I walked towards the demo booth like a lion at a watering hole. I was starving and looking for prey. I found it when I stumbled upon the plucky developer and his precious child of a game. I could tell just by looking that I was going to be in for a meal.
Pardon the Humphrey Bogart schtick, but I was so engrossed by the noir roots of developer Sam Farmer’s Last Life that I had to give it a shot.
Last Life, currently in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign, puts players in the shoes of professional investigator Jack Parker. Parker is a classic film-noir style detective in the tradition of Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe. The big difference is that Parker is trying to solve his own murder.
Last Life takes place in Marstopia, one of the last remnants of human society after the destruction of Earth. Once a year, life insurance companies 3D-prints back everyone who died that year back to life in what’s known as the Deadman’s Party. The newly alive are then told they have four hours to live unless they sign up for a policy to keep them alive and a subscription to keep it going.
Parker wasn’t intent on paying for his own life, so he skips out on the party and sets out to solve his own murder in the short time he has allotted.
As soon as I put on the headphones for the demo I was greeted by that classic film-noir narration. You know, the “the dame walked into my office and I could tell right then she was trouble,” kind of narration I tried miserably in this post’s intro. The opening sequence showcased Parker explaining his dilemma, at one point picking up and wearing his fedora off his own corpse. It exuded cool that just kept on coming throughout the rest of the demo.
The brief demo took place in a bar, with Parker trying to locate an old friend named Misty. It was classic point-and-click style interaction. Click and hold to move Parker to a spot, right click to inspect objects and people, and left click to use or talk to them.
That might sound formulaic, but the “low-poly” graphics and ultra-slick atmosphere and design made up for it tenfold. Characters besides Parker were just black and un-textured, but Farmer assured me they would be given full designs, like Misty below, as the game is funded and progresses.
Trying to get to Misty, Parker was obstructed a giant bouncer robot. I won’t spoil how to solve this interaction, but the solution was interesting and imaginative in the way the best classic adventure games are. The demo ended after a quick chat with Misty, but I was already instantly enthralled.
The part of Last Life I was shown is just one of a planned three-part trilogy. Farmer’s Kickstarter is asking for $75,000 for the first episode and wants to continue to explore the kind of themes classic science fiction is known for while in the wrapping of an adventure game: aspects of trans-humanism, post-genderism, post-scarcity society and more.
Farmer has clearly poured his heart and soul into making this game, and I can’t wait until I can pour mine into playing it.
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