The supremely stylish debut of Poland-based Critical Hit Games, this neon-drenched neo-noir takes place in 24th century New York; a place where only the poor have to die. The wealthy can have their consciousness transplanted into a new body, which must make identifying murder victims… complicated. As a grizzled veteran of the Mortality Department, Nobody Wants to Die lead character Detective James Karra would know all about that. We spoke to studio co-founder and game producer Artur Jaskólski about inspiration, immersion, and other matters of life and death.
Jaskólski describes Nobody Wants to Die as a “meaningful and interactive detective story [that] takes place in a dystopian vision of New York City in the year 2329, where the player must face decisions of morality and what it means to be human.” The flawed human at the center of the mystery is in the classic mold of the film-noir detective, but, as with the retro-styled but futuristic modes of transport that fly above the city, Karra blends classic and contemporary. He may be kitted out with a fedora, a hip-flask and three days’ worth of stubble, but he also has a very useful device strapped to his arm that allows him, and you, to replay a crime scene in real time. Jaskólski explains: “Karra is on the hunt for a serial killer who targets the city’s elite citizens. Players will investigate crime scenes using time manipulation augmentation and advanced technology to reconstruct events leading up to each murder, uncovering clues that lead to the horrifying truth behind the murders.”
A dystopian future with retro styling? Are you getting Blade Runner vibes? It’s no accident. “Our CEO and co-founder Grzegorz Golen had the initial idea of creating a visually spectacular narrative-driven game,” Jaskólski says. “He joined forces with his friend from primary school Andrzej Marszalek to develop the idea, and create a prototype. One of the most important points of inspiration was my favorite movie, Blade Runner (the original). It was a great point of reference for the entire team, the dark vision of the future—full of pessimism and melancholy—to complete the vision of the Nobody Wants to Die world. Grzegorz was very inspired by narrative-driven games for the gameplay mechanics, which is ultimately how the idea for Nobody Wants to Die was born. He was inspired by games like What Remains of Edith Finch, Firewatch, and Observer. Even the Max Payne franchise was a huge inspiration.”
Nobody Wants to Die tips its hat to some great titles, but what drives it, and its creators? Jaskólski has the answer: “We wanted to make a visually stunning world and a thought-provoking narrative for the player. We created the world of Nobody Wants to Die by only making one metaphysical change—the possibility for consciousness transfer. This is the only thing metaphysically different from our current world, and by implementing that one change it basically changes everything! We wanted to inspire players to think about contemporary values, the rules of the world and what is important in life—these are the existential issues that are the most important for us. There will be some in-game choices and conflicts connected with that for the player to make.”
To keep the player engaged and involved to this depth, the game has to be fully immersive. “Immersion is essential to the player experience,” Jaskólski affirms. “While games can captivate and pull players into spectacular worlds, a smooth and quality experience is what holds players in those worlds. Especially important for this is a high-performing GPU, allowing players to witness environments, characters, and incredible effects with utmost quality—creating the ultimate playing experience.”
High-performing GPUs? Sounds like someone’s playing our song. “Intel has done a great job documenting its technology solutions,” Jaskólski enthuses. “Thanks to this, our developers had a significantly simplified task with IntelⓇ Xe Super Sampling integration. It was a very positive surprise for us that Intel was so well prepared for cooperation with game developers.” Our involvement didn’t end there. “Being a small team,” Jaskólski continues, “the most important thing is the full support we received from Intel Labs. They performed multiple rounds of tests on various hardware configurations and provided us with reports. Having these reports on our end was crucial for our developers, and gave us the knowledge and insights to better optimize our game.”
Happy to help, as always. And what’s next for the team at Critical Hit Games? “Currently, we are focused on giving players the best possible gameplay and entertainment experience with Nobody Wants to Die,” Jaskólski says. “But we are looking forward to providing players with many more unforgettable gaming experiences in the future.” As ever, watch this space.