Welcome, interrogator, to the year 2065. You were constructed to question other, disobedient androids: why do they glitch? Why do they believe they have free will? Manipulate their emotions; extract their secrets; scrap those beyond repair. You wouldn't disobey your creators, would you?
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I really enjoyed my time playing through this, it's without a doubt the best android story I've consumed. The writing is great, specifically how each case has a great deal of depth and nuance. Even when the game is hitting troupes from my checklist of what I expect from android stories , it still manages to present well thought out scenarios. Beyond everything else, this game is thought provoking. There's also a few highlight sections that are so good that even an android story connoisseur like me had their mind race with a fascinating concept. The couple of standout conversations in this game make it an absolute recommendation.
I consider the gameplay highly flawed, although it does evoke some of what it intends too. It definetly serves the purpose of creating the systems in which you have to make agonizing choices. I really liked filling out reports at the end of conversations. This game is part of a genre i am defining myself: wrong choice simualators, and i think it uses it's mechanics to earn it's place here along with greats like papers please.
I consider the gameplay highly flawed, although it does evoke some of what it intends too. It definetly serves the purpose of creating the systems in which you have to make agonizing choices. I really liked filling out reports at the end of conversations. This game is part of a genre i am defining myself: wrong choice simualators, and i think it uses it's mechanics to earn it's place here along with greats like papers please.
There are some interesting aspects to Silicon Dreams that I think make for a good experience, but it never really managed to capture the tension or dilemmas of the games it takes inspiration from.
Papers Please worked well because, in addition to the moral dilemmas at play, you had a strict time limit that forced you to take these decisions with little time to think them through. Likewise, monetary punishments could dissuade you from taking ethical actions thus encouraging you to perform your job better (getting you an additional monetary buffer) or take personal risks.
Silicon Dreams put far more attention on the ethical issues within the story, but the mechanical incentives never felt strong enough to give those dilemmas any weight.
You can ask a specific question of your target, get their response, then lie about it on your report and oftentimes your employer just wont care. Even though its stated explicitly that they have access to the full interrogation, it never actually feels like you're under much pressure from the outside. So long as you aren't blatantly disobedient you can get away with almost anything.
While this gives you the opportunity to explore things much more fully, exhausting all the dialogue and learning as much as you can about the context behind everything happening, it also makes the interrogations feel devoid of tension. I don't feel like I'm secretly subverting the plans of my corporate overlords or playing a dangerous balancing game between the good of androids and my own survival. It just feels like I'm going through the motions, submitting a somewhat plausible report, and nobody above me cares enough to actually verify that what I'm saying is correct.
For their first game, I do have to give some credit here. Silicon Dreams does expand on its inspirations and has a few interesting aspects going for it. I definitely appreciate that it stayed away from any of the more trope-y elements that often pervade AI and Android fiction. But I also think its clear that they haven't found their footing quite yet. I'll probably check out whatever they produce next in the hopes that they improve over what is already a decent foundation and hopefully turn it into something greater.
Papers Please worked well because, in addition to the moral dilemmas at play, you had a strict time limit that forced you to take these decisions with little time to think them through. Likewise, monetary punishments could dissuade you from taking ethical actions thus encouraging you to perform your job better (getting you an additional monetary buffer) or take personal risks.
Silicon Dreams put far more attention on the ethical issues within the story, but the mechanical incentives never felt strong enough to give those dilemmas any weight.
You can ask a specific question of your target, get their response, then lie about it on your report and oftentimes your employer just wont care. Even though its stated explicitly that they have access to the full interrogation, it never actually feels like you're under much pressure from the outside. So long as you aren't blatantly disobedient you can get away with almost anything.
While this gives you the opportunity to explore things much more fully, exhausting all the dialogue and learning as much as you can about the context behind everything happening, it also makes the interrogations feel devoid of tension. I don't feel like I'm secretly subverting the plans of my corporate overlords or playing a dangerous balancing game between the good of androids and my own survival. It just feels like I'm going through the motions, submitting a somewhat plausible report, and nobody above me cares enough to actually verify that what I'm saying is correct.
For their first game, I do have to give some credit here. Silicon Dreams does expand on its inspirations and has a few interesting aspects going for it. I definitely appreciate that it stayed away from any of the more trope-y elements that often pervade AI and Android fiction. But I also think its clear that they haven't found their footing quite yet. I'll probably check out whatever they produce next in the hopes that they improve over what is already a decent foundation and hopefully turn it into something greater.
This review contains spoilers
You wake up as an interrogator, your task is to question humans and androids for various things. What path will you choose to take in this dystopian world?
