One Armed Robber is by far one of the most interesting free Steam games I’ve ever played. The name explains everything: your goal in the game is to rob a variety of establishments, while only using one arm. This unique mechanic provides an interesting new challenge in resource management.
Featuring multiplayer and stealth mechanics, the game presents a variety of ways to win, whether it be carefully maneuvering your way around cameras and guards, or brute forcing the operation to cause as much chaos as possible. If you decide to do the latter, the game will throw ever increasing waves of law enforcement to try and prevent you from succeeding.
Alternatively, you are also able to be a sleuth. From lockpicking doors to evading cameras and stopping the alarm from going off, the stealth mechanics in One Armed Robber are more difficult than they seem. A common example of this is the check-in function: if you are forced to kill a guard, you must bring a dropped phone to its designated check in point to prevent the alarms from going off.
Multiplayer only adds to the atmosphere of the game, requiring collaboration and multitasking to successfully complete an operation. Playing with friends is always a great time, and the chaos in this game makes it even funnier.
Every operation requires you to find a variety of specific keycards which will be required in order to disable the camera and alarm system. Once you have done that, the vault itself will often have multiple layers of protection. This is an opportune time for one person to cover you while you work. Due to the nature of the game and the small size of the bags, your squad will have to do multiple trips through intense combat in order to extract the most cash possible.
As you continue to get better and better, you will have enough funds to purchase better equipment which are more powerful and can open new stealth and combat routes. Armor types can determine whether you’re evasive or a tank, while different weapons have different use cases and versatility. A lot of tool upgrades provide extra features such as the ability to temporarily disable cameras, while others complete the job more efficiently. You can even unlock new items such as the C4 pack, which will break down everything it touches.
One Armed Robber is just an incredible experience, one that I would most definitely recommend. It’s easy to get into, has a great collaborative nature, and doesn’t cost anything to play. If you enjoy games like Payday 2, this is definitely a unique challenge to overcome that is worth your time.
