Opinion: Out of nowhere, 2024 has suddenly received an extremely exciting addition. Nobody Wants to Die looks amazingly promising
Cyberpunk has to work really hard to fully convince me. Normally I just don’t get caught up in these futuristic dystopian neon worlds unless games or films with this setting provide a few more arguments. Like Cyberpunk 2077 at the time, which kept me in its world with a terrific story.
That’s why I’m currently amazed at how much I’m looking forward to Nobody Wants to Die. A game that was only unveiled a few days ago and only needed a few seconds of the trailer to completely captivate me Despite the cyberpunk setting
Because Nobody Wants to Die doesn’t offer the classic cyberpunk look, in which the dirty alleyways of pompous big cities are characterized by frivolous advertising and overrun by motley figures whose bodies are stuffed full of chrome.
Nobody Wants to Die presents a somewhat different cyberpunk vision that combines futuristic technology with a 1920s style and aims to evoke a sense of film noir with its detective story. And that’s a vision that fascinates me right now
A detective story about time and death
Nobody Wants to Die will not be a role-playing game like Cyberpunk 2077, but seems to have similarly high standards for its story. According to the announcement, I am transported to New York in the year 2329, where a serial killer is on the loose. As Detective James Karra, I am unofficially investigating this series of crimes, using my hopefully razor-sharp mind and the ability to manipulate time.
Particularly important here: In this world, immortality is no longer an impossibility Those who can afford it simply store their consciousness and then let it pass into a new body. It is not explicitly stated, but it is precisely this immortal elite of the city that seems to be the target of the murderer, who demonstrates that despite all the technological advances, no one can escape death
As a detective, it is then up to me not only to solve the case, but also to make judgments. I can only guess exactly what moral questions I will have to face. But I’m certainly fascinated by the whole set-up. There’s a lot of narrative potential in there!
How does it play?
That will be the big question. So far, all I really know about the game is what was in the announcement. Even though I didn’t miss the opportunity to do a bit of digging directly with the publisher, I can still only guess what the gameplay will be like
The action will definitely take place in the first-person view and judging by the first scenes, most of my job will be to search crime scenes using my time glove and other tech toys. There’s also talk ofwalking between good and evil
which sounds like moral choices.
Action interludes and the like have not yet been seen. But frankly, I’d be more than happy with a kind of Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishment in this grandiose setting. Especially as the Unreal Engine 5 brings it all to life very impressively visually.
And who does that?
There has been little to report about the studio so far. Behind it is a team called Critical Hit Games, which was probably founded in 2020 and Nobody Wants to Die is their first project. In terms of staging and production quality, however, it looks like much more than just a first attempt by an inexperienced team from Poland. Which doesn’t necessarily mean much, especially after disasters like The Day Before 
📢📢📢 Critical Hit Games become an EpicMegaGrants recipient!!!! We are super proud that our not yet announced game 🎮 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S platforms has been rewarded by Epic Games ❤. EpicMegaGrants gamedevs gameindustry gamedevelopment videogames EpicGames pic. twitter.com/HRs7hl4TG8
– Critical Hit Games (@CHGdeveloper) February 10, 2021
The fact that Plaion, a renowned publisher, is on board and that Epic has provided a so-called Mega Grant speaks in favor of the project. This is a grant for promising Unreal projects, which can consist of up to 500,000 US dollars. That speaks for a lot of confidence in the capabilities of the still relatively unknown team
A signal that also fuels my hopes that an extremely exciting cyberpunk adventure in double-A quality is really coming our way. Nobody Wants to Die is even scheduled for release in 2024 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S
In the meantime, I’m definitely trying to find out more about the title. After all, I’ve never been so excited about a game in this setting before without knowing much more about it. At least I have to change the latter!
You can also let me know in the comments if you’re interested in Nobody Wants to Die and want to know more about it, or if you’re not impressed by it yet!
