Virtual detective RPG Gamedec has a new demo and launches in September
More tricky cybercrimes are afoot
In the 22nd century, video games are life. Or most of life, anyhow. Gamedec is the upcoming isometric RPG where you, the game detective, investigate cybercrimes in 2300s Warsaw City. It's gritty. It's swear-y. Apparently sometimes folks get stuck in naughty sex games. That's the video games we know and love, folks. You can do a bit of cyber-sleuthing yourself in the latest Gamedec demo until it launches properly in September, Anshar Studios have announced.
Gamedec calls itself a non-combat RPG where you'll be gathering evidence and doing a lot of talking. As you'd expect, that also means a lot of text. The new demo also shows off quite a selection of different dialogue options and paths available depending on your Gamedec's skills or history. A bunch are greyed out as unavailable in the demo since you're dropped in partway through the game with an existing character, but it's neat to see the choices.
What I've appreciated about Gamedec so far is that every time I encounter it, there's some totally different investigation going on. When I first played it a couple years ago, I was investigating a crime inside some western game with a farm. When Alice Bee played last September she was interrogating some dork who'd gotten trapped in a hardcore sex game. This time around I've shown up on a rainy city street and found out the guy I'm supposed to be meeting with is dead on the ground with a pair of glowing wings and a bullet in his back.
Unlike the demo Alice Bee played last September, this one puts you in the punk detective boots of a gamedec with rainbow hair, an eyebrow piercing, and two pairs of goggles—you know, one for wearing and the other just to prove you're a badass. Definitely more my style than detective trenchcoat. I haven't spent quite as much time playing around just yet as Alice did back then, so here's what she said about picking your gamedec skills:
"You can choose from several builds that affect what clues you're able to pick up, and how. I played through a couple of times to test this and it really did make a difference. The Infotainer, for example, is basically an influencer. You know loads about brands and are more charming. But you could also be a Scalpel, who's got more medical knowledge. My favourite was as a Glazier, a cool hacker type who was better at working with machines and computers."
After having a grand time with Disco Elysium, I'm plenty up for more RPGs that focus on the investigating side of roleplaying over the combat bit. Gamedec is also one of RPS's most anticipated RPGs of 2021.
You can play through the new Gamedec demo yourself over on Steam. Anshar Studios say this demo will remain available until launch day on September 16th, so you've got plenty of time to solve those crimes. You'll also be able to find it on GOG and the Epic Games Store.