A middle-aged man looks sadly out the window.
Behind which a wall is pouring rain.
The hero has lost his son and is looking for him.
But his wife seems to have left him forever. Heavy Rain ?
Yes, but behind the window the drones are transported by huge neon boards.
Which broadcast news about the next attack of neoluddite terrorists on a huge factory of robots.
And in the apartment next to the man is his personal bot-android and asks if the owner is all right.
“What do you care?”
Anyway, you’re just a piece of iron and you do not feel anything, “the man says grimly.
But an android named Simon seems to feel and understand more than a man who almost ruined his life.
After some time Simon will escape from the warehouse for the disposal of bots, raising a local uprising of “iron”.Detroit: Become Human ?
No, in fact it’s State of Mind , a new game of Daedalic Entertainment , trying to absorb more than it could carry …
Back to cyberpunk
In fact, I started with comparisons with Heavy Rain and Detroit just because these games are audible.
But for some reason, almost no one in the reviews of the State of Mind recalls that its author.
Martin Gantefohr (Martin Gantefohr), in 2004, when David Cage (still even Fahrenheit did not release).
Has already received praise for the wonderful adventure game The Moment of Silence.
Which I went through in one breath.
There were already cyberpunk, rebels fighting with the system, and a man who lost his family.
So Martin Ganteferif someone had something to spy on.
Then only in themselves – well, and, of course.
But it’s by no means chewing on the same topics.
In the State of Mind, the creator goes further and tries to come up with his own super-cyberpunk.
Combining almost all the famous themes and fetishes of this direction.
Adding relatively new ones and giving it all a more modern, up-to-date sound.
Let’s talk about everything!
Neon signs in the rain drops dancing in the clubs near the sixth girls androids.
The ubiquitous hackers illegally selling the forbidden programs, flying taxis.
Robots in the streets, demanding your ID.
The total power of digital and cybernetic technologies and corporations.
All this is just classic for cyberpunk shell.
In the State of Mind, it is shown very convincingly.
Atmospheric and correct – so that what is happening on the screen you believe.
Especially the way in which the life and life of people from 2048 are depicted in detail.
Clever houses, helper bots acting instead of an alarm clock and a diary.
Holographic calls coming in, it seems, directly into the brain.
The ability to scoop information from a single cloud service – we ourselves will soon live like this.
But besides this there are conspiracy theories, and super-AI, and transhumanism.
And the confrontation of superpowers (of course, the West and the East).
And reflexive androids who are not just dreaming of electric sheep.
But who begin to show signs of empathy and ask uncomfortable questions .
And in the State of Mind this places is shown more convincingly than in the much more expensive and large-scale Become Human .
In any case, the androids here look more natural.
Just like machines that gradually begin to identify themselves as an independent unit.
And not as living people who organize a revolution in the struggle for tolerance and minority rights.
Virtual really!
But the main thing is that in the State of Mind .
The actual topic of virtual reality is added to all this.
And it is not shown on an ordinary level, that, say, people of the future prefer to spend the lion’s share of time in virtual games and applications.
No, the script goes on – it’s twisted around that people’s brain is scanned, erasing their memory.
And transferred to digital avatars that live in utopia VR-cities.
Where there are no wars, crime and homeless people.
Then such a scanned consciousness can be transferred to any body, even real, though virtual.
And former owners of “consciousness” remain in cryostasis or walk the streets.
Remembering nothing of similar experiences and dying of cancer and other sad consequences of experiments.
And all this, of course, is necessary for the strong and the rich of this world.
To ensure for themselves an eternal, albeit virtual, life.
The worst thing is that you can often scan the brain and load it into a VR utopia without your knowledge.
The protagonist, the famous journalist Richard Nolan, is just facing such a nightmare.
And in order to save his real family, he has to communicate with his virtual twin,which, of course, does not remember anything.
Does not believe anything, lives with his wife and son and realizes himself as an independent person.
Therefore, through the whole narrative there passes the topic of choice between the virtual paradise and the “real hell” – closer to the finale.
We ourselves will have to make this choice for one of the heroes.
Look for a man!
However, this is only the tip of the scenario iceberg. In the State of Mind a lot of well-written characters and related lines.
Friends, wife friends, their husbands, mistresses, co-workers, hackers, sympathetic robot assistants.
Most of the time we move between different locations.
Between the real and virtual worlds, between the present.
The future and the past and constantly communicate with someone.
And keep in mind that the same friends and colleagues are also with VR-double Nolan, who also works as a journalist.
And all this is united by the theme of the personal, family problems of the protagonist.
It is the character of Richard Nolan, his relationship with his wife and son, his work, his women and his view of the world here.
Perhaps, in the first place – and not all these hackers, androids and VR-worlds.
In fact, what happened, largely to blame himself is Richard – so many of the image of the protagonist can repel.
But it’s real, taken from our life, and not from books and comics.
Moreover, by their choice in certain situations and dialogues.
We can ourselves influence its character.
For example, like the policeman – Connor’s partner from Detroit: Become Human.
Nolan, by the end of the game, is able to change his initially embittered attitude towards androids.
This is not a game for you!
Comparisons with the work of David Cage.
As you understood from the outset, are unavoidable. It’s not just about the topic.
The very structure of the narrative, all these constant switchings between temporary layers.
Different locations and characters, for which they continually give a play.
An emphasis on communication, personal topics and dialogues.
And not on puzzles or shooting there – is all too familiar.
Of course, the State of Mind– this is not an interactive movie, but a more familiar adventure.
But puzzles, especially in the first half, are few,and they are very simple.
Only closer to the end we are reminded that this is still not only an interesting story.
But also a game – we play hide and seek with surveillance cameras, we penetrate into restricted areas with the help of drones.
Trying not to get caught by security guards, master weapons.
To cut down a policeman, and so on.
Somewhere, even need to quickly switch between active characters, to solve the puzzle and go on.
Stupid, interesting!
But all these comparisons lead me to the fact that, like in Cage’s games , in the plot of State of Mind.
The fascination of the story itself and the depth of the characters are side by side with some inconsistencies.
Blatant bloopers and uncomfortable questions to the writers.
I will not breed spoilers, I’ll ask only one: was there a boy? Those who have gone to the end will understand me.
Particularly, as usual, they are touched by the final episodes, where two journalists suddenly discover in themselves uncommon hacker talents.
The ability to drive trains and single-handedly do what has long been unsuccessful for entire combat organizations.
However, these are inevitable conventions and patterns of such stories – both in games and in films.
But again, as in the works of Quantic Dream , all of the above can not outweigh the interest and sincere empathy that the story itself and its main characters cause.
State of Mind wants to go right away, here and now and find out what it’s all about.
Yes, someone will say that angular models of characters collected from triangles are from poverty. Indeed, the entire State of Mind budget was certainly less than the money spent by Cage and the company only to capture movements for Detroit: Become Human .
But I will say that it’s stylish, in the subject and emphasizes that in the impersonal digital world of the future people themselves become such loosely individualized models that seem to have been made in some computer program.
