Operation: Tango Review

Online Co-Op games have been one of the major lifelines for me in the current pandemic. With everyone remaining at home, a solid experience, no matter the length, has been something that I have kept an eye on.

Operation: Tango’s online multiplayer is centered around a unique premise. A two-player game in which one person must play as an agent, and one must play as a hacker. Playing as the Agent is a more standard first person game where they have to move around an environment, relaying information to their teammate. While this is happening, the person playing the hacker will be flitting through security cameras, accessing IP addresses and sometimes getting their hands dirty in the virtual cyber space.

The main aim is track down an international tech-terrorist called ‘Cypher’, and this is accomplished by the two players relaying information via voice chat so that their teammate can complete a task.

One of the best levels has the Hacker running through a virtual world, dodging ‘firewalls’, and telling the Agent information required to open up new pathways. The Agent has to maintain a network connection via puzzle solving, let the Hacker know which path to take and warn them of anomalies coming up behind. At this point both players are having to monitor multiple pieces of information and let the other know what is going on. It ‘accurately’ reflects every tense hacker/spy scene in a movie from the last 40 years.

Each mission is well built and neither player ever has downtime. It is an impressive feat for a game such as this.

The only thing that might chafe some players is the duration of Operation: Tango. I finished the Agent playthrough in just a weekend, and revisiting the Hacker objectives will probably take a little less time. That said, I loved OT’s commitment to having no filler moments.

Another commitment I really appreciated was that only one copy is required for multiplayer. Sending a friend invite to someone that does not own the game will take them to a store page that lets them download a trial version to play alongside the person with the purchased title.

Being short and lean should not be a knock against this title, and I think this is one of the must-plays of 2021.

Conclusion

A tight, entertaining, and original co-op game. Operation: Tango is a perfect multiplayer game for two friends.

This game was reviewed based on Xbox One review code, using an Xbox One console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.