Gamedec
Gamedec is a point-and-click adventure role-playing video game published by Anshar Publishing. It released for Windows on September 16, 2021, and was released for the Nintendo Switch on July 1, 2022.[2] The game takes place in Warsaw and features a cyberpunk universe and themes of film noir, tech noir, and transhumanism. Players control a "game detective" or "gamedec" and participate in solving mysteries related to virtual-reality games, collecting clues and making deductions in order to drive the story forward.
Gamedec | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Anshar Studios |
Publisher(s) | Anshar Publishing |
Engine | Unreal Engine[1] |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows Nintendo Switch |
Release | Microsoft Windows September 16, 2021 Nintendo Switch July 1, 2022 |
Genre(s) | Adventure, role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
Gamedec features a protagonist with customizable appearance and background.[3] The player may choose from a variety of starting personalities which influence their beginning number of points in each of the game's four personality categories. These points, earnable through dialogue choices,[4] may be spent on skill tree nodes which will enable new dialogue options when interacting with the game's characters and various scripted events.[5] Dialogue choices are permanent, as are "deductions", which are a core element of the game's progression system – players are presented with irreversible choices based on optional evidence, where the number of choices is fixed for each deduction, but the choices' availability is determined by progression.[6] In this system it is possible for a player to select an answer without having examined the entire field of clues or unlocking every answer available, yet the story will continue regardless.[7]
Premise
The game is based on a collection of short stories by Polish science-fiction author Marcin Przybyłek, which portray the adventures of a "gamedec"—short for "game detective"—a private detective tasked with solving mysteries related to a variety of full-sensory-immersive virtual reality games.[6]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | PC: 72/100[8] NS: 69/100[9] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Nintendo Life | [10] |
PC Gamer (US) | 58/100[5] |
RPGamer | 3.0/5[11] |
RPGFan | 83/100[12] |
Shacknews | 8/10[7] |
TouchArcade | 3.5/5[13] |
Tom's Guide | [14] |
Gamedec received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[8][9] PC Gamer described it as "A cybersleuth RPG that wastes its great premise.", citing bugs and "inconsistencies" as part of the criticism,[5] and Rock Paper Shotgun noted that the translation and in-universe terminology can make the dialogue difficult to process at times.[15] Tom's Guide called it "… a fun and engaging decision-driven RPG", hailing its positive aspects as being "decisions that matter", "beautiful art design" and "plenty of replayability".[14]
References
- Thang, Jimmy (2019-12-31). "Awesome games coming in 2020 and beyond". Unreal Engine. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- Romano, Sal (June 7, 2022). "Gamedec for Switch launches July 1". Gematsu. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- Morton, Lauren (July 2, 2021). "Cyberpunk detective RPG Gamedec shows off branch-y investigations". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- Daro, Catherine (November 17, 2020). "Gamedec Dev Diary Shows off Character Creation". GameSpace.com. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- Brown, Fraser (September 16, 2021). "Gamedec review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- Macgregor, Jody (September 10, 2020). "Gamedec aims to be cyberpunk Disco Elysium". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- Erskine, Donovan (September 16, 2021). "Gamedec review: Cyberpunk P.I." Shacknews. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- "Gamedec for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- "Gamedec for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
- Vogel, Mitch (June 30, 2022). "Gamedec Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- Tekaia, Pascal (November 4, 2021). "Gamedec Review". RPGamer. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- Bowling, Audra (September 25, 2021). "Gamedec". RPGFan. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- Musgrave, Shaun (July 5, 2022). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'Gamedec' and 'Freshly Frosted', Plus Today's New Releases and Sales". TouchArcade. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- Palmer, Jordan (September 16, 2021). "Gamedec review". Tom's Guide. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- Chan, Khee Hoon (September 16, 2021). "Gamedec review: a great cyberpunk concept undone by a bloated script". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved July 14, 2022.