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The Devil's Men Might be One of the Coolest Adventure Games Ever

The Devil's Men Might be One of the Coolest Adventure Games Ever - Preview

by Jake Weston , posted on 15 June 2014 / 6,871 Views

Daedalic Entertainment has been quietly making a name for themselves over the last few years, with award winning titles such as Edna & Harvey and The Whispering World making a splash in the adventure game community, as well as a consistent quality stream of small, story-driven titles. In the midst of an E3 filled with shooters and sequels, it was nice to sit down with Daedalic Entertainment and check out their upcoming adventure game The Devil’s Men. And wouldn’t you know it, it was one of the coolest games I saw at the show.

Set in a steampunk England in 1871 (seems like steampunk has come back in a big way, doesn't it?), The Devil’s Men follows two women: Adelaide Spektor, the daughter of a famous detective, and Emily, an infamous murderer. Yet the two must put aside their differences in order to find Adelaide’s missing father, and solve the mystery of “The Devil’s Men,” a secret society of scientists who, according to lead writer Kevin Mentz, are a “coterie of scientists who have exceeded the limits of the spiritual and material world.” 

The coolest thing about The Devil’s Men is the dynamic between Adelaide and Emily, who are both controlled by the player over the course of the story, and whose gameplay scenarios and decisions are independent of one another. See, Adelaide and Emily have a common goal of solving the mystery, but their motivations often clash with each other, and the decisions of one character could negatively impact the other. In a sense, it’s like playing chess against your self - I asked Mentz how the game would reconcile the seeming conflict of interest of having players control two opposing characters, and he replied that this is indeed a major focus of the game, with players having to provide a balancing act between the two leads in order to get the best possible outcome to the story. 

These decisions also lead to branching paths in the story. In our demo, Mentz showed us how two scenarios could turn out completely differently due to player choice, not just in dialogue trees, but in the gameplay itself. Part of our demo involved Emily having to break into Adelaide’s house in order to uncover a clue. Emily must make her way into Adelaide’s basement, and she has two options she can take: she can use a key, but keys are limited resources so using the key now could lock her out of another door later in the game. Conversely, she could use a crowbar, resulting in a broken door handle, which would cause suspicion toward Adelaide and negatively impact her side of the investigation. 

The Devil’s Men is approaching adventure gameplay in really interesting ways, but its art style is a sight to behold as well. The characters are made up of gorgeous 2D animations, and being set against the cel-shaded, 3D model backdrop of steampunk England creates a unique and eye-catching effect, especially when the camera is moving. 2D animation against 3D backgrounds is nothing new, sure, but it feels fresh for the genre, and a great amplifier to what already seems like an intriguing set of mechanics and story. 

The Devil’s Men really caught me off guard at this year’s E3, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s not often adventure games get me to sit up and take notice, and the only thing that curbs my anticipation is its lack of official release date, with Daedalic only stating it will release sometime in 2015 for PC and Mac. Well, hurry it up guys, because I’m excited as heck to play your game. 


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