It’s clear that Nobody Wants to Die also wants to be counted among cyberpunk stories that are to be taken seriously, since it also tends to have quite a bit to say about several subjects, from the political, to the commercial, and even the spiritual. Nobody Wants to Die is a narrative adventure game that masquerades as an investigative title where you’re going to be solving puzzles to solve cyberpunk crimes.

Before we start talking about the gameplay, however, let’s get the most obvious thing out of the way; Nobody Wants to Die is drop-dead gorgeous. From the moment you start a new game, you’ll be hit in the face with a beautiful depiction of New York City through the lens of a cyberpunk future in the year 2329. Taking design cues from genre staples like Blade Runner and Cyberpunk 2077, the future in Nobody Wants to Die is one where the city skyline is filled to the brim with neon signs glowing through an incredible amount of haze and smog due to the rampant pollution in the world. The game also tends to hang on to its noir trappings by having the game take place entirely in the night, which helps add quite a bit to the game’s already-brilliant atmosphere.

Even at smaller scales, like the crime scenes you’ll find yourself investigating, Nobody Wants to Die tends to look stunning. Even smaller details that wouldn’t otherwise be interactive have had quite a bit of attention paid to them, which is great since these smaller intricacies tend to help the title’s environmental storytelling. The attention to detail for smaller objects in the environment also go a long way in helping one of the core gameplay mechanics in Nobody Wants to Die, which we will talk about in a bit.

Now, let’s talk about the gameplay. While initial impressions may make you think that Nobody Wants to Die is a game where you get to uncover mysteries by using your own powers of deduction, in reality, it is actually more of a point-and-click adventure game. You’re never really going to be given the chance to fail at deducing something since the game is tightly scripted. This becomes clear in the game’s opening minutes, where you don’t even get to move around or drive about the neon-soaked city of New York. At most, you’re going to pick out a location by looking at it through the skyline and hitting a button, with your car slowly flying there.

"Even smaller details that wouldn’t otherwise be interactive have had quite a bit of attention paid to them"

While this may sound like a bad thing—very limited gameplay can often be constricting for many players—instead, Nobody Wants to Die ends up feeling like a throwback to classic adventure games developed by LucasArts and Sierra. Nobody Wants to Die quite easily sits alongside other titles like The Curse of Monkey Island or any of the King’s Quest and Space Quest games in how it plays. The gameplay revolves more around continuing the story as you peel back layer-after-layer of a vast conspiracy rather than setting you lose in a puzzle box that you have to solve your way out of.

As you investigate a scene, you’ll find clues that allow you to reconstruct the final moments before the crime was committed. The mystery is gradually unraveled through reconstructing the crime scene, and you will often have to jump forward and backward in  time throughout your reconstruction timeline to find new clues. Since Nobody Wants to Die is played through a first-person perspective, this means that you will have to try and look at your reconstructed crime scenes from different angles in order to find new clues. Thankfully, there’s also a hint button in the game that basically just shows you the thing you’re supposed to interact with in order to progress further through the investigation.

The Reconstruction mechanic is a cool tool, especially visually, since zipping forward and backward in time has all been wonderfully animated, complete with fancy visuals for some added flair, like an explosion, for example.

"The gameplay revolves more around continuing the story as you peel back layer-after-layer of a vast conspiracy"

One key aspect of Nobody Wants to Die is that players will have to make choices throughout their time with the game, and those will impact the story in some way or another. These choices can range from something as minor as responding to a question in a certain way, to deciding whether or not you want to burn up evidence that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of corrupt politicians and CEOs. Just about every choice you make feels like it would be perfectly in character for protagonist detective James Karra.

The story in Nobody Wants to Die starts off like many noir stories do—with a murder that just doesn’t seem to make any sense. Karra, who works at the Mortality Department, is unofficially tasked with investigating the death of an important man in a world where death doesn’t really mean much to those with money, since they can simply have their consciousness hop over into a new body. On investigating the crime scene—which also happens to act as the first major tutorial in the game’s “investigative” mechanics—Karra discovers that the victim’s death is permanent, and that jumping into a new body just won’t be possible for him. With more and more evidence pointing to some foul play, Karra has to quickly flee the scene of the crime before the federal investigators arrive and implicate him in the crime as well.

