Dex, initially released in 2015, lands on the Nintendo Switch. How does the transhumanist experience unfold on the Nintendo console? Let’s see this.
Cyberpunk 2037
You wake up as Dex, a blue haired woman in the year 2037 in the city of Harbor Prime. A man appears in your mind. It is Raycast, the famous hacker whose true identity no one knows. He warns you that the police are in front of your door and that you must escape as quickly as possible. You will eventually get help from a certain Decker, who will tell you that an organization called “The Complex” is after you. Why is this organization after you? Why Raycast Helped You You do not know. But now, to survive, Dex will have to do everything to thwart the Complex’s plans.
The world of Dex is a cyberpunk world in which transhumanism is present everywhere. Every human being can be augmented by the addition of electronic implants. Moreover, it is very rare to find someone who does not have a microchip in their body. Finally, the universe in which you operate is very close to Deus Ex. Hey ?! Deus EX? DEX? The name of the heroine is probably not chosen by chance …
Un open world RPG d’action 2D
Dex is a side-scrolling 2D action game with an RPG twist. All in an open world. If we have to summarize, Dex finally combines an “old-fashioned” style of play with modernity. You will be able to browse almost all of Harbor Prime right from the start. But some areas will only be accessible by obtaining special abilities. These abilities will be obtained in two possible ways: skill points obtained through experience or the addition of implants.
The skill points will allow you to gain endurance, improve your abilities with firearms, melee, during the hacking phases, your charisma or even negotiating the purchase and sale of equipment. And you will have to choose well because it will be impossible for you to change your choice knowing that you will not be able to have all the skills improved to the maximum at the end of the game.
Implants will allow you to acquire bionic legs to jump higher (and access new areas), to have steel fists that do more damage or even eyes that see through walls to spot enemies. But these implants will obviously not be free. Doctor Niles will bill you, good lord, only for the implant and donate the operation to you.
The money and experience needed to improve Dex will be obtained by completing the side quests as well as the main quest.
Choose your style
What’s special about Dex is that it’s often possible to complete a quest in different ways. Do you prefer to attack stealthily? Hide behind a crate and slip behind the enemy to execute them. Do you prefer to hack the brains of your enemies? Or do you want to use your charisma to convince someone to reveal important information to you rather than fighting it? Or the good old nag method in frontal attack? It’s up to you.
In addition, to reach an area, you will often also have several possibilities. Usually a stealth method without having to fight but which will require a skill or an implant and a more aggressive method.
Enter cyberspace
The hyper-connected world of Dex is a world where machines and even humans are connected to what is called cyberspace. And you have the ability to hack it! Could the camera see you? Hack there! A troublesome enemy? Hack his electronic chip!
Phases in Cyberspace are Shoot’em up phases in which you shoot viruses that prevent you from accomplishing your goal. At first it’s complicated but the more hacking skills you get, the easier it will be.
A credible and neat universe
The cyber-connected universe of Harbor Prime is very believable and very pleasant to watch. The sets are very beautiful and the characters quite varied apart from the enemies who almost all look alike. But we forget this flaw a little thanks to the many side quests that allow us to better immerse ourselves in the world of Dex.
The music that accompanies you throughout your adventure is also very tune without being intrusive.
We therefore enjoy browsing this universe and discovering the rest of the story which will take you about twenty hours. For a game of this ilk, the lifespan seems very fair and we do not come out frustrated at the end of the game thinking that it is too short.
In life, you have to make choices
Dex’s life is made up of sometimes tough choices. Via the dialogues, you will sometimes have to choose a side, save or let die a person or even betray your friends. It can change the course of history. In the end, it’s a bit like fighting, you have a choice. Although there are several ways to play, we will all tend to use melee because it is the most effective.
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