Stuck in the stakeout
A dystopian 2.5D cyberpunk game where you are not a rebel but the fist of the state, embodied in two police officers called Crank and Dozer, in a simple city of blocks. The game starts without a menu or any sort of exposition. There's some movement AI behind the Patterns of the citizens, and they go everywhere to do suspicious things, maybe. This is where Crank and Dozer, known from their own police procedural show, come in.
Stake out, search, find evidence, arrest. That's the plan.
Unfortunately, I was not able to execute it. I could order both to do a stakeout. Not more.
For example, Crank was the most useless investigator ever. The was suspicious activity in the abandoned office I sent her to, but she did not follow the suspects, did not search the office and did not arrest anyone either. Just staking out.
Of course that was my fault. But neither LMB nor RMB did anything after the stakeout started. The manual should say whether to click on the building or the box above the building. (Did both, did not help either.) Clicking on the Person in the box did nothing, too. And you can not send an officer to a new stakeout directly, you have to recall him first to Headquarters, then send him out from there while the trace of the suspect gets cold. Why?
More internal feedback is needed, I think. Maybe different sounds when new orders are set; high for ok, low for "cant do that now". Or a speech bubble. A status line, something.
At least there is a minimal integrated user manual to explain what to do. For some players this may suffice. others need more. I don't care about a wall of text if I understand the game afterwards. But I remember the time when games came with printed mManuals, containing an intro, explaining the details, setting the mood. So when you want me to play it, knowing what to do, don't give me only 16 short lines. Don't expect anyone knows as much as you about your game. And the manual should explain KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) at least once. Not everyone is corporate.
Obviously I missed much of the good stuff in the game. Did not get to it. Would like to praise it because it looks smooth and well-thought. Just got stuck in the stakeout. No, it's not the player's job to know all similar games or try desperately anything beyond what you tell them. It's your job to make it clear. Really, I was looking forward to your game and was convinced it would be great. The greatness is hidden inside somewhere and waits for better controls / control feedback.
I liked the music. It reminded me of the original Blade Runner Soundtrack. I am not sure whether it was one track or more, but it ran unobtrusively in the background of the game, conveying much to the feeling. Nice.