Picklock (Nintendo Switch) Review

On a very basic level, the stealth in here can be fun. The thief must reckon with several recurring obstacles, such as roaming guards, security cameras, hidden passageways, and more. Properly managing time is essential; picking locks or disabling cameras can take several seconds, and guards follow a pre-set path that could interrupt that process. Getting caught by a guard resets all progress in the level, unless players vanish from sight as quickly as possible. Accessing the 'Drone View' mode can show where guards will go, and where to find loot, but all at the cost of movement, so it can't always be relied on.

Beyond the gameplay, there's not much to keep anyone coming back. The main story elements only come from brief interactions with a knowledgeable pawn shop owner. The dialogue is poorly written, and full of typos, such as "it's a rare that why costs a lot," or "Press X to get informations." Additionally, the thief can use his stolen funds to buy a new car or house, but for the most part, these are purely aesthetic. None of these issues would really matter if the core gameplay was stellar, but it's far from perfect.

Narrowly dodging the gaze of a guard and escaping with stolen riches can give quite the adrenaline rush, but several fundamental flaws majorly hinder the fun. Picklock does not control well. The original PC release used typical point-and-click controls, but no equivalent exists in this version. Instead, one must deal with a cumbersome button control scheme. Selecting a specific item is difficult, and pressing any input afterward can inadvertently cancel the action. Opening and closing doors is key to properly navigating, but doing so is not as simple as it should be. Nothing is less fun than getting caught because you got stuck along a curve, or because a door wouldn't open.

On top of the poor navigation, the camera is nigh unusable. The slightest touch of the right stick sends the camera flying at high speeds, with zero sensitivity options to mitigate this issue. Furthermore, figuring out which objects are interactive is also a difficult task. Many look like they should be steal-able, but aren't, and the ones that are can be difficult to see due to the aforementioned camera issues. Drone view does indicate which items are interactive, but as said before, it also makes the player vulnerable. All of these issues combine to create an experience where the controls are actively fighting against the player. The character controls poorly, and the camera makes it difficult to see, so there's no real ideal way to play… and with no ideal way to play, the process of figuring out how to rob a location can quickly become tedious.