Neofeud comes online on itch.io

Written by Peter Mattsson — March 26, 2017 at 16:02

Artificial intelligences in sci-fi tend to be either perfect paragons of rationality and benevolence, or just want to cleanse the planet of us inferior humans. Have you ever wondered what would happen if, instead, they were just as flawed as their creators? Christian Miller (aka Silver Spook Games) has, and the result is Neofeud, a newly-released hardboiled cyberpunk adventure inspired by films such as Elysium, Blade Runner and The Matrix.

The year is 2033 and sentient robots are among us, but things haven't quite worked out as planned for "humanity's unwanted bastard children". Most of them defective deadbeats, they've fallen through the social safety net to land in a massive landfill known as "The Pile", along with mankind’s own failed genetic experiments. Meanwhile, the successfully bio-engineered "Neofeudal Lords" live dream lives of neon, glass, nanotech and cybernetic implants, as flawless and cold as the robots were intended to be. Players control Karl Carbon, ex-cop turned social worker, exiled to the Pile for refusing to shoot an unarmed humanoid. In between dealing with robot gang culture and chimera children, he's drawn into a conspiracy with potentially civilisation-shattering consequences.

Neofeud is a defiantly indie game, with lo-fi graphics in a naive, hand-painted style that could almost be called impressionistic, accompanied by a soundtrack that varies from ambient to metal. Drawing on the developer’s personal experience teaching the inner-city poor of Honolulu, the game promises a fleshed-out world and a plot that may make you question your beliefs. There will also be "tricky yet satisfying" detective work, endless one-liners and occasional action shootouts along the way.

Neofeud has just been released for Windows, with the possibility of Mac and Linux versions to follow. To buy the game or just delve deeper, you can check it out on itch.io.