I wish visiting dystopian hellholes was more enjoyable but with the ever looming threat of becoming one dangling over our heads, the fantasy is a bit hollow. Even with that threat dangling over my head, I still had a pretty good time playing Nobody Wants to Die, a noir mystery adventure game from Polish studio Critical Hit Games. Set in the 2200s, players take on the role of James Karra, a detective on leave as he acclimates and finishes synchronizing with his new body. Because in Nobody Wants to Die, nobody really gets to die, because it’s illegal to not have a consciousness transfer backup when your body dies.
Nobody Wants to Die
Developer: Critical Hit Games
Price: $25
Platforms: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PS5 code for review
The idea of immortality through means of consciousness transfer isn’t a new concept in sci-fi but the way it’s portrayed in Nobody Wants to Die seems hauntingly realistic. Corporate entities financing legislation to make not buying their product illegal is the kind of thing that might be a little too close to home in the U.S. James Karra can’t help himself though when he gets a call from the police chief who needs something swept under the rug. As it turns out, the man responsible for creating the transferring of consciousness, in its physical form called ichorite, is found dead in his skyrise apartment above the clouds. As routine as the chief wants this investigation to be, Karra can’t help himself as he decides there’s more going on here than meets the eye.
Critical Hit Games
The setup is almost boilerplate with little deviation from the blueprint set out by any other noir media. Did you guess that James Karra has a drinking problem? A dead spouse? A room walled off in his apartment? An extremely gruff and off-putting personality? A dead partner? A troubled past? I guess when you live over a hundred years there’s bound to be some sadness, doubt, and loss. While it all fits well in Nobody Wants to Die, listing it out as I’ve done above makes it sound ridiculous. Karra brings a lot of it onto himself but is this man cursed or something? How can so much bad luck befall one single person?
Of course, Karra’s life doesn’t seem so bad as you navigate some of the hellish areas of New York City that have not fared well over time. Central Park doesn’t have a single live tree in the whole park. The slums, aptly named but lacking the neighborhood flair that most burroughs in New York City enjoy, are little more than a shanty town with wooden shacks covering subterranean hovels. Critical hit Games created a very interesting world with Nobody Wants to Die, the decopunk aesthetic contrasts well with the neo-noir narrative and stunning set pieces for each scene.
Karra has access to a few tools that help out in his investigations. Primarily, the reconstructor, which allows Karra to rewind time as he uncovers more information and clues about murders. The reconstructor is a cool device as once you unlock the entire scene you can kind of fast forward/rewind what happens but usually only with one character. Along with the reconstructor he has a UV light to detect footprints primarily, an x-ray device to see wires in walls and underneath floors, and a standard camera to take pictures.
Away from the scene, Karra uses liquor bottles and other tchotchkes to represent clues in a grid on the floor. It’s up to the player to take these clues and connect them to make a hypothesis. Nobody Wants to Die does a great job of feedback, keeping the player in the know as to whether or not they’ve made the correct connection. Occasionally, new evidence will be introduced by James’ new partner, Sara, who works remotely and speaks to Karra through an earpiece.
Critical Hit Games
The unfortunate part is that while you’ll be using these devices quite a bit, the game isn’t really long enough to break away from the guardrails, keeping you focused on the main story. Not only is this neo-noir thriller extremely linear, it’s relatively short. I love that and I love the idea of a developer that knows how to wrangle in a project. Nobody Wants to Die is exactly as long as it needs to be and you can tell when you finish it. What I didn’t like was how full and rich the world seemed to be and I only got to see a little sliver. I want to live in this world for just a little longer and hope Critical Hit Games has more stories to tell in the world they’ve created.
Consciousness transfer doesn’t come without its issues. Throughout the game, Karra is plagued by issues as a result of his recent consciousness transfer and has to take medicine referred to as ambrosia throughout. Narratively this intertwines with a few of the scenes and Nobody Wants to Die makes good use of the effects in some of the investigations. Thoughtful elements like this really bring home Nobody Wants to Die as, like Karra, you’re not completely certain that what you’re seeing is what you’re getting. Karra can’t manage to keep up with the hallucinations and desynchronization issues that come with the consciousness transfer.
The price is right for an eleven hour game. I’ll likely go back through it one more time for achievement cleanup and to check some things I believe I missed on my first playthrough. It’s far from a long game but it is a tight and thoughtful experience. There’s no combat and most of the gameplay is on-rails, meaning the game won’t let you progress unless you do exactly as it’s telling you. Very little player agency exists in Nobody Wants to Die, though I should note that some of the choices do actually change some ending conditions.
The Final Word
A thought-provoking experience that had me questioning the reality Karra was living in throughout most of the game, Nobody Wants to Die is a must for mystery, adventure, and noir fans.
MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
