Sneak, grab, escape
Counter Agents is a spy-themed head-to-head game played from a top-down view over 3D environments. Everyone is after the same thing: find the briefcase, take it, and reach an exit before the other side does. Guards, detectives, and rival players stand in the way, so you spend most of your time reading patrol routes, waiting for a flashlight to swing past, and moving when the coast is clear. The levels are built with three floors, which means routes stack on top of each other and a shortcut upstairs can be worth more than a straight dash across the ground floor. That vertical layout is where the strategy comes from: you can cut someone off, drop down behind them, or take a longer path that keeps you out of sight.
Playing together
Multiplayer supports 1 to 4 players, and the game carries Split Screen, Local Co-Op, and Local Multiplayer tags, so a group on one screen can compete directly. Remote Play Together is listed as a Steam feature, which lets friends join over the internet as well. The shape of a match is the same for everyone: avoid the guards and the other players, secure the briefcase, and get out. Because opponents are after the same case, you are not just racing the level — you are racing each other, and a player who already holds the briefcase becomes the obvious target.
Solo play and the level editor
Single Player Challenge gives you the same objective to work through on your own, useful for learning guard patterns and how the three floors connect before you throw yourself into multiplayer. The Level Editor uses a simple drag-and-drop interface, so building a complex map does not require any technical background. Finished levels can be posted to the online community for other people to play and rate, which means the map pool keeps growing beyond what ships with the game.
Before you start
The game is completely free, with no in-game purchases and no priced DLC. It began as a student prototype in Fall 2015, built on the idea of taking an arcade game from 1983 or earlier and extending its mechanics — the specific inspiration was 005 from 1981, one of the earliest stealth games, and its scenes of dodging policemen with flashlights. Music and audio are original work by composer Lance Montgomery. Expect a game about patience and positioning as much as reflexes: the briefcase is only half the job, and getting out with it is where runs usually fall apart.