Writing is an incredibly strong aspect of Nobody Wants to Die. It manages to build up an incredibly interesting world—one where the hard lines between the rich and the poor have become thicker—and tackles some difficult questions about living in such a world. The game doesn’t shy away from the political implications of several of its key plot points, such as humans no longer having ownership rights of their own bodies, which tends to make for a more believable world where even smalltalk between characters can be quite interesting.

"The game doesn’t shy away from the political implications of several of its key plot points"

James Karra himself also feels like quite an interesting character—a recent victim of what is referred to only as “the accident”, Karra’s mental state is in quite a flux, with vivid hallucinations of a woman that seems to have at some point been his partner. To cope with this, Karra tends to freely avail himself of illicit substances, which are now illegal since people need to keep their bodies in tip-top condition so that they can be sold to rich people who need a new body.

Nobody Wants to Die is a great addition to the storied cyberpunk genre. Rather than shying away from the socio-economic and political implications of the world created by developer Critical Hit Games, the game instead leans into them. This tends to make for a much more compelling world that is more interesting and fun to explore. Throw on top an intriguing protagonist with enough internal conflict where just about every story-altering decision feels like it could be in character for him, as well as an interesting mystery laid out in front of you right from the beginning, and you get one of the more interesting narrative adventure games out there.

Sure, the game is mostly on rails and you don’t really get the chance to conduct investigations on your own terms, but the flipside is that this tight narrative control lends the game a cohesiveness to its story that would be difficult to achieve otherwise.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.

With a cinematic announcement trailer that’s generated tons of buzz, not to mention a recent extended gameplay showcase with almost half a million views, Nobody Wants to Die is certainly worth keeping an eye on. Here are some things you should know before buying.

Setting

Nobody Wants to Die takes place in New York circa 2329. The metropolis is very 1930s-esque with its neon signs, drive-thru movies, architecture and clothing, but traffic consists of hundreds of flying cars at different elevations. Certain monuments are also in ruins, and masses of wiring can be spotted between buildings. Then there are the facilities where bodies are stored and possibly repackaged for those who can’t meet the “subscription program.”

Consciousness Transfer

The central theme is humanity’s conquering of death, but not through some magic elixir or straight-up immortality. Instead, humans can choose to store their consciousness in memory banks, allowing them to prolong their life beyond their mortal shells. If you pay the subscription, you can transfer your consciousness into another body. Naturally, this poses serious questions on the nature of life and death, but it’s also led to things like nature and culture effectively dying out due to humanity’s stagnation. Of course, there’s also that bit about people who can’t pay the subscription fee having their bodies auctioned off. Surely, that won’t come into play at any point. Right?

In-Game Choices and Conflicts

As interesting as the theme sounds, it also ties into certain choices that players will have to make. Some conflicts may also emerge, though Critical Hit Games didn’t outline whether these would impact the overall direction of the story or result in a different ending. Regardless, it wants to “inspire players to think about contemporary values, the rules of the world, and what is important in life.”

Characters

The protagonist of this story is James Karra, a 120-year-old detective with the Mortality Department. Not only has he suffered a “near-death experience” but he also acclimates to his new body. Extended gameplay shows that he’s suffering from hallucinations, perhaps from his past body (or bodies).

Nevertheless, when a serial killer begins targeting the wealthier citizens of the city, James unofficially takes up the case. Assisting him is Sara, who’s relatively new to the force, and acts as a liaison, providing advice and understandably losing her mind when encountering true death. Then there’s the mysterious object that James discovers, which seems to have its own mind. How it connects to his hallucinations and the mysterious woman that keeps appearing remains to be seen.

While James has a lot going on, Sara also has secrets. As the two spend more time together, various facets and potential revelations about their characters will be revealed. The developer also notes that both are protagonists, indicating that Sara may be playable at some point.

Time Manipulation

As a murder mystery, you won’t just arrive at a crime scene and investigate with standard forensics. James possesses an augmentation that allows for manipulating time. Using reconstruction, he can rewind events to see how they played out. It’s then possible to slow them down, isolate and completely stop specific portions for closer examination and analysis.

This can lead to some more grisly moments, as you’re watching a murder victim slam their head into the floor rapidly before their subsequent death or a knife realistically entering or exiting someone’s head. On the other hand, there are some pretty cool effects, like Matrix-style bullet trails or extensive particle effects when something blows up. You may even spot objects, like a pocket watch, floating in mid-air at specific points, which can be more thoroughly examined.

