Dex

Dex for PC, PS4 and etc. is an original combination of action, role-playing, and a platforer in the classic form of a side-scroller (such as Flashback). The game was created by Dreadlocks – an independent, Czech studio. Dex is set in a cyberpunk world and was inspired by classics at arcade rooms, as well as the works of William Gibson, who wrote a classic science-ficton novel entitled Neuromancer.

Plot

The game is set in the future and the player is taken to a place known as Harbor Prime, where districts filled with luxurious skyscrapers stand in contrast to filthy areas inhabited by the poor. In this world, the player will have to face a mysterious AI that was born on the web and gained strength through acquisition of knowledge related to billions of its users, as well as the apps available and databases. This ominous cybernetic power claiming to represent the highest peaks of evolution wishes to gain complete freedom from human control and will try to go through the final transformation. The player's goal is to stop it.

Mechanics

Dex for PC, PS4 and etc. is non-linear, thus the player chooses the path of their development and decides about the manner in which they complete subsequent missions. Depending on one's individual style, difficulties encountered can be eliminated with use of weapons, skills or special devices. Interestingly, the creators implemented mechanics for melee combat, which brings classic beat'em up games into mind. Apart from the main story of the game, Dex offers a series of side quests. Those are not a mere addition however, because they are strongly tied to the main story and affect its further developments accordingly. An original idea is that one is capable of playing on two interconnected planes: the real world and the cyber-space. When assuming control over their avatar, above all, the player can hack into computers or deactivate defensive systems – the results of such actions can be seen immediately in the reality surrounding the avatar.

Technical aspects

The game's hand-drawn, two-dimensional visuals combine designs typical for the aforementioned Flashback with the style and atmosphere of games such as Shadowrun Returns. In terms of the soundtrack, one will be listening to music by Karel Antonin (a mixture of film music and electronic sounds) when playing Dex. All the in-game dialogues were voiced over by actors. Dex utilizes the popular Unity 3D engine – as a result, the game came out for Windows, Linux, MacOS and the Ouya console at the same time.

Last updated on 27 July 2023