The new cyberpunk inspired game Gamedec has released a few screenshots from its game-within-a-game "Harvest Time" and it looks a lot like a realistic Harvest Moon. Gamedec is a sci-fi RPG that is set in a future where humans escape reality by entering virtual worlds, and the player is a detective solving virtual crimes. The game will release on Steam later this year.
Gamedec begins in a way that is very similar to other cyberpunk media like Blade Runner or Altered Carbon. The world is full of neon lights, rainy streets, and shady bars. In this world, though, gamers become fully immersed in VR worlds where there are real consequences. The player is approached by a client who wants them to investigate one of the virtual worlds. Throughout the game, players will be tasked with exploring several different games and investigating crimes by making conclusions based on the evidence that has been discovered.
The site Gematsu reports that, according to a developer diary and screenshots, the first world players will be investigating is a free-to-play farming simulator with obvious influences from games like Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley. Harvest Time is very similar to most simulators in that players wake up, water crops, harvest, and make money off these crops. According to the developers, though, this game has been overrun with greed and unhealthy competition, and several of the game's users are being exploited by the more powerful.
The player is tasked with examining the more suspicious activities taking place in this simple looking game. Players inside the game are getting sick, and some are becoming unconscious and not being logged out of the game. The player must find out why these things are happening and who the people responsible for this are. One of the more interesting aspects of the game is that it seems like players will have many different options for how they want to approach any given case and close it however they see fit.
Gamedec is beginning to look like one of the most unusual and unique games to come out in a long time, especially in the cyberpunk genre. The premise of "playing a game where the protagonist is investigating video games" is incredibly odd and meta in a way that very few games are capable of accomplishing. With Cyberpunk 2077 coming soon, it is a good thing that Gamedec is setting itself apart with an outlandish narrative premise. Hopefully it pays off when Gamedec releases later this year.
Gamedec is set to release sometime in 2020.
Source: Gematsu