Developer: Azurezero
Genre: Stealth
Reviewed version: Final
Censored: No, except for the DLSite version
Patch Needed: No
OS: Windows
Language: English
I enjoyed playing Abyss Agent Alyss back in the day, so I have been looking forward to giving the prequel a go since I learned about it getting made. It went beyond my expectations and was a lot better than I expected.
Pros
Pretty art
Solid gameplay
Decent story and soundtrack
Cons
It’s too short for its price
The game is very enjoyable, even more than Abyss Agent Alyss. Like in any stealth game, you’ll spend most of the time sneaking past the guards or, in some cases, running away from your pursuers. There are a few puzzles in the game, too. They are varied, but none of them are particularly hard. There are timing-focused puzzles, some with time limits, and the occasional mosaic puzzle.
As for the story, it works perfectly as a prequel to Abyss Agent Alyss and also fleshes out Sylphy’s character, making her more than just “that THICC woman that came out of nowhere to help Alyss”. The plot is also simple, which works in the game’s favor since a deep plot full of twists would make it unnecessarily convoluted.
Its art is pretty, as it’s always the case in Azurezero’s games. The characters are beautiful, as usual, and the animation in the sex scenes is smooth. The soundtrack is decent. There aren't any groundbreaking songs, but they all do a good job of building up the game’s atmosphere.
Verdict: Fun but short
I had fun playing Phantom Thief Sylphy, even more than its prequel. Its price, however, is a bit steep since it takes 2 hours to finish the game. Do I recommend purchasing it? Definitely, but you might prefer to wait for a sale.