Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today

I bought this game mainly because I loved the graphical style, however it's not quite nice once you see it in movement. Animations are not good and they are quite reused (e.g. the kids that use the same animation to wishper each other a secret or to tell you about their latest adventure). The game itself is a classical graphical adventure where you collect objects and combine them in order to solve some puzzles, being the hardest part to locate those objects (although you can use a visual help) and remember which puzzles can be solved when you get a new object. Problem with this kind of adventures is that you have to scan the scene in order to get new objects and that gets me out of the game (e.g. what a nice metro sign, I will get it and save it for later because... who knows when I could need it). As for the story, it's a story about a post-apocalyptic world with a tyranic authority being very mean. Unfortunately, the few number of characters, scenaries and the world beins so static doesn't allow me to get really involved. It's true that there are some good characters, but their stories are short and once the puzzle is done you forget about them and move forward. About the cliffhanger and big surprises... Sincerely, the surprise is that the characters are actually surprised. Even the cliffhanger was something known from the first half hour of the game. The science fiction side of the game is practically non-existent. There's a disease, a disaster, a thing about time and laws of physics... but all remains unexplored, just as a bakground for some puzzles. And when the story is getting interesting... THE END. Yes, this game is half made (50.000$ and a year later) and they're going to make a second chapter. Sorry pals, not with my money.

I'm glad a friend who is a Kickstarter backer told me about it. The game features great puzzles, cool art... and a really disturbing story. Be ready to perform unexpected, upsetting actions if you want to finish it. The approach of Dead Synchronicity to some terrible themes is outstanding and some of the locations (like ******* Park) are hair-raising. The characters feel alive thanks to great dialogues, and I can tell I'll never forget some of them (I'm thinking of poor Rose). The English voice-over is nice and the music is top-notch. Can't wait for the next episode!

There's an attempt here in this Episode 1 (though they may not call it that) to carve new ground within dystopian oddball science fiction. And there are some moments it hits the target. Horror and dark subject matters are delivered powerfully and directly in a way that's rare or not to be found within the adventure game genre. What holds it back most is that this is both a short and incomplete story. But not far behind that problem is that this game is a rapid series of deus ex machina. There's too much creative license with pseudoscience to let the player suspend disbelief. And the sharp narrative twists are so severe that its characters are barely around long enough to feel for them. The visual quality varies considerably, sometimes to the point of parody. The main character for example has a textured shirt but no texture for his waist down. Some scenes are lovingly drawn, others are more of a napkin scratch. Animation overall is subpar. Puzzles are adequate. Music and voice acting are similarly inconsistent in quality - I felt more engagement with the sound off. In all, there's a lack of polish that doesn't even have a payoff at the end. Fictiorama indicates they've started work on the next chapter, but it's been two and a half years since the first was released (they worked on another game in between) and it's easy to be skeptical due to having only sporadic updates to go on. Overall, despite the occasional flourishes in DS:TCT, I'd recommend other titles of similar gameplay before spending time with this one.

While it is enjoyable with its' decent music, pleasant visual style and increasingly engaging story, towards the end it feels like a slap in the face. It ends with at a twist, just as it gets interesting. At a cliffhanger. When the credits rolled, I felt cheated.