Le visual novel remain an extremely particular genre within the videogame medium, linked to some specific niches of players who, in their experimentation, seek direct gaming experiences that know how to involve exploiting all the potential of a good writing. It is a type of video game that since the era of time has always been related to a specific type of enthusiasts, knowing their needs and even evolving not only in the various underlying messages, but also in the interactive dynamics offers. It was through this kind of evolution that they began to extend their own market, promising that not only would we find ourselves exploring video games studied from a "literary" point of view, but that within them the role of the player would have had a central weight in the unfolding of events, developing on a slope characterized by decision-making unpredictability. Over time the decisions have therefore become more and more central in this kind of titles, allowing enthusiasts to participate more and more actively in what they have purchased, through dialogues and to the studied writing, reworked in an experience far from being a simple one "Interactive book". With Synergy all this occurs with difficulty, aiming rather at a more fixed type of structure, built on a centralizing advancement of the protagonist, without being able to go too far away, therefore mindful of the origins of the genre itself.
What is this Synergia about?
Developed by Radi Art and edited by Top Hat Studios, from its very first start Synergia will present itself as something extremely familiare, in particular towards the most accustomed to the genre cyberpunk, with a whole series of cinematic references to the great works that have helped to standardize it (but also to famous video games such as Detroit Become Human). This “easily recognizable” flavor is manifested not only in the general style of the drawings and in the soundtrack, but also in the general narrative dynamics. Events take place in one metropolis extremely futuristic in which technological advances are the masters in the life of its inhabitants. The progress human has reached such high levels as to have inserted in the existence of the individual the presence of androids and cyborg, influencing not only the various comforts obtained, but also the perception of ethics itself by these people who have begun to bind oneself, in a particular way, to their purchases.
Synergia mainly leverages on this aspect, it leverages on relationships that human beings have begun to weave with their own androids, organizing a reflection that enough is done from the very first developments deep. The narrative, therefore, soon becomes analysis of some typical dynamics of personal suffering, transposing everything into a despotic context full of references to reality, to those situations in which pain leads to particular readings of everyday life. In all this we find the protagonist of Synergia, Polish, who is presented to us as a policewoman specialized in solving the aforementioned dynamics, therefore inserted in a team that deals with the complicated situations deriving from the convivenza between humans and androids.
The fact that the protagonist is a policewoman remains curious in two respects: the first is the painting, right from the start, of that cut of the story that presents all the typical dynamics of films / stories. . in which the protagonist is a detective quite problematic that it is difficult to open up with one's neighbor, with an inner burden to torment him. Cila is exactly like that, she is a particular character who does not manage to open up too much with others, hiding a torment internal, a sort of warning that keeps reminding itself. The second is the fundamental gap between what this woman is doing represents and she does in the workplace, for others, and what she cannot do for herself in the depths of her life, of her existence.
Cila lives with an android, Elaine, to which it is particularly linked in a quite hypocritical way, and when it breaks down, losing its data, it misses it, like an important void, the void that that object filled. All this until a second android is obtained, Mara, coming to unlock some important ones social taboos and socio-objectuals typical of Synergia's narrative, remembering that the game world, in its being told, is immediately hinged in a cultural characterization specifying a prohibition iron in sexual and amorous relations between humans and androids. It is precisely this rule that is the central fil rouge that moves both the work, personal and interior developments of our protagonist, preparing dynamics that remain curious.
Continuously press square
Speaking of the gameplay you arrive in the most "deficient" part of Synergia. As mentioned, the visual novels are strictly based on writing and on the possibility of immersing oneself in particular stories through the dialogues of the characters, arriving over time to be more and more participate in the various developments, affecting not only the progress of the various narratives themselves, but also unlocking more final. You won't find any of that here. There linearity narrative reigns supreme in a video game that focuses on reading and characterizing dialogues that are also quite verbose in some situations.
The main key in interacting with Synergia is the square, through which you will have the opportunity to advance the various dialogues and consequently the various developments. There are very few and rare choices during the adventure (about 3/4) with a minimal narrative role in proceeding with the various things. The fact of having to concentrate mainly on reading without having to do anything else, on the one hand evokes the past historical of the kind and on the other hand however it could quickly lead to boredom, given the rather marginal role of observer that is covered from beginning to end.
The general writing is certainly curious, even if it is not flawless and at times redundant in his presentation of the various characters, also explaining their characteristics and point of view. Another negative point is outlined in the lack of localization in Spanish. The fact that among the various languages there is not ours, in a video game that builds all its potential exclusively on dialogues, remains a curious and not too inclusive choice both from a linguistic and commercial point of view, but also from a cultural point of view in some ways. The only actions that can be performed continuously are: choose the option that causes the dialogues to proceed automatically, load previous games, save the game in the appropriate slot, access the game options.
The style of Synergia
Talking about the creative structure of this Synergia, we find ourselves in front of a video game that develops on the thread of a visual characterization focused on fixed screens, motionless drawings that, together with the soundtrack, try to articulate their own depth. The drawing technique is not bad and manages to perfectly convey the detachment of an empty and cold world like iron wet by rain. The continuous evocation of an environmental discourse that speaks mainly through dialogues, without interactions, is repetitive in the long run, especially following the reuse of some shots and moments that always seem to be the same.
In this choice you could read many things, even a message on the repetitiveness of the protagonist's life. On paper, however, it remains clear that a type of experience of this type, with very few interactions, also long-winded dialogues and repetitive drawings, accompanied by a soundtrack that knows how to distress, especially when linked to some drawings, cannot easily entertain, setting up a long discourse, even fascinating in some ways, which however is lost perhaps precisely because of of the same medium used for the story.
