‘Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today’ Preview – A Dark Dystopian Adventure

While it can be easy to be cynical about Kickstarter and what it means for the games industry, there is one thing for sure and that is when it has had success it has made an impact on the games being released.  Independent games, especially ones that look to the fans for investment have a vision that may not fit into the world of AAA development, where risks can be taken and innovations made.  Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today may not be innovative but it does tackle subjects that other games may shy away from, especially with a tone so dark you’ll be searching for a puppy to hug to brighten your day.

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Dead Synchronicity is a point & click adventure and is proud of its roots, the controls are easy to pick up and in no time you are moving around the world and feeling comfortable with the user interface, though don’t expect to find much to help you on your quest.  The difference from more typical adventure games is the darkness of the story, it starts with a dystopian future with no hope and almost gleefully drags you down into the darker side of your characters nature.

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In the game you take control of Michael, a man with no past.  Waking up in a refugee camp which feels more like a concentration camp you are given information about a disaster known as the Great Wave which brought an inexplicable chain of natural disasters to the world.  Along with this came a pandemic which turns people into the Dissolved, giving the inflicted special cognitive powers but are destined to die by simply dissolving into nothing but blood.  Held within the camp you must find a way to get past the ever-present guns of the guards and find more information about Michael and the events that have taken place.  Agreeing to help a family whose child apparently is becoming one of the Dissolved, you are their only hope and they your hope in finding out just who Michael is.

It is important to point out that the version of the game I was allowed to play for this preview is unfinished and does have bugs, so I can’t give a verdict on the full version of the game.  What I have played though as a fan of horror and dark science fiction, I find myself liking the game a lot.  The narrative of the story is the centre piece of the game, and the puzzles while not too obscure are hard to solve, so you really have to work hard to reveal the engrossing plot.  There are also some grim issues to handle, such as putting children at risk (then having to save them from execution), and also disfiguring a body so as to use it as a scapegoat for your actions.  The main message seems to be at this point that there is little hope for the survivors in Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today and the only person who could provide that is in fact Michael, if he could only remember how.

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It is too soon to really give a verdict on Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today, but the version I played proved one thing, and that is that I’m looking forward to seeing the completed product and just where the story goes.  Michael is an interesting character trapped in a dark dystopian world with little chance of escape from the doom that civilisation appears to be free-falling to.  The game may be depressingly focused on the doom of inevitable apocalypse but the characters and plot are interesting enough to make me as the player want to keep on fighting to find the answers that Michael longs for, whatever they may be.

Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today is planned for a digitally worldwide on April 10th, 2015. The game will be available on Steam, GOG and other major online stores for £15.99.

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