Technobabylon is another retro styled point and click developed by Technocrat Games, and published by Wadjeteye – a company that specialises in this genre, and responsible for publishing one of my favourite point and clicks, Primordia of which this game holds some aesthetic similarities (although I suppose the real praise might go to the developer Wormwood Studios). They’re associated with good point and clicks, and Technobabylon is no different. Set in a dystopian future in the city of Newton, immense technological advances have been achieved. Genetic engineering has become prevalent, and a complex AI called Central manages the city and its services, yet there is a stark contrast between the rich and the poor – both sides of which we get to witness.
The game starts you as Latha, a slum resident and one of our three main playable characters. She is unemployed and addicted to ‘Trancing’, a process which essentially enters your mind into the internet itself. Latha finds herself locked in her own apartment, and just as she manages to escape, an explosion destroys it. On the other end of the spectrum, our two other playable characters are Lau and Regis, two ‘Cell Agents’ (police officers/investigators) who are investigating a series of ‘mindjackings’ (people’s minds/memories being stolen). They both work under the virtual eye of Central, but Regis is constantly undermining its authority. Lau and Regis make little progress with their case, but then Regis gets a call from an anonymous blackmailer threatening to destroy something he holds dear…and so it begins – how do the characters link together, and is this mindjacker related to the blackmailer and the explosion at Latha’s apartment?
That’s basically what the game entails – unravelling a web of secrets, connections and plot twists. And as each character, it is your job to use their set of skills to uncover these, or solve investigations and problems in typical point and click fashion. As you explore your surroundings you will find items to pick up and things to interact with, culminating in the inevitable combination of items/interactions which will solve whatever challenge is standing in your way. However, where the game strays a little from the usual formula is with regards to this ‘Trancing’ that Latha in particular is so taken with. When the character goes into a Trance, they spring up in a hub of sorts. With a substance called ‘Wetware’ you can connect other things to this hub, and thus interact with them in a more intricate way. Aside from this adding a bit of flare to some of the puzzles – for example, you may need to unlock a door, and the way to do so could involve using your Wetware to connect with the door panel to figure out how to unlock it – it also adds layers to each level. For example, a level may have a few areas to start with, but connect to something and enter the Trance and there will be another area (or areas) and new characters to talk with. It adds quite a deal of complexity to the puzzles, as well as suiting the game’s aesthetic and setting.
My main problem with how the gameplay is formed, however, is with regards to its difficulty. Now, I liked Primordia because it was challenging, but eschewed much of the nonsensical puzzle logic that point and clicks are associated with. While Technobabylon mostly continues this format, the extra levels of complexity do, in some cases, make it fall back into those old ways. Some puzzles I can’t imagine being able to complete without simply resorting to clicking everything and trying to combine all my items, no matter how silly it seemed.
It also results in some contrived situations. For example, one section sees you infiltrating an online hub – kind of like a futuristic chat room – in which you need to find out ways to get each user to leave. One of the users is hooked to a drip, making him excel at a particular online game…of course; you don’t know this at first, so Latha refuses to remove the drip in case it is actually something important. Trouble is, she doesn’t apply the same conscientious logic when she decides to pump the guy full of drugs bought from a crazy street seller. I know, it’s just one example (and the game has only a few of these issues), but it’s still an annoying trait of point and clicks when you come to a section and think “what was the point?”.
Additionally, and as a final bit of criticism, considering the complexity of the levels, and the seemingly open design – you can explore some areas in whatever order you want – it is a little disappointing that this wasn’t extended effectively to the rest of the game. You make some choices, and can achieve different endings, however the way in which some key segments are presented go against that. For example, Regis is blackmailed at the beginning of the game, but instead of simply having this as a cut-scene, the game makes you agree to the blackmailer’s demands…it reminded me of a moment in Season 2 of The Walking Dead game by Telltale where Clementine puts her gun down in a bathroom – every fibre of my being knew it was a bad idea and, if given the choice, would have chosen to pick up the gun, but the game didn’t allow me. It just made the section a bit frustrating.
However (and this is a big however), all that said, Technobabylon is still a top notch point and click adventure, and probably one of the best I’ve played for quite a while. The way events and characters lead together is fascinating. There’s a real drive for you to keep on playing after every chapter just to find out more about the story. The way the game splits from character to character allows for compelling cliff hangers, and generally makes the game more interesting. I can imagine if it was just one great slog as Regis, then things might get a bit tedious, but skipping to Latha or Lau and seeing what they are up to and getting to use their unique set of skills and items keeps things varied.
The puzzles are also highly creative and challenging. As I’ve already mentioned, the Trance/Wetware system adds multiple layers to each level and allows for very unique challenges and interactions. For example, in some cases you need to connect your Wetware to certain appliances such as a food machine, and this allows you to converse with its AI and figure out a way to manipulate it. It also helps that all the puzzles make sense from a narrative perspective too.
In some point and clicks the puzzles come across as a bit obscure or silly, like causing a chain reaction of events that just happens to work in your favour, but in Technobabylon they are all more relevant and immediate – you need to escape from this area, or you must investigate what happened here. It keeps things on track. So, it’s not a perfect game – it can be frustrating and needlessly complicated at times – but the story, aesthetic, top notch voice acting and sound track, and creative inspiration more than make up for it.