Sean Devlin is an Irish technician and racer in Paris or used to be. One day in 1940, while competing in the Grand Prix of Saarbrücken (Germany), he was unfairly defeated by Nazi Kurt Dieker. He discovers Dieker’s employment as a Nazi torturer while attempting to return his debt by pulling a trick on him. With the Nazi invasion force on his tail, Sean tries to flee back to Paris. Three months after these events, in now-occupied Paris, Sean meets the Resistance and freely joins them to exact his revenge on Dieker.
The Saboteur is a GTA-style open-world driving and action game set in World War II Paris. The player assumes the role of Sean, watching over his shoulder as he explores the city and its environs on foot or by car. To advance the plot, the player must complete missions for the Resistance. There are other side objectives and numerous other things to do in the city, such as blowing up sniper towers and Nazi tanks and killing Nazi generals. These sabotage operations also net the protagonist contraband, the game’s currency. He can use it to purchase guns, upgrades, and other stuff from black-market merchants across the city.
To carry out these sabotage activities, the player gets access to various period weaponry, explosives, and Sean’s fists for melee fighting. Though Sean can engage Nazis in hand-to-hand combat utilizing punches, kicks, and grapple movements, it is frequently not recommended to do so because he needs to escape the Nazis after an alert is raised to accomplish his objectives. Furthermore, if Sean causes additional damage to Nazi property and personnel, the alarm level will rise over time, alerting even stronger forces such as tanks and zeppelins. To avoid an alarm, he must either leave a particular area swiftly or enter one of the several hide-outs while remaining unseen.
After completing a mission, Sean can summon Resistance warriors to assist him in combat or deliver an escape vehicle. These escape vehicles must first be gathered by driving them into a black market garage. After that, the automobile can be retrieved from any garage.
Through his activities, the player also gets perks that provide certain prizes, such as “Sucker Punch,” which is obtained after killing 10 enemy soldiers without their knowledge. Sean can even disguise himself as an adversary to infiltrate the Nazis undetected; however, if he is caught engaging in suspicious behavior, the alert will be sounded after a specific period. Running and climbing up buildings are also significant actions, similar to the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed, providing the player the flexibility to take his way to the destination.
At the start of the game, Paris and its surrounds are coated in black and white in a style reminiscent of Schindler’s List, with just a few colors standing out, such as the red in every Nazi logo and the yellow lights behind windows. Color returns as the player assists the Resistance in liberating the sectors, and Nazi activity decreases.
