2019-07-01_PC_Gamer

Theplotitselfisconventional.One

day the alcoholic augmented P.I. Mr

Mist stumbles onto the corpse of his

elderly neighbour, well-known for

her hate of androids. At first the case

seems clear: the household android

must have done it. But

the evidence you

uncover paints a much

more gruesome picture.

Weirdly enough, you’re

not so much interested

in the killer as you are

in the android and

what could have driven

it to become a possible

accomplice. And so you dive into the

underworld to find out more, aided

by the helping paw of Mr Mist’s stray

cat friend William. The influence of

organised gangs of cats in our future

is underrepresented.

Neon Sea isn’t trying to be

narrative-focused – long stretches of

game time pass with nary a word –

instead it offers fantastical technology

and lets you mess with all the various

machinery and automatisms that run

a city. At its most basic, the game

assumes that in a future filled with

different contraptions, a whole lot of

itwillbeindisrepair,whichfitsthe

slightlygrimyBladeRunner-esque

aesthetic.Atitsmostinteresting,the

gameusestechnologytohold

plot-relevantsecrets.Whateverthe

reason,thereisawholelotof

dismantling,rewiring

andpressingofbuttons.

Seriously,NeonSeais

stuffedtothegillswith

puzzles,tothepoint

whereevenMrMist

makesfunoftheir

numberbyexclaiming

variationsof“why

wouldanyonedo

this?”.Chancesarethatanyclassic

environmentalpuzzleyou’veever

solvedinagameappearsinNeonSea

insomeway.Alotofitrequiresyou

tohaveyourhandsdeepinthe

innardsofamachine,fixingcircuitry

orreconnectingvalves.Thiscan

sometimesfeelasifafamiliartypeof

puzzlehassimplygainedacoatof

cyberpunkpaint.

It’stooltIme

At a crime scene, you use your

augmented senses to find clues.

Taking an in-depth look at anything

thatseemsoutofplaceona special

investigationscreenuncovers some

information,andforacloser look you

canalsoexamineevidencewith your

mechanicaleye.Puttingthe clues

togetherintoapicturethatmakes

senseisapuzzleinitself,one that

NeonSearepresentsthrough gears of

aclock.Putthemintheright order to

metaphorically turn back time and

you’ll see what happened. To open

your way or satisfy a request, you

build computer chips and futuristic

tools such as lasers. As in any good

adventure game this is mostly trial

and error, especially since you build

most of what you need from junk.

You don’t carry a large inventory with

you, so finding combinations never

gets frustrating. If anything, Neon Sea

hands you the answers.

How good you are with valve and

lever puzzles should tell you should

tell you how much you will enjoy

yourself. I had fun with it all,

surprised by interesting variations of

the same puzzle mechanic, but I can’t

help but think a lot of potential was

squandered due to the relentless pace

of puzzling at the expense of

narrative. The city is full of

interesting characters, but you get to

know the world entirely through text

and hardly ever have conversations.

In the latter half of the game, the plot

is all but abandoned before you reach

an abrupt end. Currently, Tales of the

Neon Sea isn’t finished, and a final

chapter will be released this autumn.

It’s entirely too easy to forget

you’re supposed to solve a murder

with all the puzzles burying an

otherwise interesting case. Tales of

the Neon Sea turned its wealth of

ideas into a fun game, but a bit more

balance between the thematic and

the mechanical would’ve turned it

intosomethingstriking.

NeedtoKNow

Whatisit?

Thefirstthreeoffour

episodesofafuturistic

pointandclickpuzzler

EXPECttOPaY

£13.49

DEvElOPEr

PalmPioneer

PublishEr

ZodiacInteractive

rEviEWEDOn

Core i5-8400, GTX

1060, 16 GBRAM

MultiPlaYEr

No

link

http://www.zodiac

interactive.com

75

Neon Sea is an overall

lovingly crafted

adventure slightly

let down by structure

and writing.

vErDiCt

MrMist

stumbles onto

the corpse of

his elderly

neighbour

P

oint-and-click adventures have had a bit of a renaissance over

the last few years. Increasingly the genre has cast aside its

penchant for pun-filled mischief, and instead focused on being

a great vehicle for investigative narratives. Tales of the Neon

Sea borrows from well-known cyberpunk sources but,

alongside its brighter aesthetic, it takes a deeper look at the technical

aspects of cyberpunk, rather than the moral ones.

Cyberpunk Sleuth

IntalesoftheNeoNsea: Chapter 1-3,

the future is puzzling. By Malindy Hetfeld

pushthe buttoN

Some standout puzzles to wrap your head around

1

Right at the start there’s

an entertaining valve

puzzle to retrieve your hat.

2

Public transport is

always a puzzle. Didn’t

think I’d see it in a game.

3

This tile puzzle with

lasers was my personal

Dark Souls of puzzling.

TalesoftheNeon Sea: Chapters 1-3

rEviEW