Tag: Future Games Show 2024

The Operator – Demo Impressions

I’ll be your newly hired guy in the chair. How can I help you today?

The Operator

Developer: Bureau 81

Release Date: 22 July 2024

Welcome to the FDI. As our newest Operator, your role is to use your detective skills to assist our field agents and investigate mysterious crimes. Use cutting-edge FDI software to dig for clues, solve puzzles, and uncover the truth.

In The Operator, we take control of a high security computer, using the tools available to us – such as a person database, evidence files, photo and video analysis and more – to assist the agents that are out in the field.

I have played a few games that take place within a computer interface and I am thoroughly impressed at how this particular game has implemented it so far. In order to recieve files to investigate we communicate with agents via phone call. These are fully voiced and continue running regardless of whether we are listening intently, or furiously doing our own research in our other files. It is all transcribed and logged in-case you need to re-read and the dialogue itself feels natural and easy to follow.

At it’s heart this is a puzzle game. We are provided with information and questions, and it is up to us to solve the query, whether it is as simple as finding someone’s last known address, or a little more complex like pointing out discrepancies in a victims testimony. A notable point is that we don’t loose access to the previous case we were working. I am very curious to see how far they take this. Can you imagine the web of mystery that we could uncover, finding minor, seemingly unrelated details that weave together further down the line, unravelling a mystery that we didn’t even know we were trying to solve? Someone get me a corkboard and some string!

While the demo is brief, it told me everything that I need to know about how The Operator plays, showing that I am not in for a railroaded experience and will be required to use my brain in detective-like ways. Not only that, it laid plenty of ground to get me feeling very intrigued. The opening minutes of the game set a scene that is unexpected for a computer based experience, and the final minutes confirmed that there is more going on than meets the eye.

Demo Length – 30 mins
At a glance
+ Polished.
+ Allows player freedom.
+ An unexpected but intriguing mystery.
+ Potential for some complexity.
+ Very user friendly.
+ Good voice acting and dialogue.

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Duck Detective: The Secret Salami – Demo Impressions

A quacking time.

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami – Demo Impressions

Developer: Happy Broccoli Games

Release Date: 2024

Solving crime is no walk in the pond. You are a down-on-his-luck detective who also happens to be a duck. Use your powers of de-duck-tion to inspect evidence, fill in the blanks, and bust the case wide open, in a narrative mystery adventure where nothing is quite as it seems.

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami leaves an immediate impression. Within the first 30 seconds of the demo I was staring at the screen, slack-jawed, processing what I was experiencing with amused delight.

In Duck Detective we scour environments, taking clues both officially and through context. We chat to friends, strangers and presumably suspects. The goal is to fill in the de-duck-tion sheet, placing the correct clue into the correct place in the story. Only then do we solve the immediate mystery and move onto the next, learning about our main chacter as we go. It is simple but fun as there are multiple solutions that will make sense. It is up to the player to fill in the gaps with the background knowledge that you will find via snooping.

While Duck Detective may feel like a light hearted comedy, there is more to it than that. It has a tragic side as it oozes noir, with the voice over dialogue and soft jazz. The game presents its dad puns openly, but between the lines, dark humour and satire are equally present.

I was overjoyed to discover the game is fully voiced. It is like a multiplier on an already atmospheric and charismatic game, not only making it more streamable for creators like me, but allowing the jokes to land in the way that the writers intended.

Finally, the full demo was short and sweet, showing everything it needed to and nothing more. At a time where demos seem to become increasingly more lengthy, it was a refreshing treat to be able to jump in and be sold within 20 minutes.

Demo Length – 20 mins
At a glance
+ Noir atmosphere.
+ Voice acting.
+ Logic puzzles requiring you to pay attention to context.
+ Funny puns and satire.
+ Attention to detail.
+/- The puzzles were quite simple.

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