State of Mind
State of Mind is a cyberpunk adventure set in a dystopian Berlin.
Set in Berlin in 2048, State of Mind is a modern, streamlined take on the point-and-click adventure. Heavy on plot and light on puzzles, its story is split between a dark, oppressive reality and an idyllic virtual utopia. Berlin is neon-lit, rain-soaked, and grimy; City 5 is all gleaming glass and metal and golden sunsets. It’s an interesting contrast, even if the game does lapse into cyberpunk and sci-fi cliché fairly regularly. Richard Nolan, voiced by Doug ‘Geralt’ Cockle, lives in an apartment above Berlin. As I’m looking down at the city through a window, a robotic arm holding a holographic advert swings in, blocking my view. This is one of many examples of State of Mind’s superb worldbuilding, wordlessly illustrating how commercialized and invasive this society is. But it’s a beautiful place too, blending an angular, polygonal art style with atmospheric light and shadow.
Whether you’re exploring the seedy backstreets of Berlin or City 5’s utopia, much of your time in State of Mind is spent walking, talking, and exploring. Characters have AR vision, flagging up items in the world that can be examined, picked up, or interacted with. They also have holo-pinboards in their apartments where important details are collected and that give you some insight into what they’re thinking. As is often the case in stories like these, the narrative starts small and spirals into something sprawling and complex—and honestly, convoluted.
Sometimes you get to do something a little more involved, such as flying a drone around a nightclub to try and identify a person of interest, or snooping through a database to put a face to a voice recording. But mostly you’ll be talking to slightly stiff-looking characters and poking around for the right object or clue to progress the story. The pace is, as a result, unapologetically slow. This can occasionally make for a chill, leisurely experience, but mostly it just feels frustratingly languid and drawn-out.
Theme Park
State of Mind picks hungrily from a vast buffet of themes and concepts: Transhumanism, surveillance, identity, conspiracies, social division. But its handling of them often feels half-baked, using many as window dressing rather than a core part of the story. This leaves the game feeling hollow: a fact not helped by a lack of a likeable, interesting cast. This is a moderately entertaining piece of escapism, but you’ll be disappointed if you want something more substantial to chew on.
State of Mind picks hungrily from a vast buffet of themes