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Dry Drowning blends hard-boiled detective tropes with an interesting dystopian mystery, which just about manages to cover its gameplay restrictions.
Dystopian futures and noir detective stories have regularly proved to form well together . From the iconic cityscape ofBlade Runnerthrough to the judgement - bending engineering ofAltered Carbon , an old - fashioned hawkshaw seems to fit well in a hereafter where everything is not as it seems . The former labor to combine these two genres is the video gameDry Drowning .
Developed by Studio V , Dry Downingtakes the form of a ocular novel , with interactive elements bemuse into what is generally a tightly thread story . Dry Drowningtakes place in 2066 in the fictional city state of Nova Polemos , and upchuck the player as individual detective Mordred Foley . A serial killer called Pandora is on the lax - a manslayer that Mordred has plenty of late with .
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Dry Drowninghas a little bit more interactivity than some other optic novels on the market , complete with puzzles and clues to expose , but overall the game relies heavily on its story and nontextual matter focussing . The biz has a strong art style , with fictional character models cast in monochrome and phantasm while heavier colors flicker here and there . It creates a vivid persona of Nova Polemos and its citizens , further concentrate that overall noir find .
Dry Drowningcould work well as a first tone into the visual novel territory . Those unfamiliar with the secret plan case may find it restrictive , both in terms of its limited aliveness and an vehemence on dialogue and teaser over action . However , Dry Drowningdoes hear to emulate the better visual novel available , focusing on game details and its mystery ’s interesting moments .
Studio V ’s story is n’t a perfect one , but instead something that players may line up solace . Dry Drowningis full of noir clichés : the grizzled detective with a fly-by-night past , a bevy of corrupt authority figures , or the devout and uninitiated assistant . It ’s familiar in the same way of life thatMax Paynerevelled in investigator fabrication figure of speech , althoughDry Drowningis sure too with child handed and not quite bang enough about where it baffle the line .
Even so , its earnestness is quite compelling , and the story itself - albeit well - trodden - is an gratifying detective romp to discover . Dry Drowningcovers off a macabre serial killer whale alongside the machinations of dangerous individuals who have take too much power . supply in the biz ’s operose imagery of mythology and it ’s a virile cocktail .
A sight of this come from the location of Nova Polemos . Within this future metropolis , Dry Drowningconstantly toys with ideas of fascism and the exceptionalism myth of the disjunct state . Nova Polemos may have elections , but there ’s a brutal totalistic regime in space , rife with government surveillance , the brutal murder of migrator , corruption at the highest grade , and the immurement of citizens no longer deemed ' useful ' in what is efficaciously a giant prison house .
Dry Drowningachieves an impact in the little details that tie this into its sci - fi mise en scene . Surveillance come via a government O.K. , holograph - base system called AquaOS . There ’s also a land - sanction puzzle secret plan that declare oneself benefit to the Pattinson Test , a compulsory exam that guarantees a citizen ’s continued ' usefulness ' to Nova Polemos . Among the bizarre and hokey that could make players step forth fromDry Drowning , there are snippets of dependable dystopian report here .
It ’s not all great , though . Dry Drowningsuffers from pick up more than it can handle , with some heavy idea cite in short but barely dealt with . Given how familiar its noir elements will be , this has the potential drop to provide players feel thatDry Drowningcan’t offer up too much that ’s fresh .
Gameplay - heady , there are some groovy moments here and there , but the limits of its music genre ca n’t be overcome . There are periodic arbitrary binary pick that involve players to decide who lives and who dies , or whether to cover up grand secrets in the name of safety . Chuck in moment of awkward and on - the - nose dialogue , and it begins to feel a petty go steady at times .
The actual work of being a detective , though , is better . Mordred channels his innerLA Noireat clock time , hunt down evidence at offense scenes , talking to attestant , and uncovering the accuracy through difficult questioning and quick thought . Dry Drowningmixes things up with dissimilar gameplay moments , too , cut into into flashbacks and featuring small puzzles as miniskirt - games .
Dry Drowning ’s better mechanic is Mordred ’s foreign psychological first-rate king . When a role lie to our supporter , a grotesque mask flickers across their boldness . It ’s a straight design choice , with an fine art dash reminiscent of cult indie horror gameDarkwood , and it leads to some tense showdowns where the player has to find resolution by choosing the correct evidence , witness , or story to tardily pull the mask away from a suspect .
So , Dry Drowningmay be a average bit messy , but there ’s charm here . Players who are willing to embrace the cheesier elements will find some joy in its well - crafted background and a becoming execution closed book plot of land . The plot is constrictive and lack the unfeigned shock and employment of top tier up visual novels likeDoki Doki Literature Club , but there are some second of clever world building and a strong enough enigma propelling it .
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Dry Drowningis out now for PC . Screen Rant was provided with a PC download codification for the purposes of this critical review .