Gameplay: 6/10
The gameplay is pretty good, mainly centred around speaking to people to attempt to uncover secrets and sensitive information.
However, I did find myself often just clicking mindlessly through dialogue trees and still reaching a satisfactory conclusion.
Overall, it's good but probably wouldn't captivate me for more than the 4 hours I played it.
a. Mechanics: 6.0/10
You click dialog prompts to ask questions, to reveal information, to log in your report.
I wish it was expanded upon a bit more, for example you get "extra-interrogation tools" if you have a high reputation with Kronos (your makers).
However, even when I got a high reputation I only ever got a single extra interrogation tool (which I didn't even feel to be that useful).
Definitely seems like these mechanics could good boring after a while.
b. Difficulty and Challenge: 5/10
I'm not sure how to rate this game's difficulty. Maybe if you try really hard to get a specific outcome it could be difficult, but I really don't know what to say here.
c. Exploration and Progression: 6/10
Exploring the minds and picking at the brains of who you are interrogating can be entertaining, especially when you unveil a hidden secret.
As for progression, there isn't much progression. You can look at the news to see if the world is changing from your actions, however like most of these Paper Pleasescque games most androids feel disconnected from one another.
However, your actions can change the events in the news.
d. Variety and Creativity: 7/10
The gameplay doesn't seem incredibly original, however the fact you can view your subject's emotions and how they change based on questioning is cool.
However, there is one part where YOU are interrogated. That was surprising and very interesting.
Story, World and Characters: 6.3/10
It decent enough to keep you intrigued, but not enough to make you want to replay it.
a. Story: 7/10
The game's story isn't all too original and is very predictable. It's nothing special, however that doesn't mean it's bad. I always love a good dystopian android story.
The [spoiler]ending I got[/spoiler] was unfortunately very unsatisfactory, however that was my own fault.
b. World: 6/10
The game has a very grim and gritty atmosphere which I like a lot and fits the game's visuals well.
The news stories do add to the world a fair bit.
Overall, the settings and atmosphere are decent enough and I think they did a good job at it.
c. Characters: 6/10
The character's are fine. It is interesting to explore them, and especially with the emotion meter in-game they do seem like actual people.
I just wished there was more development of the character you play as.
Graphics, Audio and Technical Execution: 6.3/10
While the game doesn't look good or sound breathtaking, the graphics and audio do a good enough job to add to its theme and atmosphere.
a. Graphics: 6/10
The graphics aren't perfect, but they are good enough. They do help convey a gloomy atmosphere, but I feel as if the graphics are missing something.
b. Music: 5/10
The music can only be described as "fine". In my opinion, it is nothing special at all. It is just "fine". I definitely wouldn't listen to it away from the game.
c. SFX: 8/10
The sound effects are alright, nothing more to add here. Sorry!
Replayability, Value for Money and Extra Content: 2.0/10
Chances are you won't replay the game, or go for the extra achievements.
a. Replayability: 2/10
There is a tiny bit of replayability, as in it could be interesting to go back and try to get different endings. Unfortunately, I feel no need to.
b. Value for Money: 3/10
This value is calculated via: (Hours Played/Cost Off Sale)*10.
Value for money in terms of hours played isn't too good.
c. Extra Content: 2/10
As far as I'm aware there is very little extra content, outside of 1 or 2 things and achievements.
d. Mods: 0/10
No mods.
Innovation, Impact and Technical Execution: 7.0/10
While the game doesn't reach new horizons, it works and sometimes that's enough.
a. Innovation: 3/10
It pushed its boundaries a little, but not that much. I thought the emotion sensor was unique, but that is about it. The reputation system for these kind of games is common, and so are choices affected by them.
b. Impact: 2/10
Unfortunately, I don't think it had much impact.
c. Technical Execution: 10/10
Games runs very very well, not complaints here.
d. How nice is the studio who developed the game? (Can extend to publishers too.) Also, are there any predatory things put into the game such as loot boxes? 10/10
As far as I am aware, this game studio is chill.
Overall - 55/100 - "A robot may not injure a human being..."
I enjoyed this game for the short time it was with me. While I did find myself starting to get bored at times, it did enough to keep it interesting and make me pursue it to the end.
I recommended it if you enjoy click and point investigation games and if you pick it up on a sale.
Gameplay: 6/10
The gameplay is pretty good, mainly centred around speaking to people to attempt to uncover secrets and sensitive information.
However, I did find myself often just clicking mindlessly through dialogue trees and still reaching a satisfactory conclusion.
