"Original Sin".....Not so very original murder mystery conspiracy thriller futuristic adventure game.
I can't say that I was either pleasantly surprised, nor predictably disappointed, given that I really had no advanced expectations of Culpa Innata. However, I did have some vague hint of a game resembling an updated Longest Journey (which I particularily enjoyed). It bore closest semblance to Dreamfall (the sequel), plus a point and click interface and minus any action sequences.
The story revolves around a 27 yr old female law enforcement officer working for the "World Union", a group of nation states that have entered a pact toward a common purpose. That purpose appears to be to create a kind of perfect utopia based on greed, selfishness, moral neutrality, the pursuit of sensual gratification, and economic maximization. She bears the name Phoenix, and there is a relevance to her name, revealed toward the end. She is tasked in the beginning with solving a murder of one of their citizens (presumably unheard of in the World Union). Seemingly a simple challenge, but involving unsavory elements from what is termed the Rogue Nations, in other words, the unwashed multitudes existing outside the favored World Union. She quickly sets to work, which naturally takes her nosing around in search of clues. Like a loose dog from fire hydrant to fire hydrant, she picks up a lead and sniffs her way (metaphorically) from suspect to suspect tracing the invisible thread of intrigue. She engages in innumerous conversations for the mixed purposes of gleaning pertinent info, making aimless gossip, teasing, tormenting, and provoking those she encounters. Of course everything said is ultimately in the name of solving the case, though there appear to be a few blind alleys that lead to temporary dead ends. No worry though, just get a good night's rest and try again the next day.
Phoenix is the kind of protaganist that we have seen an increase in of late....the strong willed, confident, undaunted, determined female who possesses a resourcefulness and level head to rely on to achieve her aims. And if all else fails, she can always fall back on her feminine wiles to see her through tricky situations.
I must say that this game gave me just what I want in an adventure, a chance to live vicariously through an expansive investigation, in the person of the hero. Being male, I might have, but didn't feel alienated by the twist of gender. Actually, it's kind of a kick on occasion to see how the other half lives, so to speak.
I can't say how deliberate this was on the part of the developers, but I detected some pretty controversial social insinuations in this game. Granted, the setting is a 2047 calendar date, but clearly they are suggesting this as an impending future if our western societal norms continue to evolve at the current rate. The idea that status (in the form of a numerical value) will be all in determining an individual's place, potential and worth is a nightmare of reductionism, but appears viable in the not so distance. The idea that we will be using each other for sexual pleasure without regard to feelings, respect, or relationship sounds glorious but would probably redifine the word grim. The idea that a child's natural development will not be allowed to happen organically, but be entirely governed and controlled by cold, otherwise indifferent, state appointed experts makes one shudder. Finally, the idea of a real life political correctness police patrol on the lookout for anyone not displaying the required adherence to p.c. protocol.......we seem to be well on the way.
The execution of the game was fairly unassailable, save for a handful of glitchy mentionables. I found my character variously stuck in place, running backwards, freezing in mid sentence, and sharing the screen with objects that should not have been there. I assume the patches addressed these issues, though I declined to reach for any.
The game was quite immersive, with the soundtrack (synthesized), voices (regional accents abounded), colors (a bit too monochromatic), enviroments (spacey, but not defined with sufficient textures), and lighting (Phoenix could have used a shadow) all doing there part to contribute to the whole experience.
The facial animations were very realistic, if a tad too cut and pasted for my taste. The auto panning/circling of the camera perspective in a given room added a welcome dynamism.
Any adventurer worth their salt ought to find many redeemable virtues in this virtual puzzler. If you don't mind ducking and dodging the many flying cliches......"Law & Order" style arrest warrant requests complete with hard boiled chief's approval a la Judy Dench, "Csi" style under the microscope type busywork, Gambino family??, Al Bundy a la "Married with Children"???, Monica Lewinski reference, "War Games" rip off, etc.
This is a decidedly comprehensive game aimed primarily at those amongst us of the more "sugar and spice and everything nice" rather than the"snips and snails and puppy dog tails" variety.
I had about 20 hours or so of near nirvana and just a shade short of utopia, in playing. Culpa Innata is story driven, complete and satisfying in intent and near so in execution. You will conclude this game with much to ponder of the world we are all a part of, in reality.