République: Episode 5 - Terminus

Terminus is the fifth and final episode of République, a crowd funded stealth game released in episodic format. It is acquired as an in-app purchase and requires the previous episodes to play. It starts right after the events of the previous episode. After Hope is captured by the Overseer, she is brought back into the Metamorphosis complex of the first three episodes. However, due to the actions of a certain character, a large explosion occurs and many parts of the facility are in ruins. There are a few new rooms, but most of the game takes place in the same environment as before with smoke, fire and many areas entirely destroyed. A large part of the facility can still be explored, but many rooms are inaccessible through security locks and malfunctioning doors. Almost right away The OMNI View interface gets updated to level five and this also opens up some locations previously inaccessible.

In the confusion Hope manages to escape and a large part of the episode deals with whom to trust of three possible parties. For the story this opens up different branching paths as well. The player is still there to guide her using the familiar camera perspective switches. In the early part of the game Hope helps out Mireille and her partner by disabling computers using a degauss gun. Hope can hack into database and look up the personal information of the Prizrak soldiers. Many are held in the facility because of criminal charges Derringer fabricated for them. Mireille believes the Prizrak will provide help or lay down their weapons when their rap sheet is erased. Hope first needs to search the environment for a new type of evidence. Through audio clues it provides detailed information about soldiers and their history. This information is then entered in a computer automatically until a single match is left. After erasing the history the gun is used to permanently disable the computer too.

Another new game element is the hostile camera. These red cameras have a laser beam and trigger an alarm when they spot Hope, attracting nearby Prizrak. They can be taken over as any regular camera, but when Hope is in view while controlling them they count down, but do not trigger the alarm. Taking over the camera then allows Hope to pass unnoticed, but the player needs to leave the camera again before the countdown ends, or the alarm is triggered. Hostile cameras can also be disabled permanently like computers, by using the degauss gun on control panels. Near the end of the episode many new environment and mechanics are introduced. These take the player into a digital environment where a path and various types of information can be found, providing once again more background story.

The typical collectible items return: indie game floppy disks, banned books and Zager tapes. Some enemies now react a lot faster and run around when they are in an alerted state. The Data Broker returns with two additional abilities. Syphon lets the player recharge the battery by siphoning power from other electronic objects in the environment, marked in green. Overtime extends the amount of time provided when taking over a hostile camera. Most other game elements and mechanics return. This episode also includes smaller novelties, such as a pink colour for Hope both in the OMNI View and the regular view, to keep track of her position even when behind objects.