REVIEW : Gamedec (PC)
Video games have become so absorbing in Warsaw in the twenty-first century. Others are vital centres of commerce and pleasure, while some even replicate agony and sensations bordering on lunacy. All, without exception, have evolved into a genuine second dimension, with locations devised by cutting-edge AI and lines of code so intricate that only intuition can detect a flaw in the matrix and determine if the laws are being changed. according to your preferences
What should you do in the event of an accident or an inexplicable mystery? The Gamedecs come to the rescue: they’re detectives that specialise in tracking down cheaters and oddities that elude programmers. Personal traits, after all, make the difference in such a connected society where fiction has the upper hand. Even reality eventually becomes akin to history’s largest MMORPG. Future gamers, predictably, refer to it as Realium: it might, in turn, be part of the deceit, the game of games.
Gamedec presents itself with these intriguing principles. Once again, from Poland comes a new cyberpunk RPG with isometric graphics. Marcin Sergiusz Przybyek, a writer from Anshar Studios, became their muse. Gamedec is a series of novels published in 2004 that foreshadowed many plot points of the more well-known Ready Player One. On the one hand, we have CDPR, a reference model for both genres and a local literary author such as Sapkowsky. On the other hand, we have Disco Elysium by ZA / UM, a new pillar of RPG computers.
It was just a matter of time until someone tried to put the Best Narrative and Best RPG of 2019 into practice. Gamedec is an investigative game with a strong focus on the narrative and no combat system. Its excellent aspects include the writing, which is both good and branching, the presence of numerous endings, and the ability to play a character as near our preferences as feasible. Starting with the levelling up of the character statistics, the relevance of the selections is critical. Mistakes and lightheartedness nearly always come back to haunt the sender in more or less obvious ways.
To be clear, Gamedec doesn’t have the same formal cleanliness as Disco Elysium, nor does it have the same alienating visual or linguistic experimentalism. However, it is pretty nicely written. Many circumstances are difficult and tense, while others are more reflective and pure role-playing. Even if the surplus of cards and “explanations” tends to be perceived, everything indicates a larger world, made of advertising and mass video games of the future.
The number of science fiction insights is surprising: we’re talking about a video game about what the world would be like if video games ruled the planet. Each instance illustrates aspects of videogame culture that we typically overlook, such as loot boxes and other predatory systems’ profound societal influence. Bugs, features, and cheats are all interpreted in a noir manner. Discovering how a game’s rules have been manipulated is akin to locating the murder weapon. Because the criminals hide behind avatars, it is impossible to judge them based on their appearance.
The artistic direction in Gamedec is valuable but not original. There are three-dimensional settings that nicely represent the cyberpunk atmospheres that we now devour daily, including slums, domotic residences, and hyper-monitored neon buildings. Throughout the highlights, the soundtrack is entirely appropriate, but it is more nondescript during the exploration. A composer who previously worked on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is among the four composers.
Character creation happens in an unexpectedly short amount of time. Six preset templates are available, each with three different skins. In addition, you have the option of selecting your gender identification, founding value, and social origin. As a result, the character statistics that we discussed earlier alter, and the professions that may be obtained through the skill tree change.
There are 16 locations in total, and they all work to trigger specific scenarios. As a result, a computer science competence allows you to repair a computer or recover lost files. Being an entertainer will enable you to deliver more captivating dialogue responses. There are no dice rolls or further skill growth, so forget about Disco Elysium’s dynamic thought and attribute system.
If you’re a programmer, you’ll be able to deal with admin commands of a specified size; if you’re a doctor, you’ll be able to learn more about a potential damaged person’s body. However, victory is not automatic, and it is often impossible to recover from even confidently deadly choices. As a result, a mechanism is in place to encourage you to play the adventure again.
This isn’t to say that Gamedec isn’t trying to break new ground. This is an investigation video game with a non-linear plot, as previously stated. Usually, it is impossible to progress in this lighthearted genre without resolving certain cases or reaching certain precise conclusions.
Gamedec, on the other hand, allows you to choose from a variety of determined tracks depending on the clues collected. It is evident that all the nodes eventually come to a head, but in Gamedec, it is possible to skip entire game sections or be unable to solve a case.
As a result, depending on the tracks used, each run is unique. Given that malfunctions and secret orders imitate the peculiarities one could find in virtual reality, certain clues are neatly buried.
The average length of time it takes to play an RPG is ten to fifteen hours, depending on your curiosity and how you approach events. Streamers can also allow their audience to choose which path to take, as seen in Life is Strange: True Colors.
As a result, Gamedec is generally good, with occasional flashes of brilliance.
