Burglar Gnomes - Xbox One

Step Into the Shadows with Burglar Gnomes

In Burglar Gnomes, players inhabit the world of Rivetlings, small clockwork couriers with an important mission. Set in a dystopian underground where automated trains endlessly circle the secrets of Bellweather, you'll need to navigate intricate challenges. The Custodian intelligence misinterprets creativity and testimony as corruption, leaving you with the task of extracting crucial information from these mechanized territories.

Tread Carefully Through Mechanical Labyrinths

Everything in Burglar Gnomes is designed to reflect its palm-sized protagonists. Rooms are scaled down to a miniature world, filled with towering index drawers, paper ramps, and moving belts. Each environment feels alive, and you must adapt quickly, using items like Burden cylinders to maintain balance between speed and stealth. Every sound travels differently, making noise a pivotal part of your strategy as you move through the archive.

Navigate Diverse Challenges with Precision

Contracts present an array of tasks that require either cunning or precision. Players select three operations from eight choices: Recover, Repair, Witness, Reroute, Authenticate, Liberate, Preserve, and Contradict. Arming extraction locks requires careful strategy; optional tasks can yield valuable evidence but come at the risk of time. This lack of hidden scores means your actions are transparent, and you alone determine your success.

Outsmart Unyielding Surveillance Mechanisms

Within the archive, you’ll encounter various custodial archetypes that pose a constant threat. Each machine follows specific behavioral patterns, demanding keen observation and quick thinking. For instance, the Ledger Eye is motion-sensitive, while the Index Hound tracks warmth. To succeed, you must learn their rules and develop tactics to manipulate them. Whether it’s rerouting two machines into one another or employing Prism Tags, every encounter becomes a mental puzzle.

Your Drone Companion: Mote

Mote, the propeller drone, serves as both a helper and a tool for distraction. While it won't complete tasks for you, its various functions—like fetching light objects or luring machines—extend your strategic reach. Additionally, Echo pins allow for a fascinating time manipulation mechanic, enabling players to record and replay six seconds of their movements, creating opportunities for complex strategizing in tense situations.

Return to the Barge Between Contracts

After completing contracts, players return to Barge Seven, a hub that evolves based on your successes and failures. Each contract alters the barge’s atmosphere, affecting the residents and their conversations. With a diverse contract board and a gallery of records, your choices shape not just your gameplay but also the emotional narrative and possible endings of the game.

Endless Variety and Replayability

Burglar Gnomes features five district trains and 24 unique contracts, ensuring players always face fresh challenges. Each contract runs between 18 to 28 minutes and offers variable difficulty settings, allowing for customization tailored to your preferred experience. With no lethal forces employed and assets generated at runtime, the game prioritizes cerebral strategy over brute force, appealing to fans of stealth and puzzle genres on both Xbox One and PC.