Dupli_City

Yes the game is short, but it is definitely worthwhile. The setting is well developed and the story is well written. There are some optimization puzzles and you WILL want to cross train as many as possible but these aspects are not too difficult and do not detract from the narrative. This really is all about the characters and their relationships--all with subplots that complement the setting and main story and make it feel like an actual group of less-than-ideal individuals forced together instead of pieces to progress the narrative. This focus on story and characters does not remove player agency, however, and your choices will effect your outcomes. I want to play again and not out of a completionist desire or feeling I got a bad result but because I actually want to make alternate choices and see how they turn out. As an aside, the ending feels very original Deus Ex and I mean that in the best way. I don't like any of the choices but that feels natural given all that has proceeded it: you have to make the best out of a series of bad options and there is no obvious alternate that the game just doesn't let you make. There is no absolute best or "good" ending that I know of (it may exist but be hidden) but ones you can live with...and given the setting and genre that will do.

I loved Dupli_City! I've never played a visual story game like this before, and I thought it was a great example of what the medium should be. Every character was unique and well-defined from the get-go, and they all had amazing character development that you, as the player, really get to shape. The game is good about letting you know what decisions have major implications, but I got the impression that nearly all of my choices had impact on everyone's arcs. Outside of conversation-driven plot, the mechanics of going on missions and training up your teammates really worked for me. I really like how you have to carefully consider who to send on what missions, as well as deciding who should be trained in what skills. My only real critique is that the PC, Claire, is less well-defined than the rest of your party; I focused so much on building my party's relationships with each other that it came at the expense of their relationships to Claire. However, this is a small negative in an overwhelmingly positive gaming experience that's opened the door for me to play more visual stories like this in the future. And it's diverse and inclusive, which is the most important thing for me as a player-- I want to see a wide spectrum of people (and in the case of Dupli_City, androids!) represented because it makes for a richer gaming experience.

Play the game for the characters! A game about relationships sounds like it might be sappy. This game succeeds in making it quite thrilling, exploring all sorts of relationships between a variety of individuals, all with a sci-fi cyber dystopian future backdrop. The art is beautiful, the characters complex and nuanced

This is a good novel. You're managing a ragtag crew on the run from corporations, and the authors try to never give you a choice without warnings about the consequences. (There are always consequences.) The backgrounds are a weak spot. You can see the best ones in the trailer and screenshots, the rest is just stock photos under an artsy filter. Also the custom engine is mildly irritating but that's not a big problem given the game is rather short. The character art is good though, and the story has a lot of surprises and variety if you can give it a chance.

Interesting game. It's very focused on storytelling. I like the missions elements where you choose who to send to what mission. Here is some gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSEdt2UVfTE

At the time of writing I've replayed this game six times so I would say this game has a high level of replayability. I highly recommend playing through more than once to unlock all the different dialogues and help give yourself a better understanding of the characters and overall story. This game has some of the most authentic and respectful queer representation I've seen in a game. Typically the video game industry as a whole treats this community with disregard (or worse) and it's refreshing seeing the community represented, and in a healthy way. As the name suggests, Dupli_City explores themes surrounding trust and deceit, as well as, relationships (not just in the romantic sense). The game also provides the player with opportunities to understand how simply viewing actions does not often allow you to glimpse (teehee) the intent or reasoning behind them. Regarding visuals and audio, I am impressed with how simple yet effective they are. These elements help to enhance the story in a way that isn't distracting and are quite well integrated into the game. All in all, Dupli_City provides a rich, inclusive story, interesting and relatable characters, easy to understand UI, and has good replayability value. I'm not usually a visual novel type of person but I would highly recommend this game!

Well written VN and worth the time investment if you enjoy the genre at all. Intro was a lot thrown at the player at once, but it settles out quickly. Core loop is pretty simple, you have a team of 6 operatives and you send them out on missions that match their skillsets, while balancing that with a few other objectives such as training your team members for additional skills, improving their trust levels, or earning a secondary currency. The decisions are simple, but overall satisfying. Earning side currency to unlock hidden information on your party members is a particular standout reward I haven't seen done in other VNs. There are plenty of difficult, morally grey decisions to make which is where these games shine. The characters are interesting and well written with good depth and consistency. There is narrative progression o the characters but it feels relatively light and realistic given the setting (future corps, cyborgs, vampires, etc). The game isn't for everyone, but it's a shame it didn't pick up more traction as it's well worth your time. It's not a terribly long game, and I recommend playing through it in a single multi-hour session if possible to really immerse yourself with the characters and decisions. Well worth the price of entry and to support the devs.

Good good little game! I wish it was longer and had more space to elaborate on its themes, but with such a tiny team it's a really impressive work. Worth the time and the price.

We rescued you from The Bad Guys because your power is Too Special, now help up The Good Guys without questioning anything by using your power for us, The Good Guys Weird intro, couldn't get into it.

I recommend this to anyone looking for good-yet-overlooked visual novels that focus on character writing, has light management gameplay mechanics, and where choices change a lot. You have to work to earn the trust of the team and sometimes you must make sacrifices in order to earn the trust of someone else, or the sake of mission success. A visual novel about relationships with the backdrop of a sci-fi Questionable City and some artificial intelligence is evil?! shenanigans going on. It has gameplay in form of distributing your team, making choices with some information. It’s very much also a bit of a mystery or puzzle to solve in trying to see everything or unlock everything. While there’s not a lot of art, what is there is good and the character designs are great and distinctive. It’s ‘short’, if you call four hours for a single playthrough that, and with a lot of replayability. It does feel like it could use more time to expand upon its themes, to truly get a fuller picture, you should try to get the endings and alternate outcomes. However, because this game is definitely a hidden gem, there lacks playthroughs, so you have to puzzle out some things on your own. There’s stuff I’m still figuring out! But the game is written in a way that if you pay attention, you can unlock a lot. For example, pay attention to character dynamics and what they speak of themselves, their history and interests, and you will be able to figure out how to unlock everyone’s specialization. I wish I didn’t wait so long to play it!