Dead Synchronicity

Dead Synchronicity (full title Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today) is an episodic point-and-click adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic future. The game was part funded through the Kickstarter crowdfunding website, and the first episode was released in April 2015.[1]

Dead Synchronicity
Developer(s)Fictiorama Studios
Publisher(s)Daedalic Entertainment
Platform(s)Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
ReleasePart 1: April 10, 2015
Genre(s)Point-and-click adventure game

Development

Fictiorama Studios consists of three brothers: Mario, Luis and Alberto Oliván, and an artist: Martín Martínez. This story was pitched by Alberto, and the art, plot, and music were designed to fit his vision.[2] The developers cited influences such as The Secret of Monkey Island, 12 Monkeys and The Road among others. The art style borrows from expressionism and tribal art.[3]

One of the main challenges for the production team were designing the non-linear narrative and complex branching tree-dialogue, eventually settling on a software called articy:draft to collect all the data needed to streamline this process.[2]

The game was part funded through the Kickstarter crowdfunding website, raising $51,501 in April 2014.[4]

Plot

The player controls Michael, an amnesiac who wakes up in the apocalyptic New World , where many humans called "the Dissolved" have a disease that kills them. Michael explores the areas, trying to work out what is really going on, all the while confused by strange visions and dreams that cloud his mind.

According to the studio, the game features "space-time distortions, a dystopian atmosphere… and a dark, bloodstained plot".[5]

Reception

The game has a Metacritic rating of 70% based on 24 critic reviews.[6] According to Carsten Fichtelmann of Daedalic Entertainment, Dead Synchronicity was a commercial flop. He said in 2016, "Unfortunately it did not sell well, only a few thousand units, so we had to say to the developers that we cannot put money in a second game, because we lost money with its first part."[7]

PC World praised the game as a brave and "surprisingly disturbing" title, but said it lacked a "catharsis" due to its abrupt end and lack of narrative cohesion in gameplay.[8] John Walker, writing at Rock, Paper, Shotgun had been very enthusiastic about the game during its Kickstarter campaign. But reviewing the first chapter, he too was disappointed with its abrupt ending.[9][10]

The PlayStation 4 port received positives reviews, with Crash Landed scoring it 4 stars praising the games control method "developers Fictiorama Studios have gone a step further and transformed Dead Synchronicity - a game that would usually be more suited for the PC space - to feel right at home on the console using a controller, thanks to some smart game design decisions."[11] Kai Powell of wccftech scored the game a 7.7, praising its "macabre" setting,[12] meanwhile Jose A. Rodríguez of IGN scored the title 7.8.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Interview with Luis Olivan, Producer For Dead Synchronicity". Artistry in Games.
  2. Kurt Indovina. "IGM Interviews – Fictiorama Studios (Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today)". indiegamemag.com.
  3. Dave Cook (2014-03-25). "Dead Synchronicity: hope in a world on borrowed time". VG247. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  4. Fictiorama Studios (2014-03-12). "DEAD SYNCHRONICITY: TOMORROW COMES TODAY". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  5. "INTERVIEW – In Conversation With Luis Oliván (Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today Kickstarter, Fictiorama Studios) - Alternative Magazine Online". Alternative Magazine Online.
  6. "Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow comes Today". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-07-04.
  7. Karkalemis, Manos (February 28, 2016). "Interviews with the Daedalic Entertainment team". Ragequit.gr. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
  8. Hayden Dingman (11 April 2015). "Dead Synchronicity review: This surprisingly disturbing point-and-click adventure lacks catharsis". PC World.
  9. John Walker (2014-04-10). "Finish Funding Dead Synchronicity Or Puppies Start Dying". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  10. John Walker (2015-04-08). "Wot I Think: Dead Synchronicity – Tomorrow Comes Today". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  11. Robinson, Dave (3 October 2016). "Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today – Game Review". Crash Landed. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  12. Powell, Kai (6 October 2016). "Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today Review - The Day The Earth Stood Still". wccftech. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  13. Rodríguez, Jose (7 October 2016). "Dead Synchronicity - Análisis - Un año después, vuelve la Gran Ola". IGN Spain. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
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