Gamedec review

Our Verdict

Gamedec is a cyberpunk RPG driven by its story and decisions. There's no combat, only you using your crime-solving skills to progress. Every choice y'all make carries weight.

For

Engaging world
Decisions that matter
Beautiful art design
Plenty of replayability

Confronting

Errors in dialogue
Some clues tin can be obtuse

Tom'south Guide Verdict

Gamedec is a cyberpunk RPG driven by its story and decisions. There's no combat, simply you using your crime-solving skills to progress. Every pick you lot make carries weight.

Pros

+
Engaging world
+
Decisions that matter
+
Beautiful art design
+
Enough of replayability

Cons

-
Errors in dialogue
-
Some clues can be obtuse

Gamdec: key facts

Price: $29.99
Release engagement: September xvi, 2021
Platforms: PC, Switch (TBA), consoles (TBA)
Genre: RPG
Developer: Anshar Studios
Publisher: Anshar Studios

Gamedec bills itself as a cyberpunk take on Disco Elysium and I remember that'southward a fair assessment. This combat-free isometric RPG certainly feels impressive, with its depth and the choices information technology offers the player. If you're a sucker for annihilation cyberpunk, Gamedec is a worthwhile game.

In that location's more to Gamedec than just its aesthetic, though. You'll solve crimes in virtual worlds where everything you lot do has weight. The dialogue choices, skills yous invest in, background you select for your character and deductions yous brand all affect how the story plays out. That ways the game has plenty of replayability, likewise.

In this Gamedec review, I'll walk you through what it'southward like solving crimes in virtualia.

Gamedec review: Gameplay

Gamedec is an isometric point-and-click RPG. That means yous use your mouse to motility, select objects and choose dialogue options. This is a classic command scheme, hearkening back to the reckoner RPGs of quondam. It works quite well in Gamedec'southward case.

Equally its design suggests, it is an RPG through and through. At that place are several stats that yous tin can better over time. Doing so allows you lot to purchase new profession options, which unlock certain dialogue and mission choices. For example, you can be an internet celebrity and apply your fame to influence some characters.

Y'all don't fight anything in Gamedec, relying instead on your wits, deductive reasoning and skills to solve mysteries. You'll explore a diverseness of virtual worlds, from a depraved urban setting to a feudal Japan locale. It's hard to grow bored with Gamedec, every bit in that location'due south e'er something new to find.

Since the whole game revolves effectually solving mysteries and collecting information, you lot'll exist doing a lot of searching for clues. Some are pretty obvious, and the game highlights them equally presently every bit you lot're in range. Others crave very precise mouse placement, and therefore can be a scrap obtuse. I got stuck a few times until I happened to hover my cursor over the right spot. This requires patience, but that's par for the form in a game like Gamedec.

Gamedec review: Story and setting

Gamedec sees you play as a gamedec, a detective who specializes in solving mysteries. In the far-future Warsaw City, virtual reality is rex and what takes place in VR has lasting consequences in the real world. These games are so real and vivid that people who play them physically experience some of the stimuli. It's like the Matrix or Sword Art Online.

As a gamedec, you're a freelancer who solves cases to make your living. Y'all outset by creating a character, choosing your groundwork and avatar. This is a cyberpunk hereafter, which allows you to choose your preferred pronouns (male person or female) to accompany said avatar. In the build I played, nonetheless, the game did non always lucifer the pronouns I chose in dialogue. This didn't carp me, but it could annoy some players out there.

You lot jack into dissimilar virtual worlds, each with its own setting, rules and tasks to consummate. The game doesn't pull punches, as things kicking off in a hedonistic virtualia. There, you must find an underage boy who's gotten locked within the game. While Gamedec isn't graphic per se, it definitely has the developed themes you'd wait from the cyberpunk genre.

From what I played, Gamedec doesn't brand too many statements outside of the usual cyberpunk dystopia messages nosotros've grown used to. This isn't a bad thing, but because the comparison to Disco Elysium I drew before, Gamedec doesn't accept as stiff of a narrative as it could accept.

Gamedec review: Visuals and sound

Gamedec doesn't feature the neon-drenched, sweeping cityscape of Dark Urban center, nor the grisly and crowded metropolis found in The Ascent. Instead, you don't see much of the existent world outside of your character'due south apartment. The focus is on the game worlds you visit to solve your cases.

There in virtual reality, things are dissimilar. Each game is unique, with its own colour palette and visual presentation. Merely when y'all get used to one world, you hop into another ane to solve another case. The art direction keeps these disjointed elements together. Whether it's the character avatars or the menu, Gamedec feels cohesive.

As far as audio goes, at that place'south not a whole lot to talk about. The composer Marcin Przybyłowicz — all-time known for his work on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — oversaw Gamedec's soundtrack. Instead of the dark, synthy vibe we're used to with cyberpunk media, Gamedec takes a more than neo-noir arroyo. Even so, in the build I played, the music wasn't working properly.

There'south also no voice acting, except for very rare snippets (like from the Boob tube in your apartment). The developers stated that they wanted to spend their express budget on making a good game, which I can respect.

Consequently, y'all'll be doing a lot of reading. Only I came beyond several typos and errors, such as the pronoun result I mentioned earlier. Developer Anshar Studios is Polish, and localization is expensive. I don't retrieve Gamedec's English language is bad by any ways, but information technology comes across as a fleck strong and awkward in places.

Gamedec review: Verdict

If y'all liked Disco Elysium, you should requite Gamedec a endeavor. While information technology'southward not every bit polished and refined as information technology could be, Gamedec is even so a fun combat-less RPG with a cyberpunk flair. It doesn't tread new ground or interruption any barriers, merely it'south a good time with enough of replayability.

Gamedec is based on the book series of the same name by Polish author Marcin Sergiusz Przybyłek, who worked with the development team to craft an engaging story. I idea Gamedec was a nice change of pace from the titles I usually play, which are often intense battles for survival. I enjoyed taking a step dorsum to analyze and deduce my way through situations, instead of just barrelling through them with a gun, fist or sword.

Jordan is the Phones Editor for Tom's Guide, roofing all things phone-related. He'southward written about phones for over v years and plans to continue for a long while to come up. He loves nothing more than relaxing in his home with a book, game, or his latest personal writing projection. Hashemite kingdom of jordan likes finding new things to dive into, from books and games to new mechanical keyboard switches and fun keycap sets. Jordan tends to lurk on social media, but you can best achieve him on Twitter.