Dark futures
Based on a graphic novel, this is a classically-styled first-person adventure game in the fashion of Myst and so on, and while it's a solid enough puzzler, it's perhaps one for diehard genre fans only as there's little here to thrill more casual players. You play the role of a struggling artist in France in the near future as he struggles with a totalitarian regime and things get even more difficult with the appearance of a strange object from space. With shades of Beneath a Steel Sky, you'll explore the various areas of the city, with the central area housing the military and upper classes, and the aeroport being home to aliens and other adventurers. The storyline gets pretty bonkers as the aliens (actually Egyptian gods) decide to possess your father's body, which you're obviously not too happy about, and with various strange elements such as religious cults getting pulled in. Gameplay is your stuff adventure stuff, seeing you explore various locations in first-person while looking for clues and objects to help solve the many puzzles which bar your progress. There's a few real-time action-style events to complete as well, just to give things some variety. Perhaps NIKOPOL's biggest appeal is the storyline, especially if you're into the graphic novel, and although it's a tad strange, it's actually very well told, with some unusual themes and some strong narrative moments. The game is also visually impressive, but it's rather short and the puzzles are less than impressive, making this less than a must play.
