I recently had a chance to try out the demo for Pro Philosopher 2: Governments and Grievances, an upcoming debate game inspired by series like Ace Attorney. I haven’t played the first game, Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher, but it’s one of those games I’ve had in the back of my mind to get around to someday. As a result, I was quite interested to check out the sequel and see what this series is all about.
The demo starts by giving you the option of seeing some banter for story context or jumping straight into the arguments. I chose the banter option first. You play as Ariadne Jones, who finds herself in a philosophy-focused afterlife debating political philosophy. The story context for the demo is filled with jokes breaking the fourth wall and indicating these scenes were made solely for the demo itself, so I’m still not sure how the full game will lead into this situation. Its context is more about explaining the world and giving an example of the general tone than setting up the actual story.
Anyway, the gameplay kicks off by putting you up against Machiavelli, whose political philosophy revolves around the importance of having a sole leader with absolute authority. He then presented his ideas through several statements, similar to a testimony in Ace Attorney. After Machiavelli made his case, I was then able to question him about these statements by asking for either clarification or backing. Clarification is exactly what it sounds like; you ask the person to explain their statement in more detail. Backing, meanwhile, asks them for reasoning that supports their statement. The dialogue also indicated that a third type of question will be available in the full game.
When you reach the end of the character’s statements, the button to advance the statements switches to a button to ask for a hint, at which point the other characters will nudge you in the right direction. As someone whose minor pet peeve about Ace Attorney is how reaching the end of a testimony often results in characters giving you a hint regardless of whether you need it–I’m often just pressing every statement for dialogue–I appreciated seeing this as an option rather than the default.
Asking for clarification or backing can result in a new statement being added, which you can treat as any other statement. Additionally, getting information about certain key philosophical ideas will add those concepts to your Idea Slate. Once you have ideas on your Idea Slate, you can present one as a challenge to a statement. Your goal is to present an idea the character has previously expressed that contradicts one of their current statements, to expose a hole in their philosophy. An incorrect challenge will result in you losing Credibility, which serves as your health meter, while a correct challenge not only progresses the argument, but also restores lost Credibility.
Pro Philosopher 2 wears its Ace Attorney inspiration on its sleeve, but being based solely around arguments and concepts rather than hard evidence gives it a unique flavor nevertheless. There was some humor present throughout the demo, with several lines that made me smile, and while I still don’t understand the story context, it made me curious enough about the first game that I might check it out sooner rather than later. It’s hard to judge the direction the game will take from this short demo alone, but right now it feels like an entertaining idea.
Pro Philosopher 2: Governments and Grievances is slated for a release later this year. The demo is available as part of Steam Next Fest, so check it out!
