Sometimes, I’m looking for games where I can engage with the tried and true formulaic “go there” and “do this,” but with a bit more nuance put into it.
Open-world titles like Mindseye were a sour experience due to its technical woes and awkward writing, among other issues. Assassin’s Creed games love to torture their player base with a laundry list of objectives that are lazily structured.
Which is why walking simulators have been my obsession for the past few months.
I’m no stranger to walking simulators; I’ve had my fair share of somber moments after playing Giant Sparrow’s “What Remains of Edith Finch” and Fullbright’s “Gone Home.”
For the past few days, I’ve stumbled upon one cyberpunk game that completely took me by surprise. It has everything we’d come to expect from the genre: Neon lights, dystopian values, and themes about transhumanism. Aptly titled “Nobody Wants to Die,” this cyberpunk game has kept me busy for the past few days.
Upon first glance, you’d think Nobody Wants to Die plays like CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 or Deus Ex, but it’s not. It’s a first-person adventure game sharing familiar gameplay with the walking simulators I’ve briefly mentioned.
Taking place in New York City in the 23rd century. Humanity has discovered a way to transfer consciousness from one body to another with the help of a mysterious substance called Ichorite. As a result, the fear of mortality is no more, making everyone essentially immortal. With no one dying, individuals can simply jump from one body to another, moving beyond the constraints of their mortal coil to a healthier “shell.” But it has a catch: you'd have to pay subscription fees to maintain your desired body; otherwise, you’d be thrown into memory banks where your consciousness remains trapped until you get the money you need.
Sure, Nobody Wants to Die’s visuals are top-notch, with its gorgeously rendered futuristic New York City with skyscrapers extending through the sky, tuned to a dead television. But what got my attention, however, is how simplistic its gameplay loop is. We only need to keep moving forward. This has been my favorite thing when it comes to walking simulators, where our protagonist only needs to interact with clues in the environment and wait for the story to unfold.
In addition to its light puzzles and interactivity, Half of Nobody Wants to Die’s gameplay also involves the protagonist talking to faceless NPCs over the phone. We’re not always alone in games like these, otherwise it’d be really boring; we’re partnered with an additional cast of characters who lend their voices through our earpiece. In Firewatch, we had Delilah, in Nobody Wants to Die, we have Sara, a police liaison who also has her own set of motivations in its neon-soaked city.
It’s one of the reasons why I admire walking simulators like these. It’s a brilliant way to make up for their limited gameplay as these developers sprinkle vibrant conversations to distract us from the monotonous trek of going from point A to Point B. Nobody Wants to Die is no stranger to this kind of thing. Our characters go on playful banter back and forth at each other, made better thanks to its talented voice cast.
Unfortunately, while I did enjoy these conversations in Nobody Wants to Die, I was completely disappointed with how they handled the game’s ending. The writing was all over the place, and I felt like what I was doing was completely forgotten in favor of its multiple endings. It felt so out of place for a video game that revels in its atmosphere and atmosphere. There was basically no need for this game to have multiple endings at all. Worse, I wasn’t even sure what choices I made that determined the outcome. I half expected I’d see an ending as heartbreaking as Firewatch, where I was left staring at my screen for a few minutes.
But looking back, despite Nobody Wants to Die’s bizarre pacing, I needed a game like this. Playing through a game that doesn’t require me to rest at bonfires and kill bosses is a breath of fresh air. Walking simulators like these are perfect to quell the burnout from formulaic triple-A titles. And these games love to take you to a point of emotional catharsis at the game’s last few moments.
There are still other walking simulators that I’ve had my eye on, and lately I’ve been hearing discussions about “Indivisible,” a science-fiction walking simulator that shares the same formula with the games I mentioned here. Maybe I should check that one out?
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