Both its gameplay and storytelling are a little too basic to truly be enthralling, even though there are moments that help it come together. Overall, then, Liberated is something of a mixed bag. Often the combat is mandatory, which can become something of a chore when dealing with irritating enemies like explosive drones that home in on the player.
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Most of the game takes place in corridors and tunnels, and the player can sometimes be given the option to either hide or fight directly. Other than that Liberated is much more action heavy. The game finds more success with its selection of hacking puzzles, which help tie the gameplay more into its tech noir sensibilities. This is broken up with quick time events akin to Telltale's The Walking Dead, although these are often more irritating than enjoyable. Liberated's gameplay is hit and miss overall, with rather rudimentary platforming and combat. Meanwhile the sole source of color comes from a splatter of blood that appears around the screen when the player takes damage, avoiding the need for any kind of heads up display. The player can identify enemies at a distance through torchlight, which helps the player prepare for upcoming fights or opportunities to hide. The game's largely monochrome design is also fairly successful. However, this does come with a downside that moving from controllable scene to controllable scene leaves a jarring wait that takes the player out of the moment. This generally works well, particularly when moving from the platform action gameplay to still shots that propel the story forwards. Liberated finds more success with its art style, using a framing mechanism akin to Sega Genesis cult classic Comix Zone to move from panel to panel. Overall, though, the story is a mixed bag. Without spoiling its ending, the game certainly has a lot to say about the nature of online discourse, particularly regarding where people’s faith lies and the echo chamber of authoritarian compliance. It's worth noting that Liberated does end on a strong note, however. After all, games such as Neo Cab have shown that new ideas within dystopian settings can pack a punch. Although it's clear that Liberated has no fear of wearing its inspirations in the open, with its style obviously comparable to Sin City, a little more surprise from a storytelling perspective would have been preferred. In part this comes down to the fact that it stays too close to the cliches of the dystopian genre, complete with a ragtag bunch of revolutionaries who aren't given enough nuance to truly make players care. The game also takes time to look at the use of social media and other digital channels, although unfortunately none of the above have quite enough depth to really cause much thought. Underneath the surface lie discussions about the militarization of the police, the use of surveillance tools that put 'protectors' above the law, and the special interests of companies that profit from morally dubious technology. Over the game's issues, it unravels a dark conspiracy that has the potential to turn the world on its head. The game's focus then falls on an anti-surveillance group called the Liberated, at first through a fish out of water hacker contacted by the group before moving onto a detective upholding the police state itself.
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This is then used to paint a picture of people's ‘worth’ to society, tying into everything from police surveillance to restrictions on bank accounts. Liberated's police state is secured through a tracking system called Themis, which matches every citizen to their digital persona, credit rating, and criminal history.
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Related: 10 Most Frightening Dystopias In Film And Television With a strong monochrome art style that showcases a black and white dystopia akin to 2006's Renaissance, Liberated is certainly visually striking. The latest game to put the player up against a powerful state is Liberated.ĭeveloped by independent studio Atomic Wolf, Liberated frames its uprising in the form of a comic book, separating out its different levels into various 'issues' to be read through. Whether it's the explosive action of Just Cause or the Stormcloak storyline of Skyrim, players have often been given the choice to be an agent for change against those in charge.
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The video gaming world is full of revolutions.