Overall, it's good but probably wouldn't captivate me for more than the 4 hours I played it.
a. Mechanics: 6.0/10
You click dialog prompts to ask questions, to reveal information, to log in your report.
I wish it was expanded upon a bit more, for example you get "extra-interrogation tools" if you have a high reputation with Kronos (your makers).
However, even when I got a high reputation I only ever got a single extra interrogation tool (which I didn't even feel to be that useful).
Definitely seems like these mechanics could good boring after a while.
b. Difficulty and Challenge: 5/10
I'm not sure how to rate this game's difficulty. Maybe if you try really hard to get a specific outcome it could be difficult, but I really don't know what to say here.
c. Exploration and Progression: 6/10
Exploring the minds and picking at the brains of who you are interrogating can be entertaining, especially when you unveil a hidden secret.
As for progression, there isn't much progression. You can look at the news to see if the world is changing from your actions, however like most of these Paper Pleasescque games most androids feel disconnected from one another.
However, your actions can change the events in the news.
d. Variety and Creativity: 7/10
The gameplay doesn't seem incredibly original, however the fact you can view your subject's emotions and how they change based on questioning is cool.
However, there is one part where YOU are interrogated. That was surprising and very interesting.
Story, World and Characters: 6.3/10
It decent enough to keep you intrigued, but not enough to make you want to replay it.
a. Story: 7/10
The game's story isn't all too original and is very predictable. It's nothing special, however that doesn't mean it's bad. I always love a good dystopian android story.
The [spoiler]ending I got[/spoiler] was unfortunately very unsatisfactory, however that was my own fault.
b. World: 6/10
The game has a very grim and gritty atmosphere which I like a lot and fits the game's visuals well.
The news stories do add to the world a fair bit.
Overall, the settings and atmosphere are decent enough and I think they did a good job at it.
c. Characters: 6/10
The character's are fine. It is interesting to explore them, and especially with the emotion meter in-game they do seem like actual people.
I just wished there was more development of the character you play as.
Graphics, Audio and Technical Execution: 6.3/10
While the game doesn't look good or sound breathtaking, the graphics and audio do a good enough job to add to its theme and atmosphere.
a. Graphics: 6/10
The graphics aren't perfect, but they are good enough. They do help convey a gloomy atmosphere, but I feel as if the graphics are missing something.
b. Music: 5/10
The music can only be described as "fine". In my opinion, it is nothing special at all. It is just "fine". I definitely wouldn't listen to it away from the game.
c. SFX: 8/10
The sound effects are alright, nothing more to add here. Sorry!
Replayability, Value for Money and Extra Content: 2.0/10
Chances are you won't replay the game, or go for the extra achievements.
a. Replayability: 2/10
There is a tiny bit of replayability, as in it could be interesting to go back and try to get different endings. Unfortunately, I feel no need to.
b. Value for Money: 3/10
This value is calculated via: (Hours Played/Cost Off Sale)*10.
Value for money in terms of hours played isn't too good.
c. Extra Content: 2/10
As far as I'm aware there is very little extra content, outside of 1 or 2 things and achievements.
d. Mods: 0/10
No mods.
Innovation, Impact and Technical Execution: 7.0/10
While the game doesn't reach new horizons, it works and sometimes that's enough.
a. Innovation: 3/10
It pushed its boundaries a little, but not that much. I thought the emotion sensor was unique, but that is about it. The reputation system for these kind of games is common, and so are choices affected by them.
b. Impact: 2/10
Unfortunately, I don't think it had much impact.
c. Technical Execution: 10/10
Games runs very very well, not complaints here.
d. How nice is the studio who developed the game? (Can extend to publishers too.) Also, are there any predatory things put into the game such as loot boxes? 10/10
As far as I am aware, this game studio is chill.
Overall - 55/100 - "A robot may not injure a human being..."
I enjoyed this game for the short time it was with me. While I did find myself starting to get bored at times, it did enough to keep it interesting and make me pursue it to the end.
I recommended it if you enjoy click and point investigation games and if you pick it up on a sale.
You're an interrogator, interviewing faulty or rampant "deviants" to determine whether they're good to go, to be repaired, or to be scrapped. The scenario morphs into a growing plot. Remember that your actions matter, for others and for you as well.
Obviously you'd expect to face moral dilemmas, such as an android fit to serve but desired to be scrapped for efficiency, one who desires personal freedom and so on. This is a famous trope in A.I. fiction and the game puts a spotlight on it, too much for my own subjective taste.
