It was a cold, windy day in the middle of October. The leaves were turning red, the daylight was beginning to fade, and I had been suffering with a terrible headache all morning.
There was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” I yelled at the sillhoutte in the window. “I’m sleeping.”
There was another knock. More insistent this time. I dragged my lazy ass up off the sofa, and went to the door, opening it before the hand could knock again.
There, stood in the doorway, wearing a black and white aesthetic and a style inspired by the cinematic greats of old, was a video game, ready for release on PC.
What is Dupery?
You don’t get too many noir roguelites about investigating crimes; I can tell you that with reasonable certainty. That makes today’s release of Dupery: A Game of Solo Deduction noteworthy, in my humble opinion.
Dupery is the work of Gilded Rune Games, with able support from publishers Yogscast Games and GamerSky Games, and it’s a stylish procedural roguelite set in a noir city in the grip of a criminal syndicate.
I think Dupery might be of particular interest to adventure game fans who enjoy a murder mystery, and anyone out there who enjoyed the interview sections from LA Noire (for the record, that includes me).
You walk in the shoes of a detective who is trying to take down the criminal element plaguing the city and uncover the head honcho. During your casework, you’ll be interacting with 175+ individual roles, and you can’t just arrest someone for shits and giggles either; there are consequences if you get it wrong.
Dupery also offers three campaigns set in mechanically different regions of the noir city, each one with a local leader you must get to on your way to the big boss. All the while, you’ve got to protect your reputation and avoid getting the boot.
If you like the cut of Dupery’s jib, then I suggest you head over to Steam, where the game is currently available on PC (Mac, Win). There’s currently a launch day discount, and as it’s a Yogcast game, there are a few bundles which might just bring the price down further.
