More Human Than Human: A Nobody Nowhere Review

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: PC (Steam)

Every so often a game pops up that looks cool, but seems to have come out of nowhere. The game we're going to be looking at today fits that description perfectly. Nobody Nowhere is a text-driven adventure game that is developed by a small indie developer named Tag:hadal. This appears to be their first game, and it's available now on Steam. Though I didn't know about the game nor its developer prior to a few days ago, that doesn't change the fact that I have quite a bit to say about this one. There really isn't need for further intro, so let's just cut it off here, and dive into the review proper.

Nobody Nowhere has a surprisingly complex plot, but I'm going to try to explain its broader strokes now. The setting is the near future, where humanity has made several advances in a technology that's meant to extend their lives. Artificially created humans, known as "replicants", are on the verge of being mass produced. These replicants are raised in a laboratory, and made to take on the consciousness of those who need a new body. Many failures plagued replicant research before, but the Human Science Research Corp sees promise in their new "Caleb" series. Julian is a self-aware replicant in this new series, and the game opens with him preparing for a surgical procedure that will wipe away his awareness. We've only just met Julian, but everything that makes him close to human is about to be wiped away. Two employees of the Corp arrive to complete this job, Gaia, who will actually perform the operation, and Tiger, who is to oversee it. Things seem to be going according to plan, but a series of events is about to change everyone's lives, for better or worse.

It turns out that Julian's doctor, named Zana, belongs to an organization that seeks to help replicants who have gained self-awareness. She doesn't want to see Julian "die", so she resolves to rescue him. Said rescue is no easy task, and it actually turns into one giant mess that sees Gaia team up with Julian, and Tiger reveal himself to be a replicant whose body is failing. Tiger will prove to be a thorn in the side of our protagonists for the rest of the game, but he's no one-note villain. Meanwhile, Gaia decides that all replicant research must come to an end, and he takes the fight to the HSRC HQ. The focus shifts to Gaia from this point on, and he finds help from Zana, his adopted brother Asa, and their AI companions. There are many twists and turns from there, and we ultimately learn the dark truth between the entire replicant project. What seems a simple tale of redemption at first, grows far more complicated when it becomes clear that no one in the cast is wholly good or bad. Except for maybe Julian, who is simply trying to survive through all of this.

I don't really want to get too much further into the plot, as I feel it's the most important part of a game like this. Nobody Nowhere is essentially a cross between a visual novel and an adventure game, with some other elements we'll get to later. Much of the dialogue is simply to be read, but there are moments where player input is required. This most often comes in the form of choosing a response within a conversation, with these choices never really changing the course and flow of the overarching plot. It may not look like it from screenshots, but this is a game that most directly resembles a kinetic novel, or perhaps something akin to an interactive movie. The story is ever-flowing, and jumps around in time when needed. Much of the game takes place in flashback form, with most of these scenes coming from Gaia's youth. It's not long before we learn all there is to know about him, and get an explanation as to why he wants to see replicant research put to an end. Even though it's safe to say that Gaia is the true main character, Nobody Nowhere isn't afraid to give others the spotlight too. Not only does the game open with Julian being "born", but he's also the first character that the player controls. He fades into the background for much of the middle, but he's important in ways that I simply can't reveal here. He also acts like an audience insert, since he's fairly unaware when it comes to the world around him. He's not the only one that the game spends a lot of time examining, as everyone seems to get scenes of their own, even Gaia's AI assistant Nia. Most important of all though would be Tiger, and we eventually get to learn what it is that drives him to commit so wholly to the HSRC's cause.

The plot may be a bit much to get into at first, but it's written in way that always keeps the player informed as to what's going on. Nobody Nowhere takes place in a rich and vibrant world, but we only get to see the parts that pertain to the plot and its characters. This is for the best, as I've read plenty a sci-fi story that gets lost in its own worldbuilding. The setting is well-established, but we get down to business right away. This isn't the game for those looking for a lore-rich world, though there are a bits of that scattered throughout. Though never required to understand the story, there are character profiles, and a glossary, that fill in some of the things that are left out. I'm not really a fan of games that hide plot elements in menus, but I'm of the mind that players can still fully enjoy the game if they're ignored. I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say that this is one of the best written stories I've ever experienced in a video game, and I really can't find a single negative to bring up on that front. It's probably the biggest reason as to why I danced around its finer details, as this is a story that should be enjoyed as spoiler-free as possible.

This review has been pretty positive so far, but there was one aspect of the game that I don't thing gelled well with everything else going on. Even though Nobody Nowhere is a story-driven game, there are some random action sequences. There are several times within the game where our heroes will hack into computers using an interface that places their avatars into a digital representation of the computer. These segments all have a minigame attached to them that features top-down gameplay that's found nowhere else in the game. Each of these sequences are pretty different from each other, but remind me a bit of how jacking into The Matrix works in the 16-bit Shadowrun games. Sometimes you'll navigate a maze, avoiding enemies and hazards, and other times you'll take on a more offensive stance and attack enemies directly via a stun shot and a dash attack. These sequences aren't exactly hard, but they aren't much fun either. Dying in the minigame leads to a Game Over, and you'll sometimes be forced to watch a cutscene again before jumping back into the action. I don't think there was a single one of these hacking segments where I didn't die at least once, and the final few saw me restart at least a dozen times before I beat them. Thankfully progress is saved when you continue, but I began to dread playing these minigames whenever a character started talking about hacking into a computer system. I understand the want to put in inject actual "gameplay" into this game, but I found myself wishing they were just automatic sequences after just the first one. No matter how you cut it, they're an imperfection on what is an otherwise near-perfect game.

Now that I have that out of the way, let me continue with my praise for the game. I could very easily complain about the overall length of Nobody Nowhere, since it is relatively short, but it uses its time wisely. Hacking minigames aside, there isn't a single line or scene that feels like it's fluff. Every single bit of the game works to drive the plot forward, and the pacing is similar to what one would find in a tightly-edited movie. I often like to compare shorter visual novels to watching a film, since I find the cost-to-time-spent ratios are often similar. Even though this isn't the first time I've made that comparison, I think that Nobody Nowhere embodies it most directly. Not only does it feel like an interactive movie, but it's priced similarly as well. Coming in at just $9.99, this is a game whose price can be compared to checking out a newly-released movie online. It may be a bit rough around the edges due its indie roots, but that adds to its charm. This is a dystopian sci-fi tale that rivals anything ever shown on a big screen, and I don't say that lightly. I don't want to give away any more plot points than I already have, but this is a game that will most likely make you actually FEEL for the characters. The ending of the game wraps up everything very neatly, even if it does so in a bittersweet way. I was left wanting more, and I mean that in the best way possible.

I didn't know what to think of Nobody Nowhere when I first booted it up, but I was shocked to find that it opened with a fully animated cutscene that also had an awesome song accompanying it. That scene impressed me so much that I decided I had to dive into this game fully and that's what eventually caused me to beat it in a single day. It wasn't just that opening scene though, as the game keeps on delivering awe-inspiring visuals throughout. Much of the game is presented in a side-scrolling 2D format, and the games graphics also come with an impressive amount of detail and animation. Characters move smoothly, and scenes transition from one to the next without a hitch. There are also scenes that show off larger pixel-based CGs, as well as others that are of the style found in the opening. There wasn't a second where the game wasn't firing on all cylinders when it came to visuals. That's quite a feat too, considering how dark and grim the subject matter is. The world could've very easily have been made up entirely of grey hallways, but there are some colorful and light-hearted moments as well. This is a beautifully crafted game in just about every way, and feels like it blurs the line between video games and art. Even the computer hacking sequences that I absolutely loathed were visually cool in their own way, and even had a scene at the end that blew me away. I literally have nothing bad to say about the graphics, beyond wishing that there was more of them to enjoy.

Not only are the graphics amazing, but so is the soundtrack. The theme that goes along with the opening cutscene I mentioned earlier really surprised me with how good it was. It sounded like something I'd totally listen to on my own, and it even prompted me to pick up the game's soundtrack on Steam. That's just the beginning, as the rest of the soundtrack is top notch as well. It's a synth-heavy soundtrack that features music that help establish a particular mood. Some tracks are low-key, others have an unsettling tone to them, and others still are intense and get the blood boiling. It's a great collection of music, and I've heard every piece of music several times already. There's even another vocal track at the end of the game that's worth mentioning too. It's a ballad that fits the ending perfectly, even if the English lyrics are a bit off in terms of their grammar. This particular song is the only part of the game where the English falters, and it reminded me that this is a small indie title. With that said, I do want to point out that the translation is great otherwise, and I still enjoyed the song despite its imperfect English. The game had totally won me over by that point, and the raw emotion of the song itself can't be over-stated. Once again, my only "complaint" regarding the soundtrack is that there isn't more to enjoy.

I was able to finish Nobody Nowhere in a bit under three hours, and I think that's more or less how long it will take most players to finish it too. There are some optional sections of the game, and a few missable achievements, but it's a pretty linear affair from start to finish. I enjoyed the game so much, that I went back to an older save to wrap up the things that I had missed. Going for that 100% also netted me an extra epilogue to the game, so I suggest everyone do so too. It's not all that hard actually if you're thorough in your first playthrough. I already mentioned that I find this game to be totally worth its current asking price, but I'd be remiss if I didn't also point out that there is a free demo available on Steam too. If you're on the fence about picking this one up, and I really don't think you should be at this point, then you can still try out the game before you fully commit. You pretty much have no excuse to check it out now.

I don't think it comes as a surprise to anyone that I give Nobody Nowhere the biggest of recommendations. It's a must-play for fans of dystopian sci-fi stories, visual novels, and good games in general. It goes beyond specific recommendations too, as I can't imagine anyone not liking this game at least a little. Not only is it the best game I've played this year so far, but it's also worked its way to being one of my favorite games period. Every so often I'm thankful for my position at A-to-J, since it lets me play smaller titles like this that would've been completely off my radar otherwise. It's now my job to convince you to pick up the game, and I don't know how much more direct I can be. I've done my best as far as convincing goes, and the rest is up to you. Do yourself a favor, and grab it right now. You can thank me later. See you in the next one.

Check Out Nobody Nowhere on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2440890/Nobody_Nowhere/

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Story: A+
Gameplay: A
Graphics: A+
Music/Sound: A+
Value: A+

Overall: A+

Pros:
+ A well-written dystopian sci-fi story in the vein of classics like Blade Runner.
+ Combines visual novel, adventure game, and even shooter elements into something that is truly unique.
+ Features impressive visuals all around. From traditional animation, to pixel-based 2D graphics, this game has it all.
+ The soundtrack is one of the best I've heard in a long while, and features two amazing vocal tracks that bookend the game.
+ Has the pacing of a well-edited film. There isn't a single scene or line that feels like it's fluff.
+ A forerunner for Game of the Year in my book, and it only costs $9.99.

Cons:
- The one blemish in an otherwise perfect game are the hacking sections. While others may enjoy them, I found them to be clunky and not very fun.
- Though I'm of the mind that this is a game worth picking up no matter what, there's no denying that it's relatively short, and has little replay value beyond wanting to experience its story again.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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Nia is my favorite by the way.