I’ve ranted and raved about how excited the upcoming isometric RPG Gamedec has me, but until now, I haven’t had the chance to try it for myself. I finally got to try a preview build this past week, and I was quite impressed with the bite-sized demo I got. There were plenty of choices and story possibilities, with even more branching paths promised to be in the full game.
To begin the demo, I was immediately thrust into a murder investigation. An informant of mine, Ezra, was found dead, and it was up to me to figure out how this happened. I was met with resistance from the investigation team that was examining his body, though I noticed some high tension between the team leader and the doctor who was trying to look over Ezra. I decided to talk to the doctor on the side about this underlying hostility, which gave me both an interesting backstory for the doctor and some personal ammunition with which to persuade the investigation team leader to move. I managed to get the team leader to forgive the doctor for past transgressions using said information, which finally got me access to Ezra.
I needed a drone with which to do a psych scan on Ezra’s body, but no nearby characters would lend me one. Using my hacking prowess, I took over the doctor’s robot. Before I could have it scan Ezra, I tried to shove a battery I found in the garbage into the drone, because I thought it would be funny. The drone shot sparks and fell to the ground, so I hacked an advertising drone and did the scan. I like that I have the ability to ruin my progress, as that kind of freedom means there are rewards and consequences for my actions. I was still able to get information from Ezra’s body, but I had to find another way to do it after goofing around a bit.
“There were even more dialogue choices that were locked off in the demo, which tells me that the developers have even more narrative freedom in mind for the full game.“
As I went to leave the scene, a hooded figure shot me and ran into a bar. Apparently, a shot is no big deal, as I regained consciousness and, with a bit of medical attention, ran into the bar to find my would-be assassin. This is where the second scenario of the preview build began, as there was no shortage of colorful characters to interrogate in regards to both Ezra’s death and the identity of whoever shot me. I quickly found myself becoming entangled in a cold war between the Sleeves and Trolls, two separate factions that both patronized the bar I was in.
By speaking to different people in different ways, I discovered a number of smaller stories within the larger narrative, all while going back and forth between being a Sleeve sympathizer and a Troll. I became friends with the bartender, broke up a fight, rewired my brain, and lost my savings to a card shark, but I could also do any number of other things in order to get new narrative paths. I went back to an earlier save and destroyed the brain-wiring machine, which had its own set of consequences. I went back and spoke to people with different tones, which changed the way they reacted to me. There were even more dialogue choices that were locked off in the demo, which tells me that the developers have even more narrative freedom in mind for the full game.
Though it wasn’t a long experience, I found lots of potential in the Gamedec demo. I was thoroughly invested in the story from start until finish, and the ability to do so many different things, each with its own consequences and benefits, has shown me just how much range the full game will have. I’m looking forward to piloting my own gamedec through the full game, as this preview build has shown me that I’ll be able to get into all kinds of mischief while still experiencing a gripping story.
