. Velvet Assassin appeared to have the type of protagonist I wanted to play. Unfortunately, the game I was hoping to like wasn't forgiving enough for a newbie like me.

I understand that cover is a very important part of stealth games. I was doing my best to utilize the cover system, but Velvet Assassin didn't make it clear enough for me. I could tell that I was in cover when I was hidden in shadows, but other objects made it less clear. For example, some bushes were cover and some were not, despite their identical appearances. This led me to be spotted by an enemy while I was crouched in some bushes, falsely believing that I was safe.

I felt very limited in the game in general. There were mechanics that seemed to serve no purpose and mechanics that were missing. I could drag bodies around, but there was little point. My movement speed was greatly reduced while dragging a body, and where was I supposed to hide it? The bushes were clearly not a good place, as the cover was inconsistent. Adding to my frustration was the lack of melee mechanics. While I am no stealth expert, it was my understanding that stealth games should at least have a punch of some sort. My character was left with no way to defend herself once my bullets were quickly expended, making her seem pitifully weak.

I ended up dying three times in the tutorial, and I couldn't get past the second group of enemies. The tutorial did little to motivate me to play through the rest of the game. There was a lot of terrain but not much actual gameplay. The art style looked flat, the game had an overly serious tone, and there was a very poor introduction to stealth. The tutorial narration and tips would disappear instantly when I pressed the action button; I accidentally skipped through what little information I was given.

Velvet Assassin provided me with an incredibly frustrating twenty-minute experience. Perhaps my inexperience with the genre or my high expectations colored my view. Regardless, I didn't feel anything like the powerful female I had wished to be; I felt like a pathetic, frail woman who had no business being a spy.