A good, if unpolished, stealth game.
Despite other reviews, I found it to be an enjoyable game. The game's core aspect is stealth. The stealth is pretty standard, i.e Violette can be in shadows and hidden - as long as you're not too close to a soldier, or not and open to being caught. This stealth mechanic does work (mostly,) but it doesn't try to innovate. The one element of innovation is a feature called "Morphine mode," the backstory being that Violette is injected with Morphine in the hospital she is in whenever she recalls a stressful event. This gives the player the opportunity to freeze enemies and either go into hiding, or to eliminate a soldier in her way.
Soldiers cover the map, and the only way to pass, is to murder them all. Sneaking up behind a guard and killing them is extremely enjoyable. Going through an entire level without being spotted is a thrilling experience, although it isn't as clear-cut as that. Sometimes guards are ridiculously intelligent and can spot Violette from a mile away, despite her being in the shadows, yet on the other hand they won't spot Violette when she is right in plain sight. This and other bugs, like falling out of the map, ruin the immersive aspects of the game.
Another problem occurs when Violette obtains other weapons, like pistols and shotguns. These are very difficult to utilise, and leaves the player frustrated. This frustration is amplified especially as guns are required in certain sections, with no other way around the situation. Soldiers also seem to have amazing accuracy, every shot fired seems to hit Violette, despite the distance between them.
But these minor problems are made up by how amazing the environments and graphics are, they are dark and moody, reflecting life in this dark era.
CONCLUSION: Velvet Assassin IS a good game, but it has awkward shooting controls, bad AI, and the stealth mechanics don't sometimes work. The game is worthy of a buy, due to the atmosphere and the satisfying stealth, albeit full of glitches.
Story 7/10
Graphics 8.5/10
Gameplay 7.5/10
Overall: 7.5/10 (not an average of the above scores.)