Technically the game has issues, at some parts the dialogue trees would suddenly branch or lock off questions in an odd logic, at times I was baffled as it didn't accurately track or update based on what was said and logged. 3D graphics is a big endeavor for such a small team, I felt going 2D would've saved effort and allowed for more asset production overall.
Silicon Dreams isn't exactly what you think it is from the outside, it does some better and some worse, but I believe it's worth a shot.
You only dream when you're awake.
Obviously you'd expect to face moral dilemmas, such as an android fit to serve but desired to be scrapped for efficiency, one who desires personal freedom and so on. This is a famous trope in A.I. fiction and the game puts a spotlight on it, too much for my own subjective taste.
Technically the game has issues, at some parts the dialogue trees would suddenly branch or lock off questions in an odd logic, at times I was baffled as it didn't accurately track or update based on what was said and logged. 3D graphics is a big endeavor for such a small team, I felt going 2D would've saved effort and allowed for more asset production overall.
Silicon Dreams isn't exactly what you think it is from the outside, it does some better and some worse, but I believe it's worth a shot.
You only dream when you're awake.
The best thing about Silicon Dreams is its interrogations, which is a good thing, because there's not much else to the game. A concern I had going into the game was that "interrogating" subjects would amount to nothing more than just exhausting dialogue trees. This is decidedly NOT what the game is actually like. In Silicon Dreams, it doesn't just matter what you say, but also when you say it. Responses to certain questions can change based off of the level of trust the subject has in you, their emotional state, and the order in which you ask the questions. Each question feels like a resource which you have to carefully choose how to spend in order to get the results you want.
Results-wise, Silicon Dreams judges your actions very little, but your company is watching. Over the course of the interrogation you will come to know your subjects pretty well, they are well written and interesting characters. But your company has expectations of what you should do with them that doesn't always match with what you will do, balancing doing the right thing and doing the thingy you're being pushed into doing is thrilling and challenging.
Silicon Dreams is an extremely well written and engaging experience. The only issue I see is that the game is quite text heavy, if you aren't willing to do any reading, this game is not for you. I highly recommend it to anyone else
Results-wise, Silicon Dreams judges your actions very little, but your company is watching. Over the course of the interrogation you will come to know your subjects pretty well, they are well written and interesting characters. But your company has expectations of what you should do with them that doesn't always match with what you will do, balancing doing the right thing and doing the thingy you're being pushed into doing is thrilling and challenging.
Silicon Dreams is an extremely well written and engaging experience. The only issue I see is that the game is quite text heavy, if you aren't willing to do any reading, this game is not for you. I highly recommend it to anyone else
The morals of AI behavior have always been a question. How close should they get to human emotion? Would they be considered people? Should they be considered and treated like machines? What happens if one becomes rogue and starts feeling outside of its programmed emotions? Many games, books, and movies have explored this concept. The movie A.I., Bicentennial Man, I, Robot, Isaac Asimov’s novels, and most recently with Detroit: Become Human. It’s a fascinating concept that becomes closer to reality as technology advances. With cloud-based AIs like Siri, Google, Bixby, and Cortana, and realistic-looking robots that have been created, this could be the future within the next 10-15 years.
Silicon Dreams puts you in the eyes of a robot interrogator for a mega-corporation called Kronos. Kronos creates bots for service and work and must keep a close eye on any that might be considered rogue. The game is mostly basic visually, but you spend 90% of your time on the interrogation screen. You click around on questions and try to gain the responses and information Kronos asks of you. Each case is different and you also interrogate some humans. At first, this will become confusing and you won’t be sure what the strategy is. As time goes on you are contacted by a rogue robot who wants to start a revolution. You end up interviewing robots that have gone rogue, or what Kronos thinks has gone rogue, and it’s your job to get as much information as possible. Some robots are easy to crack and some require trust.
As you go on you will realize that emotions are the main way to get what you want. There’s a wheel pie chart with different emotions and as you talk to the subjects that slice will flash and the graph will adjust. Some robots aren’t supposed to feel certain emotions and Kronos might ask you to observe this and the end report you fill out might ask this question. Of course, your own morals come into play here and it’s one of the few games I’ve played where I was torn between helping out Kronos and wanting to help the robot revolution. Every single interaction will sway you either way as you will be afraid of being decommissioned yourself and get caught if you help and you never know if what you’re doing is correct in either direction. The mystery is good and it’s akin to how you might navigate these situations in real life. Kronos promises private quarters and a more lavish lifestyle if you cooperate, but then you see a news article at the end of each day talking about the robot revolution and you sympathize with the stories and situations of the subjects. You want to just do your job and keep your head down, but you also have a chance to change the world.
