Anshar Studios’ GameDec is an upcoming, isometric, cyberpunk RPG. The game features the sort of cyberpunk aesthetic that fans have always wanted out of interactive entertainment, and it features the kind of neon, futuristic city setting that we hoped we would get from Cyberpunk 2077. Recently, Anshar Studios discussed more of the gameplay features and showcased a demo to give gamers an idea of what to expect from GameDec.

The story centers around a detective who investigates crimes that take place within a virtual world. Players take on the role of a gamedec, short for a game detective. The gamedec is a professional investigator who has to jack into the net and meet with clients to carry out their cases.

They give gamers a brief look at one of the missions in a 23 minute walkthrough courtesy of GamerHubTV, which you can check out below.

What’s pretty cool about the story structure of GameDec is that the developers role-played out many of the quest scenarios in actual pen and paper scenarios before implementing it into the game to ensure that it’s as role-play centric as possible.

During the first mission, the detective has to find someone in a Wild West virtual world, so after discussing the topic with a bartender, the detective is allowed to enter into the Wild West virtual world.

We learn that you can solve some cases using deduction skills. As you play through the game you can unlock your deduction skills by gathering information and then attempt to solve cases using the deduction skills. The deduction information tree is similar to what Frogwares implements in their Sherlock Holmes games, where you gather clues, link them together, and then attempt to solve the case.

They avoid trying to force players into the good/bad moral spectrum, and instead they wanted players to explore options that they feel best suits the outcome of the case. Sometimes you can finish cases early by making snap deductions, while other times you can continue to pursue a case as a spiderweb of new clues surface.

One neat aspect of GameDec is that every virtual world you visit will have different mini-games and interactive elements that you can partake in throughout each game world.

The majority of the demo is just the player-character interacting with other NPCs and explaining the basic premise of how cases unfold, how you can interact with the game world, how you can gather information, and how the choices you make early in the game can affect different outcomes later in the game.

GameDec is scheduled to release on PC via Steam at some point in 2020.

(Thanks for the news tip Kevin Backalive)