The Marvellous Miss Take brings a fair amount of originality to the stealth genre.

The Marvellous Miss Take was recently released on Steam, built from the ground up for PC. That said, it does feel a bit like it was initially built for tablets, thanks to the control scheme, which we’ll get to later.

Story

The story of The Marvellous Miss Take is rather simple. You take control of Sophia Take, the heiress to a rather large art collection owned by her aunt. Shortly before this aunt died, she had exclaimed that she wanted her art to be for everybody, sorely disappointing Ralph Blackstock. Ralph, the owner of Blackstock Inc., is a fellow art collector who despises lost opportunities to make even more money.

Upon reaching the gallery, Sophia discovers that all of the art has been stolen overnight and put up on the market. Several other galleries have bought the art already, and Sophia, not being one to back down from a challenge, decides to steal the art back. Along the way she’ll meet a couple of helpers; Henry, a crippled artist-turned-master-thief, and Daisy, a pickpocket. The three must work together to retrieve what rightfully belongs to Miss Take.

Unfortunately, the story doesn’t really get much more fleshed out. Most dialogue in the game is utilized to introduce somebody (Henry, for example), tell you controls, or make a few jokes here and there. The Marvellous Miss Take focuses more on the gameplay.

Gameplay

The Marvellous Miss Take places you in the gallery, which serves as a hub. Upon entering the first level with Sophia  it will explain the controls to you. Left clicking will move your character to the location you clicked (be warned: As with many games, the pathfinding can be a bit off), while holding down your mouse button on the area will cause her to run. Running will make noise and lure guards, however, so you may want to only do so to make a quick escape.

If you hold the left click on Sophia, you will whistle, thus luring any nearby guards to your location. Later, you’ll be able to pick up various gadgets, which are utilized with the right click.

Henry, as he is crippled, plays a bit differently. He cannot run, due to his injury, but he does have a special noisemaker that he can use an infinite number of times. That said, you’ll need to be careful as you toss it, as he refuses to advance without it. Henry also gets a bonus for making it through a stage undetected.

Next is Daisy. She can both run quicker than Sophia and she can pick the pockets of guards, thus getting keys necessary for her objectives.

These three characters will each bring their own unique flair to the stages, allowing you to revisit each one and take on more challenges. It allows The Marvellous Miss Take to get a bit of replay value.

In each stage you’ll need to take care not to be caught by guards. The paths these guards take on their patrols tend to change on the fly, so while hiding may be able to buy you a little time, it isn’t always the best idea. I’ve been sandwiched between guards on several occasions because I tried to take cover and wait them out.

Overall

Honestly, The Marvellous Miss Take is a fun little ride, though many may be disappointed in the “Think on your feet” approach the game utilizes. They may feel like it’s a shot in the dark if you’ll be able to make it through the stages, since the patrols can change instantly, but in this reviewer’s opinion, it actually makes the game more fun. It wouldn’t be as challenging if you could simply wait out the guards, or whistle to lure one away, run to where he was, grab whatever, then run back before he returns.

The Marvellous Miss Take feels like an arcade game of old, and is designed to be played in quick bursts, as most of the levels are quite short. That said, if you’re a stealth fan, The Marvellous Miss Take is sure to bring you some enjoyment, even if the story wasn’t quite as fleshed out as I’d have liked. The Marvellous Miss Take brings a fair amount of originality to the stealth genre that should keep you playing until the end.

Final Score: 4/5