Taking Photos

The camera is another investigative tool and arguably as important as time manipulation. It allows for taking pictures of crime scenes and locating opportunities for evidence, whether it’s from a victim’s charred face or a set of numbers inscribed on a tree. That same evidence can lead to other clues that further aid James’ investigation. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as freeform as a proper Photo Mode, but maybe there’s one for those who want to capture all the sights of Nobody Wants to Die.

X-Ray and UV Light

At certain points, you can also employ a handheld device with various modes, like X-ray, to locate and follow the wiring to interactable sections that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye. It’s also obviously useful for spotting fractures and broken bones in victims, though how that comes into play is unknown. You also have a UV light for spotting things like blood trails, identifying a victim’s blood type and following the trail while opening up more opportunities to reconstruct events (like the aforementioned victim slamming their head into the floor).

Arranging Evidence and Clues

During certain points, you’ll return to James’ apartment to piece together the evidence collected thus far. At one point during the first gameplay reveal, a grid-based arrangement of pieces is showcased, allowing players to organize clues. On top of evidence, you may also have to consider certain doubts and questions Sara may have for a certain case and how to resolve them.

Unreal Engine 5 and Visuals

While Unreal Engine 5 has had its share of praise and mixed reactions over the years, there’s no denying that it brings New York 2329 to life in gorgeously vivid detail. The extended gameplay walkthrough alone features immaculate weather effects, with rainfall and droplets realistically coating windows and spattering against the hood of a vehicle. The ambient light, coupled with the real-time reflections and neon signs, is also incredibly life-like. One of the more impressive bits is viewing the cityscape through rainy glass, as the surroundings look foggier and less distinct. Of course, other aspects like particles and fire effects look fantastic, especially rewinding or fast-forwarding through the destruction of environments.

PC Requirements

If it wasn’t obvious already, Nobody Wants to Die has somewhat demanding system requirements. By default, you’ll need a 64-bit CPU and OS, preferably Windows 10, and 30 GB of installation space (no mention of a solid-state drive being required, but it’s undoubtedly preferred). Minimum requirements include an Intel Core i3-8100 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, 8 GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super, AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 or Intel Arc A750. The recommended requirements include a Core i5-10400 or Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB of RAM and a GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, Radeon RX 6750 XT or Arc A770. While it doesn’t appear too heavy on the CPU side, you’ll need an above-average GPU to truly appreciate New York’s dystopian fidelity.

Set in New York City circa 2329, technology has advanced so much that humans can theoretically live forever. One’s consciousness is stored in memory banks and transferred into new bodies (for those who can afford it). Karra is in the Mortality Department and investigates a case involving a serial killer. Unfortunately, it becomes clear that they have bigger plans involving the entire system.

Players will explore various crime scenes, taking photos and searching for clues with an X-ray and a UV light. Karra can also use time manipulation to reconstruct events, learning how crimes occurred. Developed on Unreal Engine 5, the title boasts incredible visual detail, effects and lighting. Check out our feature for more information.

Set in the year 2329, Nobody Wants to Die will thrust players in a futuristic take on New York City. Players will take on the role of detective James Karra, and will be able to make use of the character’s time manipulation abilities to investigate crime scenes.

The latest gameplay trailer shows off some of the investigative techniques that players will be able to use to uncover evidence and analyze clues. Players will be able to make use of tools like a UV lamp as well as a hand-held X-ray machine to uncover evidence that would have otherwise remained hidden.

Nobody Wants to Die was announced back in March. The studio has cited the noir genre has a major inspiration from the game, which likely goes a long way in explaining not only its cyberpunk setting, but also the fact that the player will be taking on the role of a detective.

Nobody Wants to Die is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on July 17.

Nobody Wants to Die is set in New York City, in the year 2329. Technology in the world has advanced quite a bit, going as far as giving humans eternal life by having their consciousness to be stored in memory banks or transferred to a different body altogether, assuming the person can afford the subscription.

Players are put in the shoes of detective James Karra, who works in the Mortality Department. Karra is investigating a serial killer targeting the city’s richest and most elite citizens. Players will have to use Karra’s time manipulation abilities and technology to investigate crime scenes as they investigate clues to uncover the truth behind the murders.

The studio cites the noir genre as a major inspiration for Nobody Wants to Die, which would explain the game’s cyberpunk setting—one well regarded for its noir trappings. The game is being developed using Unreal Engine 5.

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