This week’s free Epic Games Store game is Tales of the Neon Sea, a 2019 pixel art cyberpunk game with murder mysteries, robots, and cat assistants.
The game is set in a world where humans and robots have an uneasy coexistence and “gangster felines” try to make it to the top of the food chain, with the player character being Rex, a former veteran cop turned detective. As explained by the Steam page (because EGS didn’t bother to include the synopsis), Rex is investigating a strange murder that involves clues from a robot rebellion.
“The illusion of the past re-emerges. The weird equipment inside the brain. The mysterious package of evidence. The shadow with a beaked mask. All pointing to a serial murder case from 13 years ago...,” goes the Steam page. “A semi-mechanical god manipulates the destiny of all in this utopia. Rebels lurk in the dark, in the underground world where chaotic slums and tricks grow. Our detective will scout for clues and end unfulfilled wishes...”
Tales of the Neon Sea promises a “gripping narrative”, puzzles that combine “narrative and environmental elements”, detailed environments, achievements and collectibles, plus questions like "what is life when flesh and machine have no boundaries separating them" or what the robots’ god would look like. Also, there’s a cat called William who can help Rex in checking out areas the latter can’t reach. You can grab the game here.
For next week, EGS is giving away 3 out of 10: Season Two (you’ll have to buy Season One separately), an adventure comedy about a game studio trying to make a game that gets a higher score than 3/10, while having “Caffeinated super-powers, sentient AIs, and rival game studios” to deal with.
