République: Episode 2 - Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis is the second episode of République, a crowd funded stealth game released in episodic format. It is acquired as an in-app purchase for the first episode. It starts right away from the end of the first episode, when Hope is captured and interrogated by her guardian Mireille Prideaux. During the interview an unknown Prizrak enters and takes out Mireille, offering Hope a chance to escape. This episode mostly focuses on the character the Librarian. Most intelligence items that are scanned reveal his background and how he came to work for the Overseer. As Treglazov has built a museum in his own honour, a lot of his history is revealed as well. Most of the game takes place in a new location, the library, and various rooms connected to it. As it ties into the first episode with the Metroidvania concept, it is possible to return to any location from the first episode as well.

The basic gameplay is identical to the first episode. The player does not control Hope directly, but instead she contacts the player through her phone. Cameras and hacking skills are then used to guide her around. The OMNI View interface can be upgraded to level two in this episode, providing new rooms to access, as well as certain locations from the first episode. This episodes introduces a new type of guard who cannot be taken down using a taser. His patrols are also wider, erratic and more varied, leading to surprising encounters. Guards who are alerted are sometimes also able to call in another guard. The Data Broker offers one new ability, X-Ray, to see guards through walls. At the start there is a new button called Helpdesk in the OMNI interface to review the current objective. There is also a new indicator on the screen showing the general direction of the destination and the distance, so it is not always necessary to open the map.

Typical game elements that return are the collectibles (intelligence, banned books, game cartridges and Zager tapes). There are also two puzzles, one based on the order of statues and another solved by answering questions about Treglazov's past to retrieve a pin code, by reviewing the information from the museum. At certain moments Hope can review video footage and the player can choose to let her see a gruesome event or not. Near the end of the episode a new mechanic based on lasers is introduced, as well as using 3D printing to create an item that provides additional access.