To criticize a dictatorial government, in which control and censorship excel, the writer George Orwell had already thought of it in 1948, with his novel 1984. And if the controlling company were not fictitious, but the our, between social networks, SMS and smart devices? The independent developer Somi explored this possibility in Reply, a visual novel in pixel art mediated by a mobile phone screen. Originally released on Steam in 2016, the Replica port (subject of this review) is now also available on Nintendo Switch, thanks to the publisher of indie titles Playism.
A digital dictatorship
Replica opens in medias res: the protagonist is holding a phone to unlock. We understand from the first enigma that the phone is not his, but of an alleged rebel. Through the instructions of a mysterious operator of the National Security, we will discover that, subject to death threats, our task is indict those who oppose the dictatorial government, allying us with it. It is up to us to choose which side to take: but does one really have a choice in a dictatorship? Replica indirectly touches on the delicate theme of privacy in a contemporary state and how much information can be learned about individual users simply by observing the Tracks they leave on the net.
Le game mechanics I'm definitely original: we find ourselves in front of the curiosity to peek into the life of a complete stranger in a much more intrusive way than what social networks have accustomed us to, with the awareness, among other things, that the owner of the cell phone may never see the sunlight again. Replica, released in 2016 as a point and click for PC, remains true to itself in its version on Nintendo Switch, in which the right analog stick simulates the mouse pointer, similar to the successful interface of the Thimbleweed Park port.
Don't be fooled by the familiar smartphone interface we find ourselves in front of: Replica is full of Password to which to trace e secrets to unlock, solving puzzles that are not always easy and intuitive. Plus, as often happens in visual novels, Replica has ben 12 different endings, including some that are very difficult to unlock. The developer, Somi, has certainly created the game with the specific intent of making the player repeat the experience, enriching it from time to time with additional elements: new applications, widgets and more or less veiled clues are unlocked by completing the game several times in different ways.
Replica: a dystopia with a pop taste
Replica is one love letter to transmedial dystopian storytelling. From the very first moments of the game, the imagery linked to Orwell's Big Brother imposes itself very clearly in the game narrative, also correlated by multiple citations to the iconic feature films V for Vendetta e Matrix. The references to a pillar of the dystopian videogame sphere are also highly appreciated and sought after Papers, Please, also honored directly with an easter egg, ea Not Tonight, his spiritual successor. In this cauldron of ingredients borrowed from pop culture, Replica adds numerous references to contemporary history, in a subtle and not ostentatious way. The goal of the game is not to educate about life in a dictatorship, but about stimulate curiosity and the research of gamers on a delicate issue such as the repression of individual freedoms.
La graphics in pixel art, essential but accurate, it is well suited to the post-modern atmosphere of the game, perfectly supported by a colonna sonora original with melancholy tones, with the possibility to change the songs at will through the music player installed in the mobile phone. Replica also boasts the localization in Spanish which, however, does not fully convince: often the adaptation lacks character and in some paths there are entire lines of dialogue not translated into Spanish. About that, pay attention to the format of the dates: while selecting the Spanish language, the date format will be Anglo-Saxon (yyyy / mm / dd) and not the one we are used to (dd / mm / yyyy), which could be an obstacle to solving some puzzles.
La longevity of Replica is limited (about half an hour per path), but compensated by the presence of multiple endings (and not obvious to reach) and by the presence of mini-achievement, along the lines of those of Steam, within the game. Despite the short duration, the low price (4,99 € on Nintendo eShop) makes Replica a visual novel not to be underestimated, with the merit of having developed socio-political reflections with great sensitivity in a non-trivial and interactive way.
