Orwell Looks Like The Fun Parts From Watch Dogs
Episodic Orwellian nightmares
When I first laid eyes on Orwell [official site], all I could think of was Mr. Robot's Elliot Alderman, or how cool I felt when I social engineered people in the Mr. Robot mobile game. I had a flashback to the first time I ever played Watch Dogs and was promptly disappointed because all I really enjoyed doing was "hacking" the people around me and getting into their private lives. So yeah, I'd say I'm pretty excited about this game. The first episode is now out for free, and the rest will follow (paid) weekly.
It's pretty creepy, to be honest, what you do in Orwell, as you dig through a character named Cassandra Watergate's personal information, social media, instant messages and all that. You? Well, you're a part of The Nation (read: The Man) as part of a new security initiative called Orwell. Your task? Figure out who's responsible for a recent bombing in the name of They Took Our Jerbs And Terrorism Is Bad. And from the look of things, the people you're tasked with investigating (harassing?) certainly don't seem as though they'd have anything to do with what's actually going on.
From what I can tell it's a harrowing look into a reality where Big Brother is always watching, so, like... now? Don't look at me like that. We should all be more careful online, especially when this game is so prescient about how things can be in real life.
If you want to try it, the first episode of five is available free on Steam now. If you like what you see and want to purchase the game in its entirety, it'll be £6.99/€9.99/$9.95 for the whole shebang. Episodes will follow weekly on Thursdays until November 17th.