Suspicious Developments, of Gunpoint fame, has quite the underrated 2017 release in Heat Signature. The game is a year old now, and has received a significant 40 percent discount on Steam until October 4th, along with a large new update.
Titled “The Space Birthday Update”, it adds numerous interesting wrinkles to the core gameplay of infiltrating procedurally generated ships on system-hopping missions. One of the newest features is character traits. Each character chosen at the game’s beginning now has two random traits, which can be positive (bonus recovery time for a weapon) or negative (a life expectancy of 10 minutes). Traits can be re-rolled though, and are essentially a way to augment the difficulty.
The AI has also been significantly upgraded, with guards moving about in pairs, and new Contractors that will provide buffs to any surrounding guards, among other things. There are four different kinds of Contractors, and they’re quite tough to deal with. There’s a lot more to go through, including Glory Missions and clients, new hazards, daily challenges, and much more. Check it all out for yourself here.