This leads to different outcomes as you play. I was so torn between not wanting to help either side that my company points kept dropping to the point where I was interrogated myself. I also screwed up that interview by playing the neutral party and I got a bad ending. There’s tons of replay value here and I intend to be for either side solely so I can see what end I get. However, this also goes for interviews. I would exhaust all my options and be unable to invoke the emotion I needed to get the correct information. I had to choose to either let the subject go, send it to maintenance for a memory wipe, or decommission. This is one of the hardest choices to make and what eventually can piss of Kronos the most. They want to keep a clean image and if you let deviant robots free it makes them look bad. I did eventually get my company points to 60/100 and acquired the ability to invoke and sway the robot’s emotions. You also get to cuff them to invoke fear and anger and sometimes this is the last resort if you end up choosing the wrong responses and wind up not getting everything you need.
Outside of all the interviews, there’s nothing else to do. The visuals are very basic, while not ugly, there’s no voice acting which would have added some character to everyone, and the Blade Runner style Voight-Kampff iris vision is just for show. Same thing with the option to show camera angles. You’re never close enough to see emotion visually which would have added another layer to the overall gameplay. As it is your only indicator is the text itself and the emotion pie chart.
Overall, Silicon Dreams is a fantastic text adventure that pushes the moral boundary of AI as humans and makes you think with every mouse click. I had to make sure I even talked about certain topics in a certain order to open up trust first before talking about the actual reason why the subject was with me. Sometimes this worked and sometimes it didn’t, but that’s part of all the fun in this game.
Silicon Dreams puts you in the eyes of a robot interrogator for a mega-corporation called Kronos. Kronos creates bots for service and work and must keep a close eye on any that might be considered rogue. The game is mostly basic visually, but you spend 90% of your time on the interrogation screen. You click around on questions and try to gain the responses and information Kronos asks of you. Each case is different and you also interrogate some humans. At first, this will become confusing and you won’t be sure what the strategy is. As time goes on you are contacted by a rogue robot who wants to start a revolution. You end up interviewing robots that have gone rogue, or what Kronos thinks has gone rogue, and it’s your job to get as much information as possible. Some robots are easy to crack and some require trust.
As you go on you will realize that emotions are the main way to get what you want. There’s a wheel pie chart with different emotions and as you talk to the subjects that slice will flash and the graph will adjust. Some robots aren’t supposed to feel certain emotions and Kronos might ask you to observe this and the end report you fill out might ask this question. Of course, your own morals come into play here and it’s one of the few games I’ve played where I was torn between helping out Kronos and wanting to help the robot revolution. Every single interaction will sway you either way as you will be afraid of being decommissioned yourself and get caught if you help and you never know if what you’re doing is correct in either direction. The mystery is good and it’s akin to how you might navigate these situations in real life. Kronos promises private quarters and a more lavish lifestyle if you cooperate, but then you see a news article at the end of each day talking about the robot revolution and you sympathize with the stories and situations of the subjects. You want to just do your job and keep your head down, but you also have a chance to change the world.
This leads to different outcomes as you play. I was so torn between not wanting to help either side that my company points kept dropping to the point where I was interrogated myself. I also screwed up that interview by playing the neutral party and I got a bad ending. There’s tons of replay value here and I intend to be for either side solely so I can see what end I get. However, this also goes for interviews. I would exhaust all my options and be unable to invoke the emotion I needed to get the correct information. I had to choose to either let the subject go, send it to maintenance for a memory wipe, or decommission. This is one of the hardest choices to make and what eventually can piss of Kronos the most. They want to keep a clean image and if you let deviant robots free it makes them look bad. I did eventually get my company points to 60/100 and acquired the ability to invoke and sway the robot’s emotions. You also get to cuff them to invoke fear and anger and sometimes this is the last resort if you end up choosing the wrong responses and wind up not getting everything you need.
Outside of all the interviews, there’s nothing else to do. The visuals are very basic, while not ugly, there’s no voice acting which would have added some character to everyone, and the Blade Runner style Voight-Kampff iris vision is just for show. Same thing with the option to show camera angles. You’re never close enough to see emotion visually which would have added another layer to the overall gameplay. As it is your only indicator is the text itself and the emotion pie chart.
Overall, Silicon Dreams is a fantastic text adventure that pushes the moral boundary of AI as humans and makes you think with every mouse click. I had to make sure I even talked about certain topics in a certain order to open up trust first before talking about the actual reason why the subject was with me. Sometimes this worked and sometimes it didn’t, but that’s part of all the fun in this game.