Review of “Nobody Wants to Die” – Death has its price

I wish visiting dystopian hellholes was more entertaining, but with the constant threat of becoming one yourself, the fantasy is a little hollow. Even with that threat hanging over my head, I still had a pretty good time playing Nobody wants to diea noir mystery adventure game from the Polish studio Critical Hit Games. It is set in the year 2200 and players take on the role of James Karra, a detective on vacation who is getting used to his new body and completing the synchronization with it. Because in Nobody wants to dieno one is allowed to actually die because it is illegal not to have a backup for consciousness transfer when the body dies.

Nobody wants to die
Developer: Critical Hit Games
Price: $25
Platforms: PlayStation 5 (tested), Xbox Series X|S, PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PS5 code for review

The idea of ​​immortality through consciousness transfer is not a new concept in science fiction, but the way it is presented in Nobody wants to die seems frighteningly realistic. Corporations funding laws that make it illegal to buy their products is something that hits a little too close to home in the US. But James Karra can’t help himself when he gets a call from the police chief who wants to sweep something under the rug. As it turns out, the man responsible for consciousness transfer in its physical form, called Ichorit, was found dead in his apartment in the skyscraper above the clouds. As routine as the chief wants this investigation to be, Karra can’t help but conclude that there’s more going on here than first meets the eye.

Critical Hit Games

The setting is almost standard and hardly deviates from the template of other noir media. Did you guess that James Karra has a drinking problem? A dead spouse? A closed off room in his apartment? An extremely harsh and repulsive personality? A dead partner? A problematic past? I guess when you live past the age of 100, there is bound to be sadness, doubt and loss. Although this all fits the picture well, Nobody wants to dielisting it the way I did above sounds ridiculous. Karra brought a lot of this on himself, but is this man cursed or something? How can so much bad luck happen to one person?

Of course, Karra’s life doesn’t seem so bad when navigating some of the hellish areas of New York City that haven’t fared well over time. Central Park doesn’t have a single living tree in the entire park. The Slums, aptly named but lacking the neighborhood feel that most neighborhoods in New York City enjoy, are little more than a shanty town with wooden shacks covering underground shacks. Critical Hit Games has created a very interesting world with Nobody wants to diethe decopunk aesthetic provides a nice contrast to the neo-noir narrative and the stunning set pieces of each scene.

Karra has access to a few tools to help him with his investigations. Most notably the Reconstructor, which allows Karra to turn back time as he uncovers more information and clues about murders. The Reconstructor is a cool device because once you unlock the entire scene, you can sort of fast-forward and rewind the action, but usually only with one character. Along with the Reconstructor, he has a UV light to detect footprints in particular, an X-ray machine to detect wires in walls and under floors, and a standard camera to take pictures.

Away from the crime scene, Karra uses liquor bottles and other knickknacks to represent clues in a grid on the floor. It’s up to the player to take these clues and connect them to form a hypothesis. Nobody wants to die gives the player great feedback, letting them know whether or not they’ve made the right connection. Occasionally, new evidence is presented by James’ new partner, Sara, who is working remotely and speaking to Karra through an earpiece.

Critical Hit Games

The unfortunate thing is that while the game is used quite a bit, it’s not really long enough to break away from the guardrails and focus on the main story. Not only is this neo-noir thriller extremely linear, but it’s also relatively short. I love that, and I love the idea of ​​a developer who knows how to take a project under control. Nobody wants to die is exactly as long as it needs to be and you know when you’re done. What I didn’t like was how full and rich the world seemed and I could only see a small part of it. I want to live in this world a little longer and hope that Critical Hit Games has more stories to tell in the world they have created.

The consciousness transfer is not without its problems. Throughout the game, Karra is plagued by problems due to his recent consciousness transfer and has to take medicine called Ambrosia all the time. Narratively, this is linked to some scenes and Nobody wants to die makes good use of the effects in some of the investigations. Thoughtful elements like these really bring Nobody wants to die because, like Karra, you are not entirely sure that what you see is what you see. Karra cannot cope with the hallucinations and desynchronization problems that accompany consciousness transfer.

The price is reasonable for an eleven hour long game. I’ll probably go through it again to clean up the achievements and review some things I think I missed on my first playthrough. It’s not a long game by any stretch, but it’s a dense and thoughtful experience. There’s no combat and most of the gameplay is on rails, meaning the game won’t let you progress unless you do exactly what it tells you to. There’s very little agency for the player in Nobody wants to diealthough I should note that some of the decisions actually change some end conditions.

The last word
A thought-provoking experience that made me question the reality Karra lived in for most of the game. Nobody wants to die is a must-read for mystery, adventure and noir fans.